What does November mean to you?

To me it is a time for family and friends…even if we can’t be together physically, we can talk on the phone or Skype. It is also a time to remember those who need a helping hand…the homeless, the elderly and those impacted by disaster. In Colorado, many families have suffered great hardship and tragedy because of the summer wildfires. And now, on the East Coast, there are millions who are facing the same type of loss because of Storm Sandy.

It’s important to help young children learn that caring for and about others is good and right and necessary…it is the hallmark of a good person. The story in today’s Reading Corner will encourage kids to do this.

“Norman the Doorman”

Written and illustrated by Don Freeman
Publisher: The Viking Press (1959)
Ages: 3 and up

Themes:

Believing in yourself, courage, determination, friendship, sharing, art, ingenuity

Opening lines:

“In front of a small, well-hidden hole around in back of the Majestic Museum of Art, there once stood a mouse named Norman.”

Synopsis:

Norman the Doorman is a little mouse who lives and works in the basement of the Museum of Art. He decides to enter a sculpture contest and submits a wire sculpture made from mousetrap parts. When he wins the contest, his only request is to be able to view the upstairs exhibits and then he shares his cheese prize with his visiting country relatives.

Why do I like this book:

The story is sweet…the message is powerful…the illustrations are wonderful. Don Freeman was an artist in his own right http://donfreeman.info/

Related Activities:

WIRE SCULPTURE

Photos courtesy of artful parent

http://www.artfulparent.com/2012/03/wire-sculptures-for-kids-with-buttons-beads-feathers.html This is an amazing website for parents and teachers…please check it out!

How do we encourage creativity?

Just give a child some simple materials and your positive participation!

You will need: Pipe cleaners, a small block of foam, buttons, beads, feathers.

1. The child picks a foam block and then chooses colorful pipe cleaners (safer than wire), beads, buttons and feathers.
2. Help your child push one end of the pipe cleaner into the foam block and then let your child use his own imagination, adding beads, buttons or feathers. The craft may turn out as a train (as in the picture) or house or any design your child wishes.
3. When your child’s creation is finished, display it in a place of honor!

Vivian Kirkfield is a mother of three, an educator and the author of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. She lives in the Colorado Rockies and is passionate about picture books, enjoys hiking and fly-fishing with her husband, and loves reading, crafting and cooking with kids during school and library programs and in her new YouTube series: Show Me How Picture Books and Crafts for Kids. To learn more about her mission to help every child become a reader and a lover of books, please visit her Positive Parental Participation blog or contact her at vivian@positiveparentalparticipation.com.