Is your child entering kindergarten or pre-school in the fall? Teach letter recognition over the summer using two fun, educational resources: How to Build an A and the LeapFrog - Letter Factory.

Summer is a great time for enrichment activities. Free from the daily grind of classes and homework, your child can explore his or her creative side.

Shop for art supplies on sale at local craft stores, or find wholesale arts and crafts supplies online at DollarDays. Many moms have a craft box (or craft closet) full of supplies to keep their kids occupied during school vacations and on rainy weekends.

While some parents splurge on summer art classes and camps, activity books can inspire at a much lower price tag. LittleMissMatched’s The Artist in Me! costs under $12 at Amazon.

Learning to recognize different coins and understanding their value is an essential part of the preschool and the kindergarten curriculum.

Parents can use coins to introduce math concepts like sorting and counting. You can help your child learn to identify coins and their value while teaching them to save money using Coin County: A Bank in a Book, an award-winning book by Innovative Kids.

Our boys, we are told, are in crisis. Whether or not this is a myth, there’s a perception that today’s civilized is just bit, well, too nice for a growing boy. And where are all the role models of manly virtues? A new book, Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys, hopes to fill this gap with examples and stories of manly men who exhibited great strength and courage…

If your child is a picky eater, try preparing meals together. If your child feels some ownership over a meal, he’s more likely to eat it. Start by picking an easy-to-make recipe or by using a children’s cookbook.

I received a review sample of the Handstand Kids Chinese Cookbook, the newest book in their cookbook series for children ages 3 to 12. The Handstand Kids Cookbook series introduces children to the language and cuisine of other cultures through fun, easy-t0-make recipes. Ingredients and utensils are listed in both English and Mandarin.

Momma Loves Her Little Son, a new book by the son of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash, has won a place in my heart and on my bookshelf. John Carter Cash explains that the book is based on his own relationship with his mother who frequently told him that “Momma loves her little son.”

For kids, scatting is a natural creative outlet–made-up words with a bouncy rhythm? Sure! Two books provide children a great entry into this surprisingly sophisticated jazz form:
When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat ($11.50) is moving, grooving story about a little girl who dances to jazz with her mother before going to bed with her mother. At night, Louis Armstrong appears in her dream and helps her compose a bubble gum scat. The hip illustrations, reminiscent of 1950s graphic art, are as playful and effervescent as the rhyming text. Kids …

February 12th is Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday. Mark the occasion by reading Animals Charles Darwin Saw, a picture book that is part of the Explorers Adventure Series by Chronicle Books.
The book is intended for children ages 7 to 12, but younger children might need help with some of the advanced vocabulary. Teachers and librarians will want to add this book to their collection since it clearly explains the history of Darwin’s voyage to the Galapagos, the animals he saw on the trip, and how he developed the Theory of Evolution.
Students will …

Children already appreciate the simple beauty of the ordinary, so Wabi Sabi will just feel right.
Beautifully illustrated with collages of torn paper, found objects, and natural materials, Wabi Sabi follows the eponymous kitty on a journey to find the meaning of his name. Along the way he discovers that wabi sabi is “hard to explain” but easy to be.
Ordinary, imperfect, and beautiful, like tea in a plain wooden bowl, Wabi Sabi finds himself comfortably at home in his own being–a life-affirming message for children as they grow.
The audience is 4-8, …