We are filming a new MonkiSee video called Animals Under the Sea.  We would love to feature your child in the video.  Watch the clip below to find out how you can have your child participate in the video.

We are working on a new MonkiSee DVD – Animals Under the Sea – and we want to feature your kids in it! To find out more about how your kids can appear in this MonkiSee DVD, just watch the video above. Teach your kids the hand signals and take some video of them doing it. Here are some key points to consider when taking your video:

Take HD video
Film on a clean, simple background (avoid a busy background)
Check for good lighting
Use a tripod (or just make sure that you a really still when filming)
Have fun!
You can send us your video through DropBox (if you don’t have an account let us know and we will send you an invitation) or you can mail it to us on a flash drive. If you have any questions just send us an email!

We can’t wait to see your video!

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year.  This is a great time to assess where we are in our lives and where we want to be.  In 2012 I joined some other moms in trying to read 1,500 books to my kids that year.  We did it and it was a very interesting experience.  Then last year, some one suggested that we read 2,013 books to our kids during the year.  I eagerly signed on and was ready to go for it.  That would require me to read 6 books a day to my daughter, which didn’t seem at all impossible. 

Well, the air quickly went out of my sails, and I realized that we have entered a new phase in our reading which consists more of chapter books.  While I was hopeful that I could read six picture books a day plus chapter books, I quickly realized I couldn’t.  So, I did something I really don’t like to do.  I quit the read aloud challenge.

Coincidentally I just read Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Edition this past December.  He mentioned a family that set a goal to see how many days the father and daughter could read together without taking a break.  They kept a running total that was well over three thousand days.  This included proms, a divorce and their read aloud days ended when she left for college.

I found that story to be so inspiring.  I realized that while I did read my kids a lot of books, we still had days that no reading aloud for pleasure was being done.  More than having a list of all the books we read, I craved reading to be a daily habit.  So three days before the New Year I began our daily reading adventure to establish reading together as a daily habit in my home. I am so pleased with the results.

It is amazing how making a commitment can bring about changes.  I got a new calendar and each day that we read together I write a number showing the consecutive days we have been reading.  The kids have gotten used to me saying prior to enjoying a family movie night, “Wait, we need to read a chapter of our book.”

Worst case scenario, I read one chapter of our book.  Best case, I usually read for about an hour.  Won’t you join me in establishing reading as a daily habit  in your home regardless of the age of your children?  My children range from six years old through eighteen years old, but none of them have grown tired of sharing a read aloud with their mama.

If you want to get motivated to read to your kids look no farther than The Read Aloud Handbook.  It is a fabulous book and includes lists of great books to read to your kids.

I hope 2013 was a great year for all my readers.  I feel very blessed to have been able to read so many great books last year.  According to my records, I am one book short of doubling what I read in 2012.  I do hope to be able to do a lot of reading in 2014. Certainly the list of books I want to read is very large and tends to grow each day.  I recently came across a children’s book called Please Bury Me in the Library.  The title spoke to me as a book lover and is now on my shelf beckoning to be read.  If only I could find a profession that required me to read for 6-8 hours a day.

My list is a collection of books I read to and with my children, books on education, business and faith.

1. Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry – Jack Prelutsky gives guidance and instruction on how to write poetry.  This was a great book for anyone who likes Jack’s silly style of poetry.
   
2. My Dog May Be a Genius – Jack Prelutsky book of poetry
   
3. Little Britches – Father and I Were Ranchers – Ralph Moody details the story of his life in this first book in the series.  I loved, loved, loved this series.  Every one in our house heard the series last year.
   
4. Raising Your Spirited Child
5. Feed Your Skin – Starve Your Wrinkles
6. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen  I love this book and plan to read it again.
   
7. The  Merry Adventures of Robin Hood  The kids and I loved this book.
   
8. What’s Whole in Whole Language
9. Man of the Family – Ralph Moody
   
10. Self-Leadership and the One Minute Manager
11. Take the Risk – Dr. Ben Carson This was a great book.  I really like Dr. Carson.
    
12. The On-Time, On-Target Manager
13. I Just Want You to Know – Kate Gosselin This book inspired me to write love letters to my own children.  I really liked this book which surprised me because I am not a Kate Gosselin fan.
    
14. Something Beautiful For God – Mother Teresa of Calcutta
15. One Thousand Gifts – I did not care for the writer’s style although the message is good.
    
16. Teaching Your Child Music
17. Defeating Darwinism
18. Mary Emma and Company – Ralph Moody
    
19. Marketing Without Money
20. Helen Keller – The Story of My Life – What a fascinating and inspiring person she is.
    
21. The Story of Doctor Doolittle
22. Neat Mom, Messie Kids
23. The Fields of Home – Ralph Moody
    
24. Life Without Limits – Nick Vujicic This guy is amazing!
    
25. Intense Moments With the Savior
26. Shaking the Nickel Bush – Ralph Moody
    
27. The Dry Divide – Ralph Moody
    
28. Horse of a Different Color – Ralph Moody
    
29. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
30. Keeping a Nature Journal
31. Raising a Reader – Jennie Nash
    
32. Ginger Pye
33. Raising a Reader – Simple and Fun Activities for Parents to Faster Reading Success
    
34. Viking Quest – Raiders from the Sea
35. The Magnificent Obsession – Anne Graham Lotz She is a favorite author of mine and this book did not disappoint me.
    
36. Start
37. Son of Charlemagne – Read this to the kids and loved it.
    
38. The Trumpeter of Krakow – Read this to the kids and loved it.
    
39. Enjoying the Closeness of God
40. Secret of the Andes
41. Wicked History – Francisco Pizarro
42. Squanto – Friend of the Pilgrims
43. Don Quixote – Wishbone Classic – This book was so funny.
    
44. The Magic of Thinking Big
45. Grammar Land
46. Wicked History – Sir Francis Drake
47. The Scarlett Pimpernel – Very exciting read.
    
48. A Pizza the Size of the Sun – Jack Prelutsky book of poetry
    
49. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – loved the poetry in this book
    
50. The Mark of Zorro – Possibly my favorite read this year.
    
51. The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow – Great book to read to the kids.
    
52. Melchizedek – King of Jerusalem
53. The Wheel on the School – The kids and I really liked this book.
    
54. Write It Down, Make It Happen
55. Cathedral
56. Shipwrecked
57. The Self-Propelled Advantage – Very interesting.  Challenged some of my methods for homeschool.
    
58. The Fallacy Detective – The kids and I loved the lessons in this book on logic.
    
59. Christian Heroes Then and Now: Hudson Taylor – Excellent faith building story.
    
60. Christian Heroes Then and Now: Amy Carmichael
61. Tending the Heart of Virtue
62. The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
63. ScreamFree Parenting – Did not agree with the author in his methods.
    
64. To Selena, With Love
65. The Core – This is a great book on Classical Education.
    
66. One, Two Buckle My Shoe – Agatha Christie
    
67. A Child’s Introduction to Poetry
68. Poetry Matters
69. The Bible
    
70. Secrets of Mental Math – Arthur Benjamin – So many great things to learn about math here.
    
71. Gentle Ben – The kids and I loved this book.

Do you have any recommendations that aren’t on this list?  Please don’t hesitate to share them.

I did a review some time back for the Seeds Family Worship sampler CD.  We loved it then and we still love it now.  If you or your child want to learn to memorize scripture set to upbeat music, this is the easiest way to do it.  They have some very modern sounding music with a great message, which makes learning Bible verses a snap.  You can download their Seeds of Praise album completely free from now until Thanksgiving.  This is a very generous offer, so tell everyone you know.  To claim your free album visit the Seeds Family Worship page and click on Buy Now.  When it says name your price, enter a zero and the album will download for you immediately.  It couldn’t be easier than that!