Who Grew My Soup Giveaway

HGYS LogoCampbell’s has announced the winner of the Help Grow Your Soup campaign. This campaign was designed to raise money for the national FFA Organization. Five farms where chosen to receive barn restoration, and we got to vote on which farm was chosen, each vote was equal to 1.00 in donations. The winning farms were Providence Grove H.S Farm, Bowers School Farm, The Just Wait and See Farm, Dull Family Farm and Augie Fudala Farm and the campaign raised 500,000 and the money will help students explore the many opportunities that modern agriculture offers. So far, two of the farms have finished their restoration.

The Dull Family Farm:

Before

Dull Family Farm Before

After

Dull Family Farm After

Providence Grove H.S:

Before

Providence Grove H.S Before

After

Providence Grove H.S After

Who Grew My Soup?Enter to win:

4 cans of soup and the children’s book “Who Grew My Soup?”

To Enter:

Tell me what your favorite vegetable is?

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Who Grew My Soup #Giveaway http://bit.ly/cU2HRX

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The contest will run until May 31st 11:59 pm Pacific. All rules can be found under giveaway rules

 

 

 

 

M80 contacted me on behalf of Campbell’s, they provided the information for this post and the prizing for the giveaway.

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Pledge to Read to your Children 20 minutes a day with Laura Numeroff #giveaway

I was introduced to a new children’s reading program with New York Times best-selling author, Laura Numeroff of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Laura has partnered with Sleepy’s and First Book, a non-profit organization working to provide new books to children in need, to promote family bedtime reading. Research shows that reading at least 20 minutes per night with your child can improve child literacy by 10 whole school days per year. We don’t read to our children at night but this initiative has inspired me to make doubly sure that I read to my children for at least 20 minutes a day. We’ve been reading Dr. Seuss and our reader books that we have. It’s been great for all of use and a good time for me to unplug completely.

 

There are two days left for Live Story time with Laura. Laura will be conducting in-store readings and signing complimentary copies of her latest book, The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza.

Here is the pledge:

Laura would also like to encourage parents to make a pledge to read to their children at least 20 minutes per night. Each pledge will support Sleepy’s corporate contribution to First Book to provide new books to families in need so more children have access to read. Parents can take the pledge at http://www.sleepysbedtimestories.com and enter for a chance to win lunch with Laura Numeroff in New York City

I’m giving away one copy of her new book: Jellybeans and the big book Bonanza.

 

 

 

To Enter:

Tell me what you read to your children.

Extra Entries:

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Pledge to read to your children for 20 minutes and #win http://bit.ly/8Xl850  #Giveaway  @momstart  #contest

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The contest will run until April 12th 11:59 pm Pacific. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

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Children’s Book Reviews: Snow Takes the Checker! Quickly: The Magic Spatula

Thanks to the Parent Reviewers I received two books to review, Snow Takes the Checker! and Quickly: The Magic Spatula.

http://snowtheracehorse.com/images/large_ttc.pngSnow takes the Checker is a cute book about Snow. It’ part of a series of stories about Snow the Racehorse and her family of racers. In Snow takes the Checker, you will follow Snow as she gets ready for the big animal race coming up. Her partner if you can believe it is a turtle and together they take the race. It’s a quick read and easy for my daughter to sit through as I read it. The fun whimsical  pictures appeal to children like my own and that’s why she keeps asking me to read it to her.

 

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Quickly: The Magic SpatulaQuickly: The Magic Spatula, is a book going in the past when two adults find Quickly in an old box belonging to their mother. My husband and I work very hard to create memories for our children to cherish. I even write a series every now and then called Cooking with Kids. This is where my husband and I cook with our children. Just like in Quickly, I remember lots of times where my dad cooked waffles (pancakes in the book) but it was a time where all of us came together and sat as a family to eat. Spending time with family is quite important and building memories is easy. Just read Quickly: The Magic Spatula.

 

 

I was provided with these two books for a book tour by Parent Reviewers. All opinions are my own.

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God is With me in the morning, God is with me in the Evening #giveaway

 GodDay

God is with Me through the day is a great picture book for kids to remember God throughout the day. We love the picture of the dog on the front but not only that we love the message behind the story. God is with me, is a message we all need a little remind for. This one was more fun for my son because

"When I’m afraid, I say out loud, "God loves me." "I roar like a bear, "I am safe!" And Miles roars like a bear. He loves to roar.

GodNight

God is with Me through the Night is another treat to read to your children. The photos are wonderful and my daughter loves to look at the pictures. She says that’s a baby momma, and I said “God made that baby.” “God is with me, even in the dark. Just like when God kept Daniel safe from the lion, he will keep me safe too." It’s a nice pull in bible lessons with this book. Julie Cantrell did a good job putting these together for little kids.

 

 

 

AuthorPhotoQ&A with Julie Cantrell on God is with Me through the Night and God is with Me through the Day:

Julie’s first picture books, God is with Me through the Day and God is with Me through the Night were published this year by Zondervan to help young children overcome fears while building their faith in God.

Why did you write these picture books?

When my daughter was young, she had a hard time sleeping in her own bed. She was afraid of the dark, and she suffered from terrible nightmares. She loved to read, and she loved animals – so when she was five years old, the two of us worked together to create a bedtime story just for her.

We found stock photos of animals, and we wrote simple text to reassure her that even when I tucked her into her bed at night, she was not alone. I wanted her to feel secure that I would never leave her in a place that wasn’t safe, and that God was always with her—even in the dark.

How did the books become published?

I never intended to publish the book. I wrote it to help my own daughter overcome her fears while building her faith in God. When her friends would sleep over, they all enjoyed the book and wanted me to print copies for them. Then the neighborhood kids asked for copies. I was working in a preschool as a speech-language pathologist at the time, so I read the story to my students. They all reacted positively to the story, so some of the other teachers and parents asked for copies. Their reactions made me think seriously about sharing the story to children on a bigger scale.

I had been working as a freelance writer for many years, so I decided to look for an agent. Several publishers expressed serious interest in the books, and we ended up signing a contract with Zonderkidz (the children’s division of Zondervan).

I was thrilled when they asked for a partner book to help children cope with fears such as separation anxiety and shyness through the day. God is with Me through the Day and God is with Me through the Night were released simultaneously on March 1, 2009.

How did your professional background help you write these books?

Aside from writing articles on the topics of faith, family, and child development for nearly a decade, I am also a certified speech-language pathologist. I’ve spent years helping children of all abilities/disabilities develop their communication skills. This includes not only their speech, but their reading and language skills as well. I was certain that young children preferred books with big pictures, simple text, and repetitive prose. Plus, I knew that most kids love animals.

Still, I conducted extensive research on children’s picture books. I was surprised to read studies that indicated children prefer color photos to illustrations. With real-world reactions from children, data to support the design of the books, and a gut instinct that families would enjoy reading these aloud time and time again, I decided to move forward with publishing. I am excited to share this universal message with children around the world.

How have children reacted to the books?

It’s been amazing to see children’s reactions as I read to school groups and story time groups. They laugh at the funny photos. They say “awww” when there’s a sweet photo. And they show sad expressions when the animals express fear or loneliness. I encourage them to talk to the animals on the pages. “Tell the goat, ‘Don’t be scared. Go play with your friends.’” Or “Silly kitty. That’s just a shadow!” They really interact with the book and always ask me to read it again.

Through the use of realistic, natural photos, the children can understand that all of God’s creatures feel afraid at times. It helps them cope with their emotions so they feel confident to explore their world or sleep through the night.

How have parents reacted to the books?

It’s been wonderful to hear feedback from parents after they’ve bought the books, especially to hear that this is sometimes the first book their child could read independently. As a mother, author, and speech-language pathologist, that’s an amazing compliment.

One of my favorite stories was from the parents of a three-year-old daughter. They emailed me to say they ran to her bedroom door because they had heard her screaming. When they got there, they realized she was yelling, “I am safe! I am loved!” which are phrases used repetitively in both books. Another huge compliment has been to hear that children carry these books around with them in the car or that parents have had to tape the pages back together because the books have been so “loved.”

I am thrilled, honored, and grateful that these stories are reaching so many families. If there’s one thing I want everyone to know, it’s that they’re loved and that they’re never alone. If I can share that message with even one child a day, then I am very blessed.

 Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan Publishing sent me both of these books for review and sent me a copy of each to give away.

To Enter:

Tell me something you read about the author above.

Extra Entries:

Tell me your favorite bible verse

Advertise this giveaway on any giveaway site and tell me where you advertised it. 10 Extra Entries
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The contest will run until December 14th 11:59 pm Pacific. The winner will be selected by www.random.org. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

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Get everything you need for Christmas in one stop at Borders New Toy Department 100.00 #giveaway

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As part of a new blogger program, Borders gave me 100.00 to spend in their store. I was overwhelmed by the kindness the manager showed me. I showed up expecting them to already know I was coming and my lifeline known as my phone was accidentally left at home. So when I showed up and they looked at me like I was crazy, the manager let me use one of their computers to get on the internet. I was able to find the contact information of the PR rep that set everything up for me. We called her and everything was taken care of in seconds.

Huge thanks to the manager of the Redmond Borders; because if she had told me no, I would have either had to go all the way home or to the library to print off the information I needed. I didn’t tell my husband this story because he would have laughed at me for not taking all the information with me in a hard printed out copy.

IMG_0148 You know, it’s hard enough to get out of the house with the kids, diapers, snacks, wallet, without forgetting my brain.

My husband’s gift was the easiest. I knew exactly what I wanted to get him and I”m not going to post it on the off chance that he takes a look at this post. He said he wants to be good since it’s his only present.

I spent the rest on the kids even though, I could have picked up a few things for other family members. I’m trying to go though my family members and make sure I have what each one needs.

IMG_0149Sister 1 Movies

Sister 2 Movie Theater Gift Card

Sister 3 Husband took care of it (she does read my blog so I can’t say)

Mom and Dad 1 – gave them a laptop (so they don’t get anything else, maybe a photo book)

Mom and Dad 2 – photo book,

The kids were hard because there was so much to choose from at Borders. The above photos are what you might expect before they added an entirely new toy department.

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With about four aisles of toys to choose from Borders has become a toy boutique. The employees upstairs were not quite as helpful as the manager and the cashiers. I really could have used some help carrying my load downstairs to the only register. I feel like if I had been at a boutique that they would have carried all of my stuff to the register for me. It was hard to corral my kids, with my arms full, but other than that the experience was great. I mean the price difference makes carrying my own toys to the register worth the struggle.

IMG_0152 In addition to so many name brand toys and books to choose from (all of them being learning and education aids for all ages) They have a table set up where kids can read and on the other side of the tower there was a play table for children. That is a lifeline to a mom that has to do her shopping with her children with her.

Many of the items I purchased were on sale. They had buy one get one half off of all Melissa and Doug items and their clearance was buy two get one free. So I was even more attracted to their clearance than all of the new toys they had. I came home with quite a hall of goodies. Knowing me, we’ll donate half of it. We’re going to have to empty out my closet before my surgery and figure out what is getting donated and what is going under the Christmas tree. Christmas might be upstairs in my bed this year. ;-)

 

Borders was kind enough to not only pay for my shopping experience but they want to provide one for two of my readers.

To Enter:

## Required### Visit Borders Kids Toys and Games and comment back with the toy or game you remember playing with as a child and why it’s still a good choice today

optional

Follow Borders on twitter  and tweet out your toy choice @borders.

Extra Entries after required:

Advertise this giveaway on any giveaway site and tell me where you advertised it. 10 Extra Entries
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Leave a comment for every entry

The contest will run until November 30th 11:59 pm Pacific. The winner will be selected by www.random.org. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

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Sunday in Kyoto The Secret Mountain Book and Music Review

51nr43fs3yl_sl500_aa240_Sunday in Kyoto was sent to us to review from The Secret Mountain. It’s been a while since we’ve listened to a children’s cd where the music is completely geared to the children. I mean, I completely understand being the parent why cd artists are trying to appeal to the adult too. If the adult gets tired of the CD then the music will disappear conveniently. Well, this one is educational so perhaps that will stop parents from tossing it. Also, it’s going to be requested by the children if they are anything like mine.

We were in the car listening to the CD today and my daughter said I like this CD mom. Yes my two year old talks like that. She’s amazing. She’s like an adult in a two year old body. You wouldn’t believe it unless you met her. Her brother though, is all kid. ;-)

The book has wonderful illustrations to go along with the words of the CD. I found myself giggling and laughing along with my children to the silly songs and different feel of each song. On of the songs made me feel like I was at the circus while another song made me wish I was in Kyoto playing the Koto in a Kimono.

 

Sunday in Kyoto

Product Description:

An iconic poet and singer-songwriter deeply rooted in Canada’s history, Gilles Vigneault wrote the 14 songs that accompany Sunday in Kyoto. They evoke his love of nature, culture and travel and are imbued with natural imagery as well as multinational characters and settings. The title track tells the story of a Cajun musician who lives with his Japanese partner in Kyoto, enjoying Sunday afternoon jam sessions with friends from far away places, while other songs are educational, with counting and spelling in several languages including English, French and Japanese.
The storybook-music CD features vivid illustrations by accomplished French-Canadian artist Stéphane Jorisch, who also provided the artwork for My Name is Chicken Joe and has created sets for Le Cirque du Soleil. This innovative packaging, combining a hardcover book with a CD, is ideal for young children. For more information, please visit www.thesecretmountain.com/

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Hot On the Range Children’s Book

Perfect for every seven year old girl that is on love with horses. This book was just a big above my children, they had no interest in it and I received this book to review right before we found out our house sold and all you know what broke loose. So, this was also on my forgotten stack.

It is a wonderful book and my sister; still in love with horses and wants one of her own, would love this book: I also think that as Zoe gets older she’s going to start liking this book more

It is cute because it is coming from the horse. You’re right there in the mind of the horse on the range.  My daughter and son are starting to make animal sounds all the time and they are crawling around the new house pretending to be animals. So it’s cute to see this come out of them.

Hot on the Range is the first children’s book by R. D. Jentsch and was illustrated by David C. Bryant. The author is an admitted horse-lover herself and owns a ranch with fourteen horses – each with its own unique personality and challenges. The book was published in November of 2008 by BookSurge Publishing and is 36 pages (paperback edition).

Book Description:

The tale begins with two horses seeking shelter from the sweltering Texas sun. Willie, a laid back palomino ambles over to a shady spot under a tree, while Chester a paint horse, looks under rocks and every other corner of the pasture to find relief. From rolling in the mud to smelling cactus flowers, it will be Chester’s own master who will save the day with a cool stream of icy water from the outdoor spigot. Recommended for an award in children’s literary fiction, this book is loosely based on the behavior of two real horses and proves to be a whole lot of summer fun for the whole family.

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Along Came You By Karona Drummond

alongcameyou1

What a cute book showing your daughter how having her changed your life. I know you could read this to a boy too but it’s a very girly book. It’s pink for one thing.

Along Came You is fun to read and makes me smile as I read it. I was working before my daughter came but I still feel how monumental my home life changed before having children. I really appreciate how Karona Drummond loves kids and the Lord.

Oh all the ways that children decorate our lives with their jubilance. That’s what I got out of this book. It was a pleasant reminder to appreciate my kids. My daughter has just started taking care of her own stuffed animals and she sounds just like me, “I love you Pooh”

About Karona Drummond

Karona Drummond is an elementary teacher with over 15 years of experience. She writes stories for preschoolers and elementary-aged children. She also creates inspirational poetry for adults. Her experience includes time spent at the University of North Texas Child Development Laboratory and years at Texas Woman’s University Child Development Center.

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20 Ways to Help Save the Earth for Children

 

 

A great book for children in English and Spanish. I’ve been reading it to my daughter and it’s fun because on some days she’ll repeat what I say. Reading to your kids is very important. It teachers them how to read and how to speak. the more words we say to our kids the better their language skills will be.

Why not teach them about saving the planet while you’re at it?

20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth

image "20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth" is full of situations kids encounter on a daily basis and takes a proactive approach to modeling new behaviors and attitudes that eco-conscious children can adopt. From tried-and-true suggestions such as recycling bottles and cans to innovative ideas like using rainwater for watering household plants, kids are encouraged to do their part and share their enthusiasm for conservation with others.

With lessons like don’t throw, (that’s something we’re currently working on with both children) it can be even more important to say don’t throw your trash on the ground. Pick it up and recycle it. We have recycling bins all over the city.

Teach your kids to work in the garden and plant trees and making compost instead of throwing everything away. The 20 ideas in this book are simple enough for a child to understand and are great places for all of us to start.

You might learn something by reading this book, and another perk is that the Spanish version is on the opposite page. So all you have to do is read it out loud in Spanish and your kids can learn Spanish. I know, that’s not that easy, you have to know how to read it. Maybe it will help me.

The pictures are great, my daughter likes to point and tell me what she recognizes. Like she knows what a trash can is and what trash is. She looks at cars and she enjoys when I read to her.

About the Author:

Coach Pedro Rita resides in Ann Arbor, Mich., with his wife and co-author, Susan Adam-Rita. He works as Coaching Director for Michigan Tigers FC as well as Director of Development for WideWorld Sports Center, a soccer facility with programs for youth players. Coach Pedro is currently working on his next book called Bending a Soccer Ball. For more information, please visit www.coachpedro.com

 

 

 

 

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Dudley’s Solo

 

What another great book to read to children. My daughter received this book to review and she has asked me to read it to her over and over again. Most books we sit and read once and then grab another book. This one she picks up and says read mom, and then she says read again mom, read again. I’m thinking, I’ve read it three times in a row, as cute as it is I don’t want to read it again.

Why does she like it so much?

I’m not really sure. I think she likes the colors, and that their are a lot of children in the story. Dudley is deaf and he does not let that stop him. He wants to be like all the other kids around him. He is in a choir and he signs, all the children were given a solo except for him. He told the other children how he felt and they helped him.

Why do I like this book?

I like this book because it encourages children to face their difficulties and live normal lives. The children take it upon themselves to help Dudley. In the bible Timothy talks about how youth should not let their age discourage them from doing things. I believe this. We need to encourage young ones to do great things.

About the Author:

Tiffany Alexander resides in Atlanta, Ga., and works as an editor for CNN. She is a member of the Independent Books Publishers Association, The National Association of Black Journalists, Hampton University Alumni Association and the African-American Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is currently working on the next book in the Children’s Band series called "Ebenezer Opens a Savings Account." For more information, please visit www.ChildrensBand.com.

Tiffany Alexander believes it is possible to teach children to embrace the qualities that make them different. In her new children’s book, "Dudley’s Solo" (Alexander Vision LLC, March 2009), Alexander reveals how positive attitudes can change the way we tackle obstacles in our lives. She speaks to kids and parents alike on embracing our differences, being thankful for our God-given talents and realizing the importance of helping others.

"Growing up visually impaired had a tremendous impact on my life," says Alexander, who was legally blind until middle school. "I could do what most of the kids could do, but I always had limitations. As hard as it was to be different, I gained inner-strength and the desire to persevere no matter what."

"Children’s band was instrumental in my spiritual and social growth. Like Dudley, this is where I received my earliest encouragement," Alexander says. "The other kids and I learned the importance of volunteering, being a good citizen, and mostly importantly, I learned that I could do anything if I put my mind to it."

"Dudley’s Solo" encourages kids to

have self-confidence and to believe in themselves

embrace their differences

never give up on something you really want and

find the positive lesson in every challenge they are handed.

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