Monthly Archives: January 2020

Children’s Books Should be Chosen Wisely

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website, www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Children’s Books Should be Chosen Wisely

         It is so important that children have good books to read, and that children have good books read to them by parents, teachers, grandparents or others.  There is value in reading almost any book in that a child will improve reading skills.  However, there can be much more value obtained than just improving reading skills if careful selection of those books is made.

         What makes a book especially good for a child?  There are some things to consider in making a wise choice of a book.  Whether a child is to read the book for self or an adult is to read the book to the child, content should be considered.  If the child is to read the book, a book should be selected that is easy enough for the child to read to be enjoyed. Also, illustrations in books are more important than one might think.

         Every day thousands of books come from publishers.  There is a great amount of competition in the marketplace.  Quite often children’s books are written to sell rather than written for the real benefit of the child.  Publishers do not want to go to the expense of publishing a book unless they think it will sell.  This results in book content that is popular and may not do very much to help the child’s character or knowledge.  Personally, I like books that do more than simply improve reading skills.  Why not “kill two birds with one stone” and teach valuable lessons while entertaining the child and developing reading skills.  Some of the older stories in books in school did just that.  I was in one school library that had four copies of The Boxcar Children.  The covers were almost off and the books were ragged because they had been checked out so much.  The Boxcar Children teaches resourcefulness and lets the child’s mind wander into the area of “what if I had to take care of myself?”  It stimulates a great deal of thinking. 

         To choose a book for a child to read, a good rule of thumb is to have the child read one page in the book.  If the child misses five words, the book is too difficult for that child.  It is better to choose books easy enough for a child to enjoy than to try to force the child to learn too many new words all at once.  The more a child reads, the more fluent s/he becomes in reading, and new words will be picked up a few at a time.

         Illustrations in books can greatly affect the concepts children get from the reading.  I am appalled at some of the illustrations in Bible story books that I have seen.  Some of those illustrations border on being ridiculous and give children warped ideas of what Bible characters were really like.  It seems that in an effort to make the books interesting, outlandish illustrations are created.  In my opinion, those illustrations affect the child’s learning of the truth of the Bible.

         Children’s books are very expensive.  Some are worth the money, but many are not.  Going to the library is a good alternative to spending the money, but sometimes a child will cherish a book as a personal treasure and want to own it.  At any rate, whether a book is purchased or checked out from the library, we need to be sure it is worth the time, money or effort involved.

Note:  Next Saturday, Feb. 1, I will have my books at the Meet the Author Festival at Kimberling Library from 9:30 AM until 2 PM.  My latest book, “My Thinking Book”, is a children’s devotional book that children on third grade reading level or above can read for self.  It is also good for parents to read and discuss with a child.

The Value of Storytelling

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by Pat Lamb, Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

The Value of Storytelling

       In recent years there has been a significant emphasis on reading books to children.  Reading to children is a very good thing, but telling stories to children adds a dimension that reading to children does not.  Books for young children usually provide illustrations for children to use for understanding.  When children listen to stories, they must make their own mental images, and to do so, requires listening carefully. Storytelling has almost become a lost art in many households.  It is an art that, in my opinion, needs to be revived.

         As children listen to stories, they develop listening skills, become creative as they are required to visualize scenes, and are treated to many subjects not covered in books.  As parents or grandparents tell stories of past experiences, the children gain a better understanding of the storyteller.  

         What kind of stories can we tell children?  Our own experiences provide a wealth of material.  In addition, Bible stories or some of the oldies that contain morals are good.  Many of Aesop’s fables teach children valuable behavioral lessons.  “The Fox and the Crane” teaches consideration of others.  “The Fox and the Crow” teaches not to be taken in by flattery.  “The Lion and the Mouse” teaches that size is not always the important thing and that even a little mouse can be more powerful than a lion.  This story can help a child feel self worth.  The “Emperor’s New Clothes” is a story that teaches children to be careful what they believe.  “Stone Soup” helps children understand the power of persuasion.  It also helps a child understand how easily it is to be taken in and that we should not be selfish.  These are only a few of the old stories that children love to hear and provide good learning at the same time.

         Sometimes it is good to let children or others participate in telling the story.  It is good to let them be creative and change stories if they want.  For example, on one occasion two of our grandchildren, their mother, grandfather, and I were traveling.  I suggested we all participate in telling the story of the three pigs.  We took turns and each person added to what had been said before.  When it was grandpa’s turn, he said, “Those little pigs decided they didn’t want apples at all.  They said, ‘Let’s go get some ice cream and let that ole wolf get apples if he wants!” The grandchildren laughed for the next 10 miles or so.  That was a springboard for them to become creative and make up their own variations of the story.

         Telling stories costs no money but creates pleasant life-long memories.  They can be told while sitting and waiting in a car, at bedtime, while traveling, or perhaps on a cold winter evening.  Storytelling provides a great amount of satisfaction for both the storyteller and the listener while the children learn important lessons.

Note:  Some of the lessons in my book, Let the Children Come contain additional stories that can be told to children.  It is available on Amazon and  can also be ordered from me through my website or e-mail.

 patlee@centurytel.net

www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Stuffed Animals Can Be Teaching Tools

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website, patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child….

Stuffed Animals Can be Teaching Tools

         Playing with my young grandson and his stuffed animals reminded me of how much a child can learn from this activity.  As an adult plays with a child, the conversation can be guided in such a way that the child can learn about manners and consideration of the needs and feelings of others.  In addition, the child can develop empathy that can be transferred into real life in interrelationships with people.  Creative skills are enhanced and children learn social skills.

         Most children really enjoy playing “pretend”.  A child and adult may pretend any number of situations using the animals.  My grandson and I pretended that Leo, the Lion, had a birthday and we were giving him a birthday party.  We took the other animals shopping for Leo and talked about what would be appropriate for a lion.  I pointed out that Leo liked to eat meat while some of the other animals, such as the lambs, liked to eat grass.  We talked about how we should choose a gift that would make Leo happy and not pick a gift that would just make us happy.  Each animal knocked politely on the door before entering the home of Leo.  Each animal said “please”, “thank you”, and “excuse me” when appropriate.  Leo mentioned that he would be writing thank-you notes to all who brought a gift. In these actions, my grandson learned about saying “excuse me”, thank you”, and “please”.  He also learned about considering the wants and needs of others instead of self.  The play could have been carried further and play money could have been used to purchase a gift.  In doing so, proper use of money could have been taught.

         On another occasion, I used his stuffed roadrunner and his stuffed dog to tell a story patterned after Aesop’s fable, “The Fox and the Crane”.  This story emphasizes consideration of others.  Letting the roadrunner substitute for the crane and the dog substitute for the fox, I told how the dog invited the roadrunner for dinner and served milk in a flat plate.  The dog liked the flat plate because the dog laps the milk, but the roadrunner could not get the milk with his beak. The roadrunner decided to teach the dog a lesson and invited the dog to dinner at his house.  The roadrunner served milk in a tall, narrow, vessel that he could put his beak in, but the dog couldn’t lap the milk from.  They each realized that they should have considered the needs of the other and apologized.  I briefly mentioned that people have different needs and that we should consider those needs.

         Most children have at least one stuffed animal. There are many opportunities to use other common things around the house to teach children and develop good attitudes.  If we take advantage of these opportunities while the children are young, they grow up with proper feelings toward others and we save them, as well as ourselves, many headaches. My grandson begged me over and over to play with him with his stuffed animals.  I considered it time well spent.  As he enjoyed playing, he learned many important things to help him in later life and stimulated his creative ability at the same time.  He developed conversational skills and learned to think quickly as he responded to my conversation in our pretend games.  

Small Steps Can Lead to Big Gains

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book) Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristiansauthor.com

Train up a child…

Small Steps Can Lead to Big Gains

         
         “The longest journey starts with the first step”.  How true.  This philosophy can be applied to helping children set goals.  It is important to set short-term goals as a beginning to the achievement of long-term goals.  Parents often have the tendency to set ultimatums that overwhelm children; then, children tend to give up before they get started feeling that the task is impossible to achieve.

         Nothing succeeds like success.  Success breeds success; failure breeds failure.  When a child feels successful, that child will want to continue actions that achieved that success.  When a child experiences failure, that child will not want to continue.  If we help a child set goals that are easily achievable, the child will want to set another achievable goal.  

         How does this work in real life?  Suppose you want a small child to clean his/her bedroom. Instead of telling the child to clean the room, break the chore down in steps.  Perhaps start with telling the child to make the bed.  After that is accomplished, tell the child to pick up the things on the floor.  Next, the child could do the dusting of one piece of furniture at a time. Finally, the floor needs to be vacuumed or swept. Add other tasks as needed until the room is nice and clean. When the child then receives praise for a clean room, he/she feels a sense of pride and accomplishment and will be more apt to do it next time.  In addition, the child has been taught what is involved in cleaning a room.  

         Another example might involve a child learning the multiplication tables.  Instead of simply telling the child to learn the tables, help the child set a goal of learning the 8’s by a certain time.  Next, the child might learn the 9’s, etc.  This continues until all the tables are learned.

         If a child is struggling with homework, instead of simply telling the child to do the homework, a parent might say, “After this page is done, take a little break and get a glass of water or cookie.” Plan with the child by looking at how much is left to be done and dividing it up so that the child feels accomplishment along the way.  After each part is done, the child might be allowed to do something to have a little break.

         Still another example might be used in saving money.  Discuss with the child how much money can be saved by a certain time.  Make sure a special container is available for the money even if it is simply a clean jelly jar.  After the first goal has been reached, reset the goal for a certain date to have saved a greater amount.  It is helpful if a child has an object in mind to purchase or another plan for the money.  That would be the long-range goal.  The short-range goals along the way are very helpful in motivating the child to continue saving.

         Almost any task can be broken down in parts to encourage and motivate children.  It is good to have long-range goals as well, but the short- range goals are the stepping stones along the way.