Do you read NEAR your children?

Currently, I've been working with a child who might be considered a "reluctant reader."  Reading isn't fun for him, and it's sometimes hard to get him interested in moving up in reading levels.  I've done countless Google searches for ideas, and talked at length with his parents and teachers.

I've created games to help make reading fun, like my sight word game, which is a good way to get kids recognizing easy words (and I can make these in other reading levels, if you'd prefer).  It helped, since it also involved him getting up and moving, instead of sitting quietly and reading.
My Sight Word Game.  It's for sale as an instant download.
I also started reading exciting chapter books to him, like kids' mystery books.  He absolutely loved them!  But when I told him that someday he'd be able to read it without help, he didn't care.  I know his parents read to him every night before bed, and they would tell him about how they had lots of reading they had to do at their jobs.

This got me thinking: he knows he needs to read to do well in school.  He knows his parents have to read while at work.  He knows he NEEDS to read.  But does he know that reading can be fun?  That it's something to look forward to?

We need to read NEAR our children.  In other words, show your child how much you love to read.  Grab a novel, newspaper, or whatever you enjoy to read.  Let your child have some free play, while you read a magazine.  Talk to your child about how much you love reading.  I think we get bogged down with teaching children that that need to read, that we forget to teach them how much fun it is.  So show your child how much you love to read!

Branding

On one of my many trips to the library with my little buddy (the 6-year-old I nanny for) I picked up some books on how to make money crafting.  They have been helpful, and I think I've been doing some of this all wrong.  Both books bring up branding very early on.  They say you need a logo, and have the same one on every single social media outlet.  So I guess it's time to create one!  I know I want kid-friendly, happy colors - like yellow and maybe dark blue and maroon.

I'm working towards having a shop that can work well in any craft fair.  So I need to revamp some bits and pieces of my Etsy shop, and punch up a few other things, like this blog.  I still don't have enough product for a craft fair booth, but ever since I did one over Thanksgiving, I've been wanting to do another!

I don't know if I want to make this into a full-fledged business yet, but I'm having fun.  That's all that matters at this point, right?  So I'm off to play around with creating a logo!

Another Re-Start

A friend of mine posted that she really wanted to start a blog, and pretty much everyone said she should use WordPress. So I went and checked them out. After about 2 hours of frustration, I gave up. I'm sticking with this one, it's so much easier!

Anyway, I did some revamping here.  I thought that rainbow picture in the back sort of looked like yarn, and I added my Etsy shop.  Just click on any of the pictures for more info.  I'm also checking out tons of craft fairs and shows in the area, so hopefully I'll be finding a good one to show at soon.

I might also continue my childcare advice.  After decades of working with kids, I've got tons of ideas!

I also should re-start healthy eating.  We're planning on a spring trip to Buffalo to see the in-laws, and I'd like to lose a bit of this weight before I go.