Amanda's Books and More: childhood

Showing posts with label childhood. Show all posts

Thursday, May 9, 2019

A Healthy Self-Esteem and Self-Image

A Healthy Self-Esteem and Self-Image

By Christina Morley

I have four children; three are adults and one is an adolescent. Being a parent, I have endeavored to give each child encouragement and praise as often as needed. In other words, I have tried to build up their self-esteem. I want them to be confident individuals and not inclined to compare themselves to others.

Let me give you an example of a healthy self-esteem. When my youngest daughter, Amanda, was around 9 years old, I drove her to a friend’s birthday party. The mom and daughter met us as we were walking up to the house. The friend was excited to see Amanda and exclaimed to her mother, “This is Amanda! She’s the smartest kid in our class!” Amanda quickly responded, “One of the three smartest.” By amending her friend’s statement, Amanda was putting her ability into perspective while accepting the praise.

Having a good self-esteem is not the same as having a big ego. Kids are prone to thinking too highly of themselves when they can do no wrong in their parents’ eyes. Unfortunately, some parents are not only guilty of raising narcissistic children, but also guilty of teaching their kids to hate others. These kids later become adults who think the world revolves around them and their egos.

One way to combat egocentricity is to be sober-minded by not thinking too highly of yourself. It’s about being sensible or pragmatic. It’s about knowing your strengths and weaknesses and being aware that you aren’t a god. If you are sober-minded, you will know that you need God in your life and that apart from God, you can do nothing with lasting success. You will also not be rigid or dogmatic in your beliefs. You will be of the shared belief that we all see through a glass dimly.

Another way to combat egocentricity is to practice kindness and generosity. Instead of focusing on yourself, focus on others. We all go through times when we focus on ourselves and get so wrapped up in our own problems that we become stressed, anxious, or depressed. By shifting our focus and taking note of others (paying attention to their needs), we can figure out ways that we can get practically involved. Helping others has a profound ability to improve our emotional and physical well-being!

A good self-esteem means that you feel positive about yourself without any grandiose ideas. A good self-image is similar. It’s being able to see yourself in a favorable light and to believe that others do to. How much time is wasted worrying about what people think of you? American jokesmith Olin Miller once stated, “You probably wouldn’t worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.” That puts it into perspective!

When I was in the 8th grade, our school had a dance. The dress code for the girls was a cocktail dress or something similar. My mom took me to one store and I had to find my dress there. I can’t remember what her reason was, but it certainly limited my options. I found one dress that suited me and it was a hideous mustard-yellow. I didn’t want to feel embarrassed the entire time, so I decided to own that dress. I went to the dance with my head held high and a big smile on my face. I wasn’t going to let others dictate how I felt about myself. If anyone wanted to make a rude comment about the color, I was prepared to tell them that I agreed with them, but surprisingly, kids complimented me on my dress!

People with a good self-image don’t try to be someone they aren’t. They don’t want to be someone else either! They are happy in their own skin doing their best with the personality, skills, and talent that are uniquely theirs.

My kids - from youngest to oldest (left to right):
Amanda, Samantha, Jessica, and Jeremiah

Christina Morley is the author of Happy Moms, Happy Homes. She’s also a blogger, volunteer reader at the Blind Institute, and ministers alongside her husband at a Christian drug and alcohol rehab.

Friday, April 19, 2019

What to Do When You're Feeling Blue

What to Do When You're Feeling Blue

by Andi Cann

About the Book:

Title: What to Do When You're Feeling Blue | Author: Andi Cann | Pages: 35 | Genre: Picture Book

Book Description:

Sometimes kids are happy. Sometimes they are sad. Kids learn in this book that it’s okay, either way!

Your child will learn that sadness happens. Meant to be loved and enjoyed, again and again, this book with colorful pictures and rhymes will help children learn that all feelings are okay and offer ideas about coping with sadness. Children will learn that they have the power to feel better and that happy feelings are just around the corner! Most importantly, children will learn that they are important and loved!

Today, depression is a real problem and is affecting children early in childhood. Teaching your children that changing emotions are a part of life will help create resilience and cope with life’s ups and downs.

Please note: if you suspect your child suffers from depression, please seek help! The National Alliance for Mental Illness can be reached at www.nami.org

Purchase on Amazon

Our Review:

Kids need to know that it's okay not to be happy all the time. This picture book lets children know that it's normal to have days when you are feeling blue and you don't need a reason either. It also gives a variety of ideas of what to do when you're down like read a book or think about things that you enjoy doing like. The unique illustrations inside are colorful and cheerful. It also offers a contact number at the beginning of the book for a loved one battling with depression.

Amanda (age 11) says the book is nice and the art is good for little kids. She likes that the author didn't just say a couple of things that you can do to be happy, but a lot of things. She also likes the rhyming words. Amanda and I both recommend this book for children ages 4 - 7.

Related Review:

The Magic of Friendship Snow

About the Author:

Andi Cann

Andi loves writing books for kids! With two of her own, although they're grown now, she has always been an avid reader and an enthusiastic promoter of early reading!

It all started in Andi's early life in the Midwest part of the United States. Her life was rich with books, reading, and library visits. Nancy Drew was one of her best friends! Mrs. Gladieux, the town librarian, encouraged her love of reading, and allowed her to check out many more books than were allowed! Andi's stories are about children learning to embrace their uniqueness, find friends, or stand up for themselves.

Andi's memorable characters include Mr. Hoopeyloops, Alabama Oh, Jojo, Puddles, Rex, Rory the Elf, and MerryLyn, with many more on the horizon. Click "follow" to be notified when a new book comes out! And, if you liked the books, please leave a review. It helps me and other readers.

Andi lives in Arizona with her husband, a dog named Beau, chickens, and countless free range bunnies. She loves art, animals, and reading good books!

Visit her website!

Disclosure: Amanda and I own this book from Amazon Kindle. This is our honest and voluntary review.

Monday, December 3, 2018

The Magic of Friendship Snow

The Magic of Friendship Snow

About the Book:

Title: The Magic of Friendship Snow | Author: Andi Cann | Pages: 32 | Genre: Picture Book

Book Description:

Making friends is hard! Once you find a friend, how do you BE a friend?

For every child who struggles to make friends and parents who try to show them how, this book celebrates the special bond between friends.

Jojo looks around and everyone seems to have friends but her. She feels sad and lonely. Then, Jojo meets Puddles, the snowman made with magic friendship snow.

Jojo will reassure children that friendship can be learned. Discover how Jojo makes a forever friend by reading this book.

Purchase on Amazon

Our Review:

The Magic of Friendship Snow is a gorgeously illustrated picture book about the difficulties of making a friend and having to say goodbye to a good friend. Even children can feel lonely at times. In this story, Jojo gets help from a snowman and ends up making a friend with a pet and a neighbor child. One day the neighbor has to move away. Saying goodbye can be sad, but Jojo passes on the magic of friendship snow to help her friend when he gets to the new place.

My daughter, Amanda (age 10), and I really enjoyed the illustrations and we think that this book teaches an important lesson about making friends. We feel that this is a wonderful story for boys and girls ages 5 to 8.

About the Author:

Andi Cann

Andi's early life in the Midwest part of the United States was rich with books, reading, and library visits. Nancy Drew was one of her best friends! Mrs. Gladieux, the town librarian, encouraged her love of reading, and allowed her to check out many more books than allowed! Andi's stories are about children learning to embrace their uniqueness, find friends, or stand up for themselves. Andi's memorable characters include Mr. Hoopeyloops, Alabama Oh, Jojo, Puddles, Rex, Rory the Elf, and MerryLyn, with many more on the horizon.

Disclosure: Amanda and I own this book from Amazon Kindle. This is our honest and voluntary review.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Our Love of Books with Linky

Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #205!

Everyone in our family loves books. I believe that our four kids being strong readers has helped them tremendously with their schooling. My husband and I have never demanded that they be A students, but all four have done well. In 2014, Jeremiah graduated high school with two distinctions, one for English and one for IT. His sister, Jessica, graduated at the end of 2016 and she earned an A average with five distinctions, English being one of them. Samantha has just begun grade 11 and Amanda grade 3 and both are doing very well at school.

I introduced each of them to books from when they were babies. They went from soft fabric books to hard board books and eventually to books with paper pages inside of them. I read to all of my kids and I still read to Amanda. About ten years ago I went through the Narnia series with Jeremiah, Jessica, and Samantha. Jeremiah usually sat on the floor (because he wanted his own space) and the girls on my bed while I read to them. They still remember back to that time fondly, especially the older two who found it easier to follow along.

Books were a catalyst in bringing Robbie and I together. We started our relationship through our work at the book exhibition on the M.V. Doulos, a floating book shop with Operation Mobilization (O.M.). When we got married, our main possessions were books. We are not hoarders of books, though. We have learned, with all the moving that we've done over the years, to give away what we aren't using. However, we still have more books than we need.

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Last week I organized all of Amanda's books and put some aside to give away (with her permission). Her books used to be in the office, but we changed things around and now her books are in her room. I was surprised to discover how many books are activity books, which are pictured in the photo above and take up half of the top shelf. The plastic containers that are on the bottom shelf have Lego in them. That Lego is from my childhood (including my brother's) and Jeremiah's childhood, so two generations. Amanda has her own collection of newer Lego too. She owns Ninjago Lego and Friends Lego (not featured here).

Amanda sleeps on the top bunk in her room, close to the ceiling fan. We live in South Africa, so ceiling fans are necessary. When we moved her books out of the office, I wanted to put her smaller books on the shelf above her bunk. I had just one problem, I didn't have any bookends and the books kept slipping down even when we put things up against them. My solution... a wooden box! Now she reads books to herself at night before going to sleep. Perfect!

The photo above is of the bookcase that Amanda used when she was little. It stood in the passage so that it didn't take up floor space in her room. It's now in Jeremiah's room with his books. When Amanda was little, she loved looking at her books, but she didn't care about putting them away properly. The only reason why the big books on the bottom shelf were stacked neatly was because they were too heavy for her.

Little Amanda with two Disney Fairy Tales books.
The pink one on the right was mine when I was a kid.

Amanda's picture book version of
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Robbie built this bookcase for the
Britannica Books that were given to us.

***************************

My Multicultural Children's
Book Day Review:

Mountain Chef
A True Story
About a Chinese American
who helped "cook up" the
National Park Service

Links of Interest:

Multicultural Children's Book Day

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
(limited supply - open until February 2017)

Free Kindness Classroom Kit for
Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians
and Educators

Diversity Book Lists and Activities
for Teachers and Parents

*********************

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to

link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

Weekend Linky

This is a blog hop!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Sweet T and the North Wind

Book Review Blitz

Early Chapter Book:

Sweet T and the North Wind

About the Book

Summary: Last time a powerful North Wind blew across the lakes, strange things happened. And the winter when Tara turns ten years old, the North Wind blows sharp and the lakes freeze solid by Thanksgiving. Old-timers from the village warn everyone to take care. Tara, or Sweet T as Grandma calls her, is tired of being cooped up indoors on this coldest winter day, and she tries to make the best of the situation. But when Tara makes a wish that is dearest to her heart, T’s ordinary afternoon leads to an hour of magic that takes her on a journey of discovery and a ride she’ll never forget. This gentle story of a family across the generations weaves enough magic and whimsy to interest children. It also subtly raises the real-life issue of aging. “Sweet T” entertains while opening the door for children to discuss, in an age-appropriate way, the illness of a beloved family member.

My Review

Sweet T and the North Wind is a story about developing the imagination, remembering happy times, the value of grandparents and dealing with illness in old age. I read this beautifully illustrated story to my six-year-old, Amanda. I asked Amanda if the pictures were drawn (like with pencils or crayons) or if they were painted. She told me that they were painted. Then I asked if she knew what kind of paint was used. She replied, "Watercolor?" Such a bright girl, she made me so happy.

Once we finished the story, I asked her what she liked most about it. She said she liked that it was a chapter book (I hadn't expected that response), she liked that the grandma and grandchild loved each other so much, and she liked that the grandma didn't die.

This is a fun educational book. I recommend it for children 6 years and older.

The Buzz About the Book

“This children’s book is lovely to read and the artwork is gorgeous. I’m looking forward to more books from this author.” ~ 5 Star Review, Shirley, Amazon

“Sweet T and the North Wind by Cat Michaels is an adventurous story with whimsy and magic that enchant. The author tickles the creative and imaginative thoughts of young readers. The illustrations are beautiful and bright, and they both enhance the story and breathe life into the characters and the scenes.” ~ Mamta Madhavan, Readers’ Favorite>

“This is a wonderful story! Writing and illustrations are very nice! I bought two copies, one for myself and one for my class. I’m working with 5th graders and we’re practicing writing our own stories and I’ll be using this book to encourage them to keep writing.” ~ 5 Star Review, Pati, Amazon

About the Author:

Cat Michaels

CAT MICHAELS is a writer, small-space gardener, choral singer, and digital dabbler who started writing stories in fourth grade and hasn’t stopped since.

She spins tales of everyday life, with a twist of magic or mayhem, that open young minds to new ways of looking at the world. With more than two decades helping students from kindergarten to college overcome the challenges of learning disabilities and Asperger’s syndrome, Cat’s books encourage students to use their imagination and problem-solving skills as they enjoy reading.

Watercolor artist Irene A. Jahns illustrates Cat’s Sweet T Tales. This series of chapter books for early readers follows the adventures of three sisters. Book 1, Sweet T and the North Wind, is available in print and will debut as an e-book in winter 2014. Book 2, Finding Fuzzy, a You-Decide Tale of a Lost Friend, where children write or draw the story’s ending, earned second place honors in the Purple Dragonfly Book Award.

Website | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

About the Illustrator:

Irene Jahns

IRENE JAHNS grew up in a family of artists and formalized her skills with a degree in art and M.S. in human learning and human development, University of North Carolina-Charlotte. She has been a working/exhibiting artist as well as an art educator for many years. Irene was an organizational development instructor as a management consultant in the business world for twelve years before returning to art instruction as the head of graphic design for a community college.

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of this book for my honest review.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet #37

Today I'm linking with two Friday hops!

Finish the Sentence Friday and Friendship Friday.

And, don't forget to link your blog at

the bottom on my blog hop!

Finish the Sentence Friday - May 17

When I was younger, I wanted to……

own a candy store. I loved imagining being surrounded by all the colorful sweets and seeing the wonder and joy on children’s faces. For me, a candy store was one of the happiest places to spend your days. It wouldn’t feel like work at all and I’d sample the tasty treats whenever I wanted to.

I still remember what house we were living in when I day-dreamed about my candy store, so I would have been around 10 years old at the time. It was a step up from a lemonade stand, something I also did in those days. Believe it or not, people stopped their cars and bought lemonade in those days. I was thrilled to make a bit of money and to see the smiles on the adults’ faces.

It's Children's Book Week and the theme for Friendship Friday

is on childhood books, favorite authors and your children's

favorite books.

When I was younger, I didn't have many children's books around

me. I couldn't read in English either, so that didn't help.

English was my home language, but the school I attended from

the end of Kindergarten to part of Grade 3 was a German school

in Germany. My dad was stationed there in the American Army in

the JAG Corps. My mom was half Austrian and spoke German and

I had a grandfather and grandmother who were living in Germany.

My parents decided that my brother and I would be better off

learning the language if we went to the closest German school

instead of the even closer American school.

Later on, from about Grade 5 and onward, I began reading avidly.

One of my favorite novels in my teen years was Jane Eyre.

As I began reading for my own children, we went through the

Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. That was great fun for all of us,

but sometimes my then youngest child, Samantha, got a bit lost

with the characters.

Amanda, my youngest who is now 5, has many children's books

available to her. More than half of her library are books

from her siblings when they were younger. Amanda enjoys

looking at all of them.

Make sure you check out the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop!

I have teamed up with the author of a really neat

Mermaid eBook and we are giving 5 away! Also,

on the linky list there are many other giveaways

for this Children's Book Week. So, don't miss out!

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
Link up your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

This is a blog hop!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #29

Today I’m participating in Janine’s

“Finish the Sentence Friday” writing prompt,

so sit back and enjoy a good read!

One time when I was bored out of my mind, I…

picked up the novel, Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story), by Michael Ende, from off of my grandparents’ bookshelf. I was a child living in Germany and visiting my grandparents (my Oma and Opa). In those days there weren’t too many programs on TV and very few were geared towards children. Sometimes the weather was too bad to roam outside. I also didn’t have anyone to play with unless a friend came to visit, but it was a 2 hour drive from our home and from where my friends lived to my Oma and Opa’s home at the North Sea. German was my second language, but the novel was really difficult to read. Many of the words I didn’t even recognize. It took me several days, but eventually I finished it.

Since I got married and had kids, I don’t have time to be bored. My kids are rarely bored too, because they have more things and more good friends to keep them occupied today than I did back in my day. They also have daily chores, which aren’t hard to do, and this also keeps them busy.

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet (M.M.S.S.) blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

If you would like to be a guest co-host

on my Wednesday hop or on my
Saturday hop, then contact me at:

morleychristina[at]gmail[dot]com

I would love for you to follow me on Google Friend Connect

and also on

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
Link up your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

This is a blog hop!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Old and New Disney Books of Fairy Tales

Disney Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales

and Walt Disney’s Giant Book of Fairy Tales

When I was young, books were not a big part of my life, perhaps because I first learned to read in German. I only learned to read in my first language of English when I was in 4th grade, but only very poorly. In 5th grade the spelling of English words began to make sense. By the time I was in 6th grade, I loved reading.

Walt Disney’s Giant Book of Fairy Tales

My kids have grown up with books. They all love to read. I consider myself very fortunate that they do. Amanda isn’t old enough to read, but she has a small library of children’s books passed on from me and her siblings. Often, when I pick Amanda up from school (she’s in a playgroup), she will be sitting in the book section looking at a book. It’s really cute.

Walt Disney’s Giant Book of Fairy Tales

I thought it would be fun to share about an old book, Walt Disney’s Giant Book of Fairy Tales, from my childhood and a new book, Disney Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales, from Amanda’s 4th birthday. My book is roughly 31 years old. Amanda got her book this year.

There are 188 pages with 39 stories in my book beginning with Pinocchio and ending with Snow-White and Rose-Red. These stories are very entertaining and intriguing for children who are old enough to read. I’ve enjoyed them and my two older daughters have too. It’s the larger book of the two with more advanced stories, which makes it more suitable for older children.

Disney Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales

Amanda’s book has 303 pages with 14 stories and many nursery rhymes. It’s a big book, but not too big for my 4-year-old. She is able to carry it around and turn its pages without needing help. The Table of Contents is brilliant, because it includes thumbnail pictures next to the titles to help little ones identify which story they would like to have read to them. Amanda uses this system regularly when choosing a story. The stories are short enough and easy to follow. She also loves nursery rhymes, so that has been a great addition to this book. The Disney Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales is a wonderful gift for young children and it even comes with 200 stickers inside.

I'm linking with the Kid Lit Blog Hop on Mother Daughter Book Reviews.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Nicknames

My brother and I, Western Cape, South Africa

Do you have a nickname? Do you use nicknames in your home?

I associated nicknames from family members as a form of endearment, but I grew up in a home where nicknames were not really used. On a few occasions I wished I had one, other than Tina, which is short for Christina. When I was a teenager, my brother called me Peanut Brittle. He did this for a couple of weeks.

For me, hearing a cute nickname from him was a big deal. When we lived under the same roof, my brother was hardly ever civil toward me (this is litotes – an understatement). I knew that I should never tell him that I liked it, but I’m an encourager. One day, against my better judgment, I bubbled over and told him it was a neat nickname. Well, I never heard it again, at least not while we lived in the same house.

Christina, Western Cape, South Africa

It’s funny how things work out, because I married an only child whose mother had several nicknames for her son. This was hard for me, as I felt that he was dearer than I, but now I know that she didn't intend it that way. My husband carries on the tradition and makes up names for lots of things. When Jeremiah was a baby and had a stinky diaper, my husband called it a pongo. Two of his nicknames for Amanda have been Amanda the Panda and Tookie Bear.

Do you use nicknames in your home, and if so, do they have a special meaning behind them? I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and I will reply.

My husband and brother enjoying a simple picnic after touring some of the
wine estates, Western Cape, South Africa. I took this awesome photo.

Please check out my photography blog 1camera1mom where I give tips on editing photos and making great memories.

P.S. My brother and I were reconciled years ago.