Free Book Vending Machines Bring Reading To Kids In Need

JetBlue Airways is taking off for a special mission this summer.
As part of a program to promote summer reading in underserved communities, the airline has installed free book vending machines in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood, that has limited access to reading resources, according to a press release.
The initiative, which is a joint effort with Random House Children's Books, launched on Wednesday, with vending machines installed in a church, a grocery store and a branch of the Salvation Army in Southeast D.C., the Kojo Nnamdi Show blog reported.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III reads to children

at the ‘Soar with Reading’ kick-off in Southeast, D.C.

ABOUT JETBLUE:  JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 32 million customers a year to 90 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 875 daily flights. For more information please visit JetBlue.com.

ABOUT RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN'S BOOKS:  Random House Children's Books is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company's website, Kids @ Random (www.randomhousekids.com), offers an array of activities, games, and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.

Read full article: Huff Post Community Kindness


       

You can make a safer world for kids

Every parent, grandparent and carer wants to keep their child healthy and safe...right? Well here is a wonderful resource that can help you make a safer world for children - 

A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Your Kids Alive and Safe

To use the actual guide go here

This informative page has been created by physicians at ACLS Medical Training. It describes some simple steps parents can take to help make children safer including helmet safety, kitchen safety, seat belt and child passenger safety. 

The fun thing is that it is all done through an interactive page that outlines 14 tips you can use to make your world a safer place for children. How to approach a strange dog, how to keep your internet safe, the best placement for smoke detectors in the home are all explained.

This factual addition to your safety knowledge provides useful reminders with links to expert, up to date and more detailed information on each of the topics seen in the image. A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Your Kids Alive and Safe helps make a safer world for kids. 

The good news is that you can help protect children from injury by being informed.  

FRUGAL FRIDAY: Walk to School

Oh for the good old days when I use to walk about 2 miles to school and home every day. My mother did not work but she never drove me and my sister to school, it was not even thought of.  We walked to a neighbour's house and a couple of kids joined us and then to another house a few doors along and got another girl and we all walked along together. It was fun and it was what was done back then. Now we have to convince people that walking :

• is good exercise
• gets our brains working
• is fun
• reduces stress
• reduces TV and computer time 
• saves petrol money 
• is great for the environment as there are less fumes and less use of petrol

Now we have to have Walk To School Iniatives as so few children walk to school.

One of these initiatives says: Take Your Kids To School With Walking Buses, Bicycle Trains, Anything But Cars if at all possible.  WHY? More kids are killed in cars than in any other mode of transportation, yet that is how most of them get to school.

So it is safer to walk to school than go in a car! There is also a website that can help you learn how to start a walking bus like me and my sister did every day. I personally also think the exercise and frugal angles are a big plus in walking to school.

WALK TO SCHOOL INITIATIVES - WORLDWIDE

United Kingdom Walk to School

Canada Go For Green

Canada Active and Safe Routes to School

United States Walk to School

Australian Walk Safely to School

OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES
National Center for Safe Routes to School USA

Walking and Bicycling to School: Community Presentation
Train the Trainer
Walk to School Programs Fact Sheet
KidsWalk-to-School Brochure
KidsWalk-to-School: A Guide to Promote Walking to School
Download Max!

Other Resources

EARLY CHILDHOOD NEWS, BLOGS and COMMUNITY

EARLY PLAY AUSTRALIA is a great place to visit if you have young children or work in this area.

Here you will find many good blogs by teachers and parents in a variety of styles and subject matter and news items about early childhood in Australia.

• Find out how to conduct a Nature Treasure Hunt at Bowerbird Blue



• see what Males in Early Childhood is up to



• read reviews of books for babies at Australian Picture Books



• contemplate design, thrifting, aspergers and sewing at squiggly rainbow



• find ideas for outdoor fun, including gardening with kids and parachute games, at 52 days to explore.



• catch up on what is happening at playgroups and childcare and preschools

International Children's Day

CHILDREN IN NAMIBIA

In honour of all children around the world we are posting some sites that we recommend about children. We hope you enjoy browsing these varied sites:

• early play - early childhood activities and topics


• earth sky sea child - enviro friendly ideas and purchases for children


• Humanitarian Action for Children - UNICEF site


• let the children play - inspiring early childhood education


• Making books with Children - resources for more than 9 books


• Raising Children Network - For parenting newborns to teens


• SOS Children: SOS Schools Worldwide - the world's largest charity for orphans


• UN page with links such as: Programme for the Education of Children in Difficult Circumstances, World Health Organization, Child Health, Child and Adolescent Health and Development, Children and Youth, Child Protection Initiatives and Child Labour.


• The Condition of Children Worldwide at Children's Rights Portal includes right to life, education, food, health, water, identity, fundamental freedoms and protection.


• Youth off the streets - services to assist homeless and disadvantaged youth celebrates 20 years in Australia

Books for babies

Great Australian author, Mem Fox, is passionate about reading to babies from birth and the magic it creates. She believes reading with your child, or any child, has wonderful effects on the babies development. Of course many studies confirm the value of reading aloud to very young children especially in the cognitive area. Mem says"I'd like to deemphasize the brain for a while by focusing yet again on the heart and the role that emotional factors play in the development of literacy...on intangible, affective influences on reading because I believe it's time someone stood up and told those miserable, measurable, cognitive factors they've had more then their fair share of our time for years, with precious little to show for it other than an appalling level of illiteracy and a high level of cultural ignorance." Mem Fox in “Radical Reflections”, 1993.
So what books are good to read to babies? Basically any picture books you enjoy reading.

I like:

I Went Walking by Sue Machin

Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Spring is Here by Taro Gomi

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Baby Faces by DK Publishing

and of course books by Mem Fox like:

Where is the Green Sheep and

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

- Lots more book suggestions at Early Childhood.

- EARLY CHILDHOOD BOOKSTORE which contains most books suggested on this site.

- For more information on Why you should be reading to children get Reading Magic by Mem Fox