November 30th, 2009
As a first time mother, I set high goals for my child and myself. Having my son read by three is the one of the biggest aspirations I’ve made. As a stay-at-home mom I try to use much of my time implementing reading to my son. I am constantly reading out loud the things I am currently reading for myself as well. It is overwhelming for me to decide where to start. It just seems like a huge undertaking. My sister-in-law, whom I highly respect, was in town and I noticed her son reading Bob Books. I found myself so intrigued that I had to try them out as well.
Bob Books are a scholastic award-winning reading program for children. They have a full collection books ranging from Alphabet, Word families, to Compound words. Being that my son is only 14 months I have started him on the “My First Bob Books” program. This program helps my son identify shapes, learning that letters have sounds, recognizing simple patterns, and more. The Pre-reading collection has the simplest illustrations using shapes as stick figures for their characters. This adds a whole new dimension on teaching shapes to my little one. The Alphabet collection consists of 12 books that introduce the 26 letters. The repetition of sounds and letters has really helped my son. It is so cute when he tries to imitate them.
Bob Books have provided not only a useful tool helping my sons learning but makes it enjoyable as well. I am finding myself longing to read to him in order to see the expressions he makes. When I first started this journey I wanted to give up so many times because I didn’t feel like he was that interested. A friend on mine encouraged me to keep reading to him even if it seemed like he wasn’t paying attention. As I continue to do this I am finally seeing the fruit of the perseverance. My son now brings books to us to read to him. I look forward to investing in more of the Bob Book collections! I will keep you posted on the journey!
No Comments | In: Ages- Newborn to 1yr., Ages- Preschooler, Ages- Toddler, Books, Educational | tags: Bob books, Educational, Learning, reading, scholastic. | #
January 6th, 2009
With the increase of autism diagnosis (1 in 166 children), I start to wonder what might be the causes that trigger this developmental disorder. Some experts or moms who have an autistic child, say it’s genetic, some say it’s the vaccinations, and others say it’s diet. However, these are all theories and can’t be fully proven. There are a myriad of theories that try to get to the root of the issue of autism, but are never clear and don’t have enough research materials to prove it. The the truth is that autism is on the rise and most are boys. So, with two boys, I find myself fearful of the possible causes. Although vaccine might be a possible cause, I firmly believe in vaccinating my children. So, I did some research a while back and discovered The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. He is a co-author of several books in the Sears Parenting series, addresses one of today’s most controversial and worrisome. Sears’ goal is “to give you a balanced look at pros and cons of vaccination so that you can make an educated decision.” Let me tell you, after reading his book, it’s so even keel and balanced that helped me understand everything in detail about diseases and the DNA of vaccinations. The first 12 chapters discuss each vaccination in the childhood series, providing explanation of the relative disease, how the vaccine is made and points to assess a child’s at-risk level when considering if the vaccine is necessary. After reading the book, it served as a guidance to me because I was very indecisive about vaccinating my child. I believed in vaccinating, but didn’t want to risk my child for autism by giving him 4-5 shots at one time at a very, very early age. The Vaccine Book is based on clinical experience and 13 years of research taken from product inserts, pediatric reference books, articles and databases and I really related to his thoughts on the topic. Additional chapters illuminate more controversial aspects of the debate, such as how vaccine safety is researched and what the findings are, side effects and how to minimize them, common myths and questions. One incredible thing about this book is that Dr. Bob Sears provides an alternate vaccination schedule compared to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended schedule. The main difference is that the Dr. Bob’s “alternate” schedule delays each shot about a month apart and only has 2 vaccines shots per visit as well as separating out the MMR vaccines as 3, not one full shot. The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears provided such a clear reasoning for and against administering each vaccine and gave me the confidence to make my own decisions in choosing what’s best for my kiddies. I completely and utterly recommend this book. It’s authoritative yet very balanced.
No Comments | In: Ages- Newborn to 1yr., Ages- Toddler, Books, Educational, Learning | tags: autism, dr. bob sears, the vaccine book, vaccinations. | #
