The Reading Railroad 017

Hi! Special offer of Veggie Tales, Disney and Blues Clues VHS

Walked into my neighbors house and saw all these VHS boxes in her house. She told me she was going to sell them and give the money to her nephew as a surprise. Her nephew out grew a lot of his VHS video's and so I offered to put an announcement in my newsletter. Thought you might be interested in them because of their outstanding price. Click here to see the list. Wait about 30 seconds to give the document a chance to open.

They are just for private use and not gift quality because of the covers, but the casing on the VHS are clean and in great shape.

Please email my friend if you are interested. You can pay her through paypal. Tell her what you want to purchase and she will send you the cost including shipping. Her name is Diane. Diane456@comcast.net

In this issue:
I. Note to Parents
II. 15 Minute Reading Activities
III.Holiday Gift Ideas
IV. Santa Claus - a Personal Letter to Your Child!
V. Kids Site of the Month
VI. Book of the Month for Kids
VII. Award Winning Books For Kids - Great Gifts
VIII. What’s YOUR Story? – Tell us about it!
IX. Past issues of the Reading Railroad -live on the Internet
X.Discounts, Coupons, Specials for your holiday shopping.
New Holiday Greeting Cards

---------------------------

I. Note to Parents
Well, the holidays are coming and I don't know about you, but I am starting to decide what I want to give to whom!

Of course books are always at the top of my list My oldest grandchild, who is 6-1/2 yrs old. loves to draw and to build things. As I have been searching the net and local stores, thought it would be fun to share my findings and ideas. This issue and the next issue will focus on neat ideas for kids and, of course, an article on reading tips.

II. 15 Minutes Reading Activities?
From the National PTA

Make 15 minutes go a long way. Try these quick reading activities with your younger kids.

1. License to read. On car trips, make it a game to point out and read license plates, billboards, and interesting road signs.

2. Better than TV. Swap evening TV for a good action story or tale of adventure.

3. Look and listen. Too tired to read aloud? Listen to a book on tape and turn the book's pages with your children. You'll still be reading with them!

4. Labels, labels, labels. Label things in your children's room as they learn to name them. Have fun while they learn that written words are connected to everyday things.

5. Pack a snack, pack a book. Going someplace where there might be a long wait? Bring along a snack and a bag of favorite books.

6. Recipe for reading. The next time you cook with your children, read the recipe with them. Step-by-step instructions, ingredients, and measurements are all part of words in print!

7. Shop and read. Notice and read signs and labels in the supermarket. Back home, putting away groceries is another great time for reading labels.

8. Your long-distance lap. Away on a business trip? Take a few books with you, call home, and have your child curl up by the phone for a good night story.

9. A reading pocket. Slip fun things to read into your pocket to bring home: a comic strip from the paper, a greeting card, or even a fortune cookie from lunch. Create a special, shared moment your child can look forward to every day.

10. A little longer? When your child asks to stay up a little longer, say yes and make it a 15-minute family reading opportunity.

III. Holiday Special Gift Ideas

1. Kids just love to read their name in print or hear there name when listening to music. Look at the personalized books and music CD's in the left column of this page.

2. A magazine gift subscription lasts all year long!

 Science Weekly: Level A Grade 1

 Science Weekly: Level B Grade 2

 Science Weekly: Level C Grade 3

It takes 12-16 weeks to receive the 1st issue, so order it today if you are interested.

FREE Zoobooks Issue and Tiger Poster!
Simply written and beautifully illustrated. Each monthly issue "captures" one of 60 different animals through magnificent photography, illustrations, diagrams, descriptions and includes interactive activity pages. Kids get "up close and personal" with the world's most amazing creatures.

3. If you are wanting to purchase a train set, accessories or tracks, our
Train Table Plans Site has just been totally updated.

IV. Santa Claus - A Personal Letter to Your Child!
Delight your child this Christmas with a personalized letter from Santa Claus, postmarked The North Pole, that they will remember for years to come.

Santa personalizes each letter with your child's name, best friend's name (optional), hometown, and state. And you get to choose from 12 different letters in English and 6 in Spanish. So... read more about sending your child a Personalized Letters from Santa.

V. Kids Site of the Month

Daisy Math is an award winning site from Australia designed to help kids learn math. It is fun, free and informative. This site was originally designed by an Australian professor of math, Professor Myles Harding, to help his young daughter (Daisy) understand the basic concepts of mathematics.
Ages 3 - 12.

VI. Book of the Month for Kids

The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein

A little boy befriends a tree. Loving and generous, the tree provides everything she can for him -- fruit, shade, a place for a swing -- throughout the boy's life. He, in turn, takes from the tree without noticing the sacrifices she makes. It isn't until he's old and gratefully rests on her stump that he understands all she has done for him. Ages 4 - 8.
This make a wonderful gift for any occassion.

To see more books that I have recommended in the past go to See at the back issues of the Reading Railroad

Discussion Questions
1. At the end of the story, are you happy or sad? Why?

2. If you could change one part of the story, what part would you change? What is your reason for changing that part of the story?

3. How is the tree like a real person?

4. Can you think of people you know that are like the tree?

5. Every time the boy returns, the tree asks him to play; but the boy always has an excuse not to. What do you suppose is the reason the boy does this?

6. What do you think is the reason the tree does the tree do so much for the boy? person who wrote the story, the narrator, tell us, "And the tree was happy." How does this make you feel?

7. When you read it again at the end of the story, how do you feel?

8. How are you like the tree in the story?

9. How are you like the boy in the story?

VII. Award Winning Books for Kids

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist with the most distinguished American illustrations in children's books, given by the Association for Library Service to Children.

The Man Who Walked Between The Towers
Ages 4 - 8.

Honor Books
Ellah Sarah Gets Dressed. Ages 3 - 5.
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? Ages 4 - 8.
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Ages 4 - 8.

The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence for Excellence in Children's Video is given to the video's producer by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of ALA, through a Carnegie endowment.

Giggle, Giggle, Quack, DVD
Giggle, Giggle, Quack, VHS
Ages Baby - Preschool.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), under the auspices of its We the People Bookshelf initiative, has established the We the People Bookshelf to highlight a short list of classic books that share a theme important to the nation's heritage. 2004 focuses on the theme of "courage."

Sam the Minute Man
Ages 4 - 8.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Ages 4 - 8.

Paul Revere's Ride
Ages 4 - 8.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Ages Baby - Preschool.

2003 Laural Ingalls Wilder Medal Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
Eric Carle is the current winner. Here are a few of his books.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book

Other books by this author:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Do You Want to Be My Friend? Board Book
The Tiny Seed
From Head to Toe

2004 The Pura Belpré Medal Award is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

For Illustration
Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book
Ages 4 - 8.

For Narrative
First Day in Grapes

VIII. What’s YOUR Story? – Tell us!
How have the ideas in the Reading Railroad has been helpful? We would love to hear your success story and put it in the newsletter so other can benefit from your experience!

IX. Past issues of the Reading Railroad
Back Issues of the Reading Railroad

X. Discounts, Coupons and Specials
On my site, www.super-science-fair-projects, a whole page is devoted to discounts and coupons. DiscoverThis, Discovery Channel, and Hobbytron all have items for preschool and primary grade kids. There are also discounts for computers and office supplies.

Holdiay greeting card coupons can be found under the headings...
1). Cameras, Discount Photo Development and Free Digital Online Storage
2). Online Discounts and Coupons for Holiday Greeting Cards and Business Cards

After you click on the banner to the left, you will see the menu on the left side of the page. Toys are listed according to gender and age. Most of the toys are wonderful learning toys. This is a great site.

HSAHOL - $5 off $35 at HearthSong!
Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving. Free shipping coupon code: HS78. Expires December 31, 2004.

Discount Package Maker - Here's how it works: To get the best possible deal on more than one magazine click on the arrow of the title box, select your magazine, click on the "add" button. When you complete adding your selections, click on the "Get Quote" button.

The take 5 package makes for a great holiday gift solution for all the family. Individual magazines within the package can be delivered to different addresses! So... you can send 5 magazines to 5 different addresses for $30 or less.

You can save up to 80% on all merchandise - from electronics to household items to baby clothes.