Friday 5 December 2014

Children'S Books & Activities

Keep kids occupied with books and activities.


Keeping your kids entertained can be difficult at times. Most parents and teachers are well aware of the hazards an idle child can get into, which is why it is necessary to keep kids occupied at all times. This is where children books and activities come into the picture. They not only help entertain the kids, but also work to teach the little sponges something new all the time.


Intent/Purpose


Children's books are usually written with the intent of teaching the young reader a lesson, spreading cultural awareness or to tell a story. Some children's books like "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in the Ears of People," an African folktale, have dual purposes as they teach a lesson and spread the African culture. Fables, folktales, and potty training books are the subject of some series of books.


Classics


Classics are books most children read before becoming teenagers, and these vary based on cultures and countries. In the United States, some classics include "Green Eggs and Ham," "The Giving Tree," "Charlotte's Web," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," while in France, a classic children's book is "Le Petit Prince."


Picture Books


Picture books are aimed at much younger children, and help them make associations between images and written words and, in some cases, introduce children to rhyming words to make connections between word sounds and spelling. The amount of words and their difficulty depends on the intended reading level, ranging from one word per image and page to one sentence per image and page. Examples of picture books include "The Hungry Caterpillar" and "Hop on Pop."


Book Series/Collections


Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia are two book series among the most popular children's book series, and are intended for pre-teens more than young children. Book series are created to allow children to follow characters and read as they mature, and also to expand on famous characters from children's shows and movies. For younger children, book series that are popular are "Junie B. Jones" and "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid."


Skill-Building Activities


Flash cards, multiplication games, matching games and Simon Says are all activities that improve the skill set of children, whether for learning multiplication tables, building memory or heightening listening and instruction-following skills. Activities like these can be done indoors or outdoors.


Physical Activities


Just as important as it is to stimulate the mind, the bodies of children need to be worked out as well, especially with the increased health issue of childhood obesity. Any sport is good physical activity and sports that can be done indoors as well as outdoors, like tennis, volleyball and basketball, work in any situation. A trip to the local park, bike riding and camping allow children to not only be physical, but to appreciate nature.


Crafts and Puzzles


Typically, these activities are thought to be done on a rainy day, but they can be fun at any time. Coloring pages, finger painting and puzzles allow children to use their creativity.

Tags: allow children, book series, books activities, children book, children book series, done indoors