How To Help Your Daughter Plan The Best Sleepover Ever

The Best Sleepover Guide For Girls

Plan the sleepover of your dreams! The only thing more exciting than a sleepover is planning one! Filled with awesome slumber party ideas for girls, this book guides party hosts from planning to clean up. Inside, you'll find tons of ideas for crafts, activities, yummy foods and snacks to help you with your totally unique and super fun sleepover. This book includes examples of themed sleepover invitations, 3 detailed DIY craft projects and a big list of games and how to play them. You’ll even find the most amazing pancake recipe to make for breakfast the next day!

This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through the link I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you.  Please see my disclosure here.

Whether you want to have a simple pajama party or go all-out with a theme party, this guide has all you need to plan the epic sleepover party you and your friends will never forget!

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As a mother of 4 kids (2 being pre-teen girls) sleepovers have become a big deal in our house! My girls spend countless hours thinking up sleepover ideas like crafts, activities and games or movies to do with their friends.

We have hosted many sleepovers at our house with their friends and the girls have attended many sleepovers at their friends' houses. These sleepovers were the inspiration for me to write this ebook so that you and your kids can come up with some great ideas to do at your own sleepover parties.

When my girls first started hosting their own and attending sleepovers I enjoyed telling them about the sleepovers I had when I was a kid. They love to hear stories like this! Now it is their turn and they love planning and throwing a good party! I'm sure these fun parties with their friends are going to make great memories for them!

The Best Sleepover Guide For Girls is chocked full of ideas from activities and games, crafts and even food/snacks for a sleepover. Also included are three detailed craft projects that your daughter can do with their friends. 

Oh! Don't forget about breakfast the next day - this ebook even has the Ultimate Pancake Recipe included at the end. I guarantee these pancakes will be a hit for breakfast!

Whether this is your daughter's first sleepover or 100th, this book will help inspire her next sleepover so it is an epic party and event!

Guess what? You can easily access this ebook on your Kindle through Amazon. Get your copy of The Best Sleepover Guide for Girls and start planning with your daughter. 

If you don't mind please leave a review for the ebook so others can find it on Amazon too!

Top 10 Reasons Why It is Important to Read To Your Children

When my children were just little tiny infants barely able to hold their heads up or even sit on their own we made sure to start reading to them. Babies love hearing their mommy or daddy's voice and reading is a great way for them to listen to you while you tell a little story.

Of course the first books we started reading were the durable board books that could last through the child exploring the book on their own. By exploring on their own I mean chewing on the pages, licking it and many times dropping or throwing it down on the floor. Those board books sure could take a beating but I just loved watching my child explore a book.

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FAVORITE BOARD BOOKS

find HERE

Here are a few of my favorite board books that I read to my children when they were young:

find it HERE

Because we started reading out loud to our children at a very young age their love for books and listening to stories took root and they enjoyed being read to. Starting this practice at an early age helped our children as they became energetic and wiggly toddlers (1-3 years old) to sit quietly on our laps and listen to a story.

If your little one has a hard time sitting still on your lap that is totally normal! Just keep trying and eventually I promise, they will start sitting with you listening to the story and looking at the pictures. Be patient with your child and let them explore the book in whatever way they choose. Also, don't expect too much from a youngster - remember their attention span is short!

We read short stories when they were very young and as they got older (3-4 years old) and could sit still and listen for longer periods of time we started reading lengthier stories.  Like -

find is HERE

find is HERE

find it HERE

Even though my kids can read on their own (except our youngest), I still make it a point to read books aloud to them almost every day and especially before bedtime. Most nights as my youngest sits on my lap to hear a bedtime story the older children wander into his bedroom just to listen to the story too. Who doesn't love listening to a treasured story that you've already heard a hundred times being read one more time! 

I'm not a trained teacher, doctor or psychologist but as an mother I can say in full confidence that reading books to my children has been one of the most important things I have done for my kids. The benefits are immense and lifelong. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics it is recommended that parents start reading out loud to their children from the time they are born! (source)

I put together a list of 10 reasons why it is important to read to your children and I hope this inspires you to start today or keep reading if you are already doing so.

10 Reasons Why It Is Important To Read Aloud To Your Children

1. Books are Brain Food - reading is GOOD for your child's brain! Regions of the left part of the child's brain become active, even in infants, when they are being read to. So the more you read to your child the more you help the neurons in this left region of the brain grow and connect in a way that will benefit the child in the future.

2. Promotes Physical Closeness and Bonding - Holding your child in your lap or having them sit next to you while you read out loud to them is one of the most pleasurable activities that you can do with your child. This unhurried time the child has with their parent, who is focused only on them (put that phone away mommy!) benefits both the child and parent.

3. Fosters Short and Long Term Positive Behavioral Traits - a study done by the American Academy of Pediatrics to determine the impact on social-emotional development of a child who experiences positive parenting through reading aloud and play shows how big the impact reading and playing with young children can have in shaping their social and emotional development. Reducing problem behaviors like hyperactivity, aggression and difficulty with attention are all benefits from reading to your child the study found

4. Spark Your Child's Imagination and Creativity - reading just adds a little fuel to their already imaginative and creative fire. Why not stoke those flames with good stories from a variety of genres!

5. Jump Start Your Child's Language and Literacy Skills - whether you homeschool like us or not, reading aloud to your child will give them a jump start in preparation for kindergarten with better vocabulary, higher literacy, better concentration and the ability to pay attention.

6. Quiet Time is Precious Time - everyone needs a little "down time" in their busy day and that includes young children. Maybe they have outgrown nap time but they certainly haven't outgrown some quite down time. This is the perfect opportunity to read to your son or daughter giving them that much needed break from their busy lives.

7.  Begin to Build an Appreciation for Art and Writing - what child doesn't love to look at the pictures in a picture book? Seeing the pictures and listening to the story all help your child piece together the story and the sequence of the story's events. Learning about colors, shapes and even different media used to create the pictures is a way to help your young child begin to appreciate art.

8. Learn New and Fun Facts - filling their little minds up with fun and interesting facts from the books your read to them is just plain FUN. Knowledge is power so why not start instilling this concept into them from an early age.

9. A Great Way For A Child To Explore The World - from the safety of their own home, in the lap of a trusted adult, you can introduce your child to different cultures, languages, foods and traditions through a book.

10. Promotes Communication - encourage your child to communicate by asking questions about the pictures, what the main character is doing, how the story makes them feel. Building a solid relationship through communication with your child at a young age will benefit them throughout their childhood and into their teen years.

Let's not stop at 10 reasons. What other benefits to books provide for Children?

Parenting Tips - Summer Reading Book List

Looking for a fabulous printable to keep track of what you and your child read together? This awesome Summer Activity Planner has the perfect tool - a Summer Reading Book List that you can fill in as you read. Kids will have such a sense of accomplishment at the end of summer seeing all the books they read (or you read to them)! (affiliate link)

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Ultimate Anne of Green Gables Collection

Amazon Kindle

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Did you grow up reading these wonderful stories? Maybe you lost yourself in the stories, pretending to personally know Anne as a childhood friend, defending her from the taunts of Gibert Blythe, all while secretly wishing you had red hair? (your secret is safe here!)

Anne of Green Gables has become one of the most famous characters of literature of all time! Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of the "Anne" books created some of the most endearing and unforgettable characters that have charmed and held readers captive as they read about the lives and adventures of Anne, Gilbert, Diana and Matthew & Marilla Cuthbert. 

This 11 year old girl has been the inspiration of many plays, movies and TV shows and continues to inspire readers of all ages. 

Did you know that L.M. Montgomery, a prolific writer, published MANY more stories in addition to the Anne books that are full of her writing style and well developed characters that are a treasure all on their own! 

My girls love to read so after they finished the Anne series of books, that they fell in love with, they naturally wanted more L.M. Montgomery stories to read. They were pleasantly surprised to find the many additional short stories and "off-shoot" stories all written by Montgomery to read. So was I! 

These books are timeless. TIMELESS. And well worth the time you spend reading them - I guarantee it. 

Did you know that you can get the entire collection (excluding a few books that are not yet in the public domain) plus + many of the short stories + additional stories that are offshoots of the original Anne books? Yep - the entire collection for you on Amazon! And at a super low price!

The following link will take you directly to this wonderful collection: Ultimate Anne of Green Gables Collection

Don't wait get your copy now and dive into the life and world of Anne Shirley.

Enjoy,
Erin

10 of The Best Books for Children ages 8 - 13

Books are one of the most important tools you can provide for your children as they are growing and learning. Making sure you are reading to them or they are reading good books is essential to their success throughout their school age years. 

Sometimes though as a parent it is hard to know what the best books to let your children read are so I've put together a list of the top 10 Children's books for ages 8-13 to get you started!

Designed by Freepik

Maybe you noticed (or maybe not) that I/we are a homeschooling family. One of the many "perks" of this job are the wonderful stories and books I get to read to/with my children.

I have to confess there have been books that I had to take a quick break from because I got choked up and needed to go dry some tears - but isn't that one great reason to share books with your kids? So you can experience the story's emotional ups and downs with your children.

For the last seven years we have been using Sonlight for our main curriculum. If you know anything about Sonlight you know that the program has a rich selection of great quality literature. We just love it!

This book list includes some of the books Sonlight offers in their curriculums as well as many other stories that are good quality books.

Top Ten Books for Children Ages 8-13

1.  The Secret Garden - by Frances Hodgson Burnett

via: Amazon

2.  Heidi - by Johanna Spyri

3. Red Sand, Blue Sky - by Cathy Applegate

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (series) - by C.S. Lewis

via: Amazon

5.  Anne of Green Gables the Ultimate Collection - by L.M. Montgomery

via Amazon

6. Johnny Tremain - by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward

7. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew - by Margaret Sidney

8. Red Sails to Capri - by Ann Weil

via: Amazon

9. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E.L. Konigsburg

via: Barnes & Noble

10. Little House on the Prarie (collection) - by Laura Ingalls Wilder

via; Amazon

There are so many more to include here but these are some of our all time favorites.

Tips to Encourage Reluctant Readers

Maybe your kids don't love books quite as much as mine. Do you have any reluctant readers? There have been times that in order to really get my kids into the story I've had to be pretty creative and let them get their "hands dirty" digging into the story. What did I do you might ask? Well let me give you a few examples that might help you with any reluctant readers in your home.

1. Bake a Treat or Meal Found in a Book: 

When we read Heidi I had the kids help me make bread from scratch. After it baked I served them a lunch similar to what Heidi would have eaten up on the mountain - fresh baked bread, chunk of cheese and cold glass of milk. I spread a picnic blanket out on the livingroom floor where we shared our lunch while watching the Heidi movie staring Shirley Temple!

2. Visit a Local Museum or Farm to Learn More About the Setting in a Story

If you have read the Little House on the Prairie series you might recall how Laura and her siblings loved the early spring season when trees were tapped for collecting maple sugar which they turned into maple syrup. Laura and her siblings would drip the fresh maple syrup onto the snow and eat it as a treat. 

After reading this story, which I tried to time with our sugar season here in Michigan, I took the kids to a local non-profit organization that hosts and annual maple sugar festival. We learned about tapping trees with a spile, how to make maple syrup and sample some of the sweet syrup and maple candy. We brought home a spile and tapped one of our maple trees. The kids collected the sugary liquid and cooked it OUTSIDE in an electric frying pan and make a little syrup of their own. (please do  not try to cook the liquid maple sugar inside - it will coat everything with a sticky sugary mess as the water evaporates)

3. Prepare a Craft Along With The Story

I read The Secret Garden to the kids during late winter one year. I had them make seed bombs which we then planted in outdoor containers in the spring. They were excited to discover the different flowers that grew and bloomed and could relate to the joy Mary felt while working in the secret garden with Dicken and Colin in this wonderful story.

Read Post Here: Make Your Own Seed Bombs

I would just love to hear what you have done to get your children inspired to read or crafts/projects you've done to make the story come alive! Also, if you have any books you think should be added to the top ten above let me know. It is fun sharing books and recommendations with fellow book worms.