Why is it better to read before watching?

Well, for one thing movies are pretty short, so they usually have to cut things out. Usually they aren’t things that are critical to the story–otherwise it wouldn’t make sense. But, they are often smaller parts of a story that are still good and important. Or they’re characters that you love that are removed or changed.

Another reason to read the book first is because it forces you to use your imagination so much more. You have to think everything up on your own. What does that character look like? How do you imagine the setting? What do you think that expression means? It uses way more creativity when you haven’t seen someone else’s interpretation first.

Once you’ve seen a certain actor in a role, especially an iconic one, it’s impossible to unsee them in your brain as you read–even if the actor or the setting have a different look than what is described in the book.

It can also help encourage some kids to read that might be a little reluctant–the promise of a movie reward can make it extra fun.

The Books:

1. Stuart Little

This book is about a little mouse who is raised by the human Little family. Being so small, it can be tricky navigating such a big world sometimes, but he does it with quite a bit of courage. His biggest adventure happens when he sets out to find his bird friend Margalo who has gone missing. This little mouse will have you cheering him on and believing in yourself.

The movie follows the book pretty well, but adds in extra things that aren’t in the book too.

2. Because of Winn-Dixie

This is one of our new favorites. Winn-Dixie won over all of our hearts just like he did the people in small-town Naomi, Florida where this story takes place. Ten year old India Opal is new to town and has no friends. When she meets a stray dog wrecking havoc in the local Winn-Dixie supermarket, she claims him as her own. Together they begin meeting people in town and making some desperately needed friends. This book deals with loneliness, friendship, loss, making choices and how we all need each other.

The movie follows the book pretty faithfully. There are a few extra characters, and the actors don’t look quite like the characters are described, but it does a good job. The girls rated this book here.

3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins

This book wasn’t on my radar (other than I’d heard of the movie with Jim Carrey a few years ago) until my first grader said they read it as a class at school. She convinced me and her sister to read it so she could watch the movie and we all loved it.
This is the story of Mr. Popper who loves reading about adventures and far off places–especially Antarctica, but has never been anywhere. Then he gets a penguin as an unexpected gift, and his family’s life is never the same. From the one penguin they eventually have several more and the whole family has a great adventure. It was written in the 1930s, so some of the details may be unfamiliar to children, but I found them as a nice way to talk to my kids about the past and how things use to be.

I recommend this as one of the kids books to read before watching the movie because the movie is VASTLY different than the book. Set in a different time period, events happen very differently. Mostly the basic premise is the only thing that is the same. The girls rated this book here.

4. Indian in the Cupboard

This book was written in the mid 1990s, so many of the cultural aspects regarding cowboys and Indians (Native Americans) are different than the way we’d speak about them today. I used this as an opportunity to talk to my girls about Native Americans and their culture, how we should be respective of other people’s cultures and how stereotypes can be damaging.

The story starts with a 12 year old boy Omri who gets a plastic Indian from his friend for his birthday, and the old cupboard and key he gets from his brother and mom. After putting his toy in the cupboard over night and locking it with the key, in the morning Omri discovered that the Indian had come to life.

The remainder of the story follows Omri as he learns what it means to treat others with respect–no matter their size, and how sometimes you have to stand up to your friends to do the right thing. There are additional books in this series too.

The movie follows the book pretty well, but rearranges things, leaves some scenes out and makes others a bit different. But, overall it’s a pretty good adaptation. The girls rated this book here.

5. Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web is a classic and Newbery Award winner for a reason. This tale of a beloved pig saved from being sold and killed (as many pigs on a farm are meant to be) by his friend Charlotte is sweet and heartwarming. We meet Wilbur as a baby piglet who is the runt of the litter and not expected to live. But, he’s taken care of by Fern, the farmer’s daughter, before he’s sold to her uncle when he gets bigger. On the new farm he longs for a friend, and finds ones in Charlotte, the spider in the rafters.

There are a few different movie adaptations. One is a cartoon, and the other live action. Both of them are pretty good at staying close to the book and make a great watch after reading the book.

6. Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The C.S. Lewis classic is part of the Chronicles of Narnia, a seven book series all about, well, Narnia, a fantasy land just beyond the Wardrobe. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is actually the 2nd book in the series, but probably the most well known.

It tells the story of 4 siblings who are sent to a large mansion in the English countryside during World War II to escape the dangers of London. While there the youngest sister discovers a secret/hidden land called Narnia through the wardrobe in a forgotten room. She tells her siblings, but they don’t believe her until they find themselves there too. There is adventure, betrayal, tests of bravery, loyalty and treachery that make this book a classic and a series worth reading.

The movie follows the book pretty faithfully, only leaving out or changing a few things.

7. The Tale of Despereaux

I’m not one to like mice…at all! But, this little mouse Despereaux just makes you love him. His heart, his bravery and his determination make you want him to succeed no matter what. It’s the story of a tiny mouse who is unlike all of the other mice in the castle. His doesn’t cower and creep. He is curious and likes humans. But, by falling in love with the Princess Pea, and refusing to be like other mice forces a series of events that change the kingdom forever.

If you’re going to pick one of these kids books to read before watching the movie, this should be it. The movie is very different than the book. I actually happened to see the movie first and was so confused what was happening when I read the book because so much has changed. If you saw the movie, but haven’t read the book definitely do. I wasn’t a fan of the movie when I saw it, which made me not want to read the book. But, my girls picked it, and we read it and I just love it!

So, if you’re trying to get your kids to read more but they need some motivation, give these a try. They’re great kids books to read aloud for younger kids, and perfect chapter books for kids who are a bit older.

Have you read any of the books on this list? What was your favorite?

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I’m sure it’s happened before…you’re trying to get dinner on the table for your hungry family and your child wants to help…

Your blood pressure rises as you envision how much longer it’s going to take. Not to mention the much bigger mess it will make. You say in your most disappointed, sorry voice that it’s just not very fun and that they won’t like it, then hurry them out to go do something–anything–until dinner is ready.

But….then you feel bad because you actually do want your kids to learn how to cook and enjoy helping in the kitchen. You know that once they really know what to do that’s less cooking for you!

I know. I get it. I’ve totally been there, and heck, sometimes I still would rather just do it myself because it’s faster and easier. But, I’ve also learned that having my kids in the kitchen is a pretty fun way to spend time with them.

Here are three ways to teach kids to cook by letting them help in the kitchen while you all stay calm and have fun.

Pick the right time to start

Is there a right time and a wrong time to teach kids to cook? YES!

The wrong time is when you’re in a hurry or constrained on time in any way. If everyone is hungry, taking extra time to show techniques or fix mistakes is not what you want to be doing.

Pick a time when you have nothing else pressing going on and everyone is pretty well fed. After a meal or snack is great. Saturdays or Sundays tend to work best for this if you have school aged children, but really any time you have some time is great.

This lets you all relax and take things slowly, which is increases patience and you child will be more likely to listen.

Start small

When you’re teaching a child kitchen skills, small and simple is the best place to start. This is not the time to make anything that takes a long time or is elaborate or requires a lot of steps.

Think about the things you want them to know what to make. What will be helpful for you and for them? These are the foods to start with, because if you don’t get very far they’ll at least have the basics.

At the beginning they’re also less likely to have a long attention span. Keeping the recipe it short and simple will give them a sense of accomplishment when they’re done.

Teach skills they can master

When starting out, kids like to know that they’ve accomplished something. They want to feel capable and proud of themselves. But, it’s hard to do when they’re trying to get good at too many things at once.

When you’re cooking together, pick a couple of skills that your child wants to learn or that you want them to know. You can also pick recipes you want them to learn to make and focus on those.

It can be any skill. Like stirring or mixing or spreading with a knife. Little ones can wash fruits and vegetables or grate cheese. If you have an older child they could learn to chop vegetables too.

We love using our Raddish Kids box to help with specific skills. For a lot more info on that, check out this post all about it.

The key is repetition. So, take the time to show them how to do it right, then have them practice. This could become their new “job” in the kitchen whenever you need it.

For example, my kids love quesadillas. I got tired of grating cheese all the time so I taught my daughters how to use the cheese grater and grate the cheese. It took some practice, but now they do it perfectly fine on their own.

Now they get the tortillas, grate their cheese, put them on a plate and microwave it until the cheese melts. They love being self sufficient and doing it themselves.

Even little ones can wash fruits and veggies if they have a stool, and it does feel like a big help to them.

If you want your kids to help in the kitchen without you losing your patience and it taking way longer than necessary, pick the right time to start, start small, and teach them skills they can master.

One of my favorite recipes to get started with is Healthy Gluten Free Granola because it’s very simple and they can practice measuring and stirring skills.

The post Teach Kids To Cook by Helping in the Kitchen appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

When we lived in California most date nights with my husband would end with a trip to one of several independent book stores near us, and basically anywhere I travel a nearby bookshop is as much a must-see destination as any other cultural or historic or beautiful attraction we could visit.

Which is why I did a bit of a happy dance in my living room when I heard about Bookshop.org and its mission to help Indie bookstores thrive in the age of Amazon.

Up until now, when anyone has written a story online referencing a book the only place to link to purchase the book has been Amazon. Well, there are others like Barnes and Noble and Books a Million, but they aren’t nearly as big or popular as the Big A.

Because of this, small shops have struggled gaining attention with an online presence for years. That all changed a few months ago with the launch of Bookshop.org. “Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community.”

A percentage of every sale made through the site goes into a fund to be distributed to all of the shops involved. According to their website, the idea came to be because “we wanted to create an easy, convenient way to get your books and still support local bookstores. We also wanted to create a place where authors, groups, individuals, and publications can earn affiliate fees that benefit local bookstores.”

Through Bookshop, you can search for your favorite local bookstore, or any shop around the country that has signed on.

For example, last fall I visited Salem, Mass. with my mom and sisters. We visited Wicked Good Books and picked up a few great looking reads to take home. It’s a charming shop, filled with new and used books and gift items, including plenty of spooky ghost themed ones. While I may not be able to visit in person again any time soon, I can support them through Bookshop.

So, what if you don’t have a local favorite? They’ve got you covered with their “Find a bookshop” option. You just type in your zipcode and search. It’ll list stores up to 250 miles away.

I’ve enjoyed that feature, because I’ve found that there are more stores in my area than I thought that I’ve been ordering from.

Happy reading!

The post Help Indie Bookstores with Bookshop appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

I’m not going to lie–I don’t always plan my meals out before hand. I’m as guilty as anyone of thinking that I’ll just get ingredients I like and then I’ll decide when it’s time to make something. Buuuuut, I’ve also learned that’s when we waste the most food and I spend way too much time deciding when I don’t actually have the time to be deciding. I need a meal NOW!

So, why do we do this to ourselves? I think one reason is because figuring out what to feed your family day in and day out is daunting. Meal planning is hard. Well, I mean, it isn’t hard, as much as it can be time consuming. And you know the most time consuming part? Deciding what to make!

That’s the trick, right? The deciding part. Which is why having a system in place makes it sooooooooo much easier, and faster and less exhausting. Because when you do go to the store, you know what to buy, don’t waste ingredients and can actually make meals faster because you know what you’re doing.

Here are 3 things that I’ve done to make meal planning easier and faster:

Pick a weekly theme

This is helpful for lots of reasons. One, it helps you narrow down your choices, so it’s not as hard to decide. Also, you’re more likely to be using similar ingredients, so you’ll waste less food. My favorite though is to use it to learn about food from countries around the world.

Here are a few ways you can choose a theme to make meal planning easier.

1. Cuisine type–you could do a week of salads. These could all be green salads, or you can broaden you definition to include pasta salad, chicken salad, etc. Or you could do breakfast foods, bowls, casseroles, backyard BBQ, appetizers only, soups etc.
2. Country or region–This is one of our favorites. We pick a country, find recipes that originated there, or are part of that country’s culture and make them. With more than 175 countries in the world, this can keep you busy for a while! A friend of mine went through the alphabet in order and chose a country with that name to make food from to teach her kids their letters too.
3. Designate each day with its own theme: Monday is meatless, Tuesday is tacos, Wednesday is leftovers, Thursday is casserole, Friday is fish and seafood, Saturday is take out, Sunday is Slow Cooker.

Make meals with the same ingredients

This isn’t the same as a theme. There are several meals that use the same ingredients but are very different from each other–in just about every way!

I had used this method before, but I didn’t really do it consistently until I found the Cook Once, Eat All Week Cookbook by Cassy Joy Garcia. Seriously, it’s one of my favorites ever!

Her method is simple–each week there is a protein, starch and vegetable and 3 meals that they make (plus bonus dinner options) that are diverse, healthy and made fresh. Honestly, when I first started using it I didn’t even prep cook. I just started each recipe from scratch and it worked fine.

You can easily incorporate this method, either with the cookbook, or on your own. Just pick your protein, starch and vegetable and look up recipes that use them.

Pick one source for recipes

Instead of scouring the internet, or all of your cookbooks, for meals just pick one source. This dramatically cuts down on the decision making necessary for planning. One friend told me she only makes meals from Rocco DiSpirito’s website. So, find a food blog or website you think looks good, or pull our your favorite cookbook and stick with it–at least for a week.

When it comes to meal planning, having that plan be simple and repeatable is key to making it as painless as possible. I hope these tips help make your meal planning faster and easier for your family.

The post 3 Ways to Make Meal Planning Faster and Easier appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.