Between The Lines: Why we find it hard to be straight with our kids about money

Financial literacy is as important to teach our children as any other kind of literacy, and yet many of us shy away from candid conversations about money with our children. In so doing, we miss an opportunity to instil family values and to cultivate positive traits such as generosity, patience and perseverance. When I lived […]

Between The Lines: Why we should be encouraging everyone to read for pleasure

Some children need a good example to follow when it comes to reading.       Over the summer, every student, administrator and teacher at my son’s high school will read Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. Carefully selected, I suspect, for the themes of race and identity, this book should ignite conversations and spark […]

Nov, 2015: Workshops by Julie Fowlkes

  First Teachers™ Training You Are Your Child’s First Teacher Learn how to nurture a life long love of reading to set them on a path to success [Suitable for parents of children aged 0-6 years] Literacy development begins long before your child starts primary school. As your child’s first teacher, you can enhance cognitive […]

Nov, 2015: Author Visit: Meet Jon Klassen – Author Talk & Book Signing

  Jon Klassen, award-winning author and illustrator of best-selling picture books including I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat, shares the stories behind his stories, does a live drawing demonstration, and inspires children to tap into their own creativity.   We are thrilled to share with you this unique opportunity to […]

Between The Lines: Two books that teach children how to help others

Every one of us starts life as an egocentric baby, concerned only with having our own needs fulfilled. Somewhere along the road to adulthood, we all become less self-centred, to varying degrees. Some children are so protected from growing pains that they never let go of their self-centredness. Others grow up in an environment that […]

童書裡的父愛

                                                       林鶯  Angie Lin   轉眼父親節就要到了。與孩子回顧這些年來我們一起讀過的以爸爸為主角的圖書,成為我們家今年慶祝父親節的方式。   記憶中最早的一本是Daddy Kisses(by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben)。雖是硬皮書,但書角都已經磨毛了,可見反複讀過多少遍。每一頁都有一個動物爸爸,用他特有的方式親吻他的寶寶,或是鼻子,或是耳朵,或是小爪子。文字簡短重複,卻充滿活潑的節奏。兒子每次都期盼地等到最後一頁,因為自己的爸爸這時會閃亮登場,而且—- My daddy kisses all over, LIKE THIS! 每讀到此,爸爸必定是連拱帶咬,把寶貝渾身上下親個遍。寶寶也必定咯咯咯咯地大笑著扭動身子,然後興奮又滿足地要求再來一遍。父子的笑聲是伴隨著這本書的永遠的記憶。   I Love You Daddy(Little Golden Book)是另一本讀了上百次的書。不論是露營還是滑雪,只要是和爸爸在一起,就連平凡如澆花、洗車、蕩秋千,對孩子來說都是刺激快樂的。孩子所在意的其實就是爸爸的陪伴。書中最後一句正是孩子的心聲。 “ I love you, Daddy, for all that we do. In a contest for best dad, the winner is you.” “世界上最好爸爸”的皇冠必定是頒給每一位用愛心陪伴孩子長大的爸爸的。         […]