Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?

Sorry, I’m just a tad bit excited about my latest blogging gig.

I’m guest blogging, along with four other great ladies, at Scholastic Parent Voices for the month of May. I’ll be over there at least once a week blogging about various topics. First topic is Summer Plans in a Tough Economy.

And my first post? It’s all about our summer vacation on a budget. Meet all the guest bloggers and check out my first post, won’t you?

You also already know that I’m blogging at Family Eden. But, starting this week, now I’ll be over there once a week and on Tuesdays instead of every other Wednesday.

This week’s post at Family Eden is all about tantrums. I took a look back at our ordeal with tantrums about a year ago. Whew! What a time that was.

And if you’re currently dealing with tantrums or know someone who is, be sure to enter the contest for the book I Brake for Meltdowns: How to Handle the Most Exasperating Behavior of Your 2- to 5-year-old.

It’s a busy week no doubt. But, when isn’t it?

Now that you have some resources for helping your child read, do you want to know about a good book to read to your toddler or preschooler?

This is the cutest book and your kid is going to love it. Well, only if he/she is as awesome as my baby girl. hehehe

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

We first learned about Knuffle Bunny while watching Between the Lions one day with baby girl. The story was read on the show along with the pictures from the book. And the pictures? Stunning. A mix of city photography and illustrations. You’ll have to “look inside” the book to see what I mean.

By the way, the title is pronounced Keh-nuffle; the K is NOT silent.

My favorite lines from the book are “She went boneless. She did everything she could to show how unhappy she was.” If you remember what tantrums are like (or are currently dealing with them), you’ll know exactly what those lines mean. Of course, the reason behind those lines will help you appreciate, or at the very least, understand the tantrums a little more. It gives a new perspective on things…from your kid’s point of view.

My daughter’s favorite part of the book? Pretty much all of it. She loves to look at the pictures and loves to repeat what Trixie (that’s the main character) says. She laughs at the same parts each time we read the book. In advance mind you, since she already knows what will happen next.

Apparently, there’s a sequel now to Knuffle Bunny, which I keep meaning to pick up. Looks like Trixie is now a preschooler herself.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

And, there’s also a DVD from Scholastic with the Knuffle Bunny story on it.

Knuffle Bunny… and More Great Childhood Adventure Stories

I just added the DVD to our Netflix queue so hopefully baby girl likes it.

If you’ve never read Knuffle Bunny, then you have to buy the book. I promise…you – I mean your son/daughter – will love it.

And no, I did not get asked to review this book or write about it. I really just like the book a lot.

My daughter is three. As a preschooler, she loves to “read” and loves for us to read to her. She received a Leapfrog Tag system from her tio for Christmas and uses it on an almost daily basis. That is how she can “read” a book to us.

But, she can also take a regular book and either tell us the story from memory or a lot of times she’ll just make up her own story with the pictures. I’ve heard these are all good things for learning to read. So, I take it we’re on the right track.

Now, how do we take it to another level?

Well, I’m no teacher, so I don’t magically have the answer. Luckily for me, though, there are plenty of resources out there for parents like you and me to learn more about how to help our kids learn to read and develop their language skills.

5 Reading Resources for Parents

1. Scholastic Parents: Books & Reading – Provides information by age bracket, a newsletter, and articles.
2. PBS Parents Reading & Language – Also provides information by age, articles, and some quick tips. There’s also the PBS shop that has products for parents.
3. Reading Rockets: For Families – This site has articles and information with tips on reading with your kid, as well as for recognizing when there might be issues in reading (for older kids obviously). They also have a facebook page if you want to connect with them.
4. Literactive – You can get more than just information on this site. They provide activities and worksheets that you can use with your child.
5. U.S. DOE Free Publications – I’ve linked to the Top 10 publications from the Department of Education with the first 4 listed being information on how parents can help their kids get ready or learn to read. They’re divided by age level.

These are great for all parents, but also good for those home-schooling parents out there. And, there’s so many more sites out there!

If you want, you can browse all the sites I’ve bookmarked on delicious and tagged with reading.

What methods have you found work for helping your child learn to read?

I’ve been home pretty much all week due to my mom being sick and having no childcare.

Then my daughter got sick….again. She was just sick a few weeks ago.

So the latter half of the week has been spent tending to a sick child.

I’ve been trying to work from home the days I’ve been out, to try to keep up. But, without proper preparation, equipment, and software, the work I can do from home is limited.

Anyway, I just wanted to provide a quick update and really wanted to remind you about a few things:

• Don’t forget to enter the Central Florida Home & Garden show contest! Last day to enter is today. You can win 2 tickets for the show next week.
• Check out my first post at Family Eden. I will be posting every other week over there. This first post is all about what being latina means to me.
• Please vote for Modern Mami in the Scholastic Parent & Child magazine Mommy Blogger Awards! I would really appreciate your support.
• And, finally, Susan Payton of The Marketing Eggspert blog wrote a guest post earlier this week about being a mommy to two “kids”.

Here’s to a more routine week next week.

I am beyond ecstatic!

I woke up this morning and found myself as a finalist on the Scholastic Parent & Child magazine Mommy Blogger Awards!

Thank you to those of you who nominated ModernMami™.com and continue to offer support!

The news has been spreading on twitter and facebook and many of you have already voted and retweeted the information. For that, I say THANK YOU! You have no idea how awesome you are.

Now…if you enjoy my content on being a working mom, parenting, motherhood, or just my occasional rant, then please vote for ModernMami™.com at http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogcontest.

Please?

Me love you long time.