© 2023 Storyberries

Visit Storyberries Bookstore

LET’S DISCUSS THE STORIES ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Learning, Self-Confidence

1. In this story, how does Sacha learn to hide? Why do you think her method works?

2. Why do you think Sacha keeps asking her mother whether she is hiding well?

3. Do you think she will always need to ask her mother to know if she is hiding well? Why or why not?

Bedtime Story written by David A. Miller

Illustrated by Tanja Tomusilovic

Music Video by “Adding the Sun” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Digya” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Bumba Crossing” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The post Spot My Spots first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

© 2023 Storyberries

Visit Storyberries Bookstore

LET’S DISCUSS THE STORIES ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Learning, Conversation

1. In this story, Jaydee learns about electricity. What are some of the things you learnt about electricity in this story, that you didn’t know before?

2. How does Jaydee learn about electricity? Can you find three different ways she learns?

Bedtime Story written by Glehnmarc

Illustrated by Tanja Tomusilovic

Music Video from zapsplat.com

The post Jaydee and the Fiery Power Box first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

© 2023 Storyberries

Visit Storyberries Bookstore

LET’S DISCUSS THE STORIES ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Trying, Learning, Motivation

1. In this story, the Easter Bunny has a lot to learn on his first Easter egg delivery! How are some of the ways he learns where to put the eggs?

2. When the Park Keeper tells the Easter Bunny he is holding the map upside down, the Easter Bunny laughs and says he will be better next Easter. Do you think this is the right way to approach things when someone helps you to be better? Why or why not?

3. How do you think the Easter Bunny’s response is helpful to him learning?

Bedtime Story written by Andrea Kaczmarek

Illustrated by Faishal Aziz

Music Video by “Vivacity” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The post The Easter Bunny School first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Let’s Chat About The Stories ~ Ideas for Talking With Kids

Helping, Learning

1. Bobo really wants to help Apuza in the garden. Even if she got it wrong about the worms, how else did her efforts help Apuza?

2. Do you think it was worth Apuza telling her about the difference between worms? How will Bobo take the lesson she learnt from Apuza and do things differently next time?

Bedtime story written by Abokali Jimomi

Illustrated by Canato Jimo

OTHER CREDITS:

Music Video by “Onion Capers” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Villainous Treachery – Distressed” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This story: Bobo and the Worms is written by Abokali Jimomi . © Pratham Books , 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

* THE STORY ‘BOBO AND THE WORMS’ WAS CREATED BY PRATHAM BOOKS AND IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS -BY-4.0 LICENSE. FORMATTING CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE ORIGINAL WORK FOR EASE OF READING ON OUR WEBSITE.

Bobo and the Worms | Free Kids Books Online | Bedtime Stories

Bobo is helping her grandmother in the garden, and discovers valuable information about worms.

URL: https://www.storyberries.com/bedtime-stories-bobo-and-the-worms-free-kids-books-online/

Author: Storyweaver

Editor's Rating:
5

The post Bobo and the Worms first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Promises indicate that we really trust, value or love another person. It may be a promise not to share a secret, a commitment of marriage or a promise to keep one’s word. 

Why do promises matter?

On an emotional level, a promise can have the same value as a contract, even if it is not signed. When a person makes a firm commitment, the recipient of their promise takes it as truth. Breaking promises leads to feelings of disillusionment, sadness or anger, and even a sense of heartbreak or betrayal. Imagining how these sensations feel to a child is a helpful reminder to be good role models ourselves, and to fulfill our own promises.

What happens when promises are broken?

Unfulfilled promises undermine adults’ authority. We lose credibility and create disappointment and confusion. Children may begin to distrust their caregivers, their environment, and even their own self worth.

How can I encourage my kids to keep the promises they make?

There are lots of times when kids need to fulfill promises they’ve made – for example, promising to return a borrowed toy to a friend, promising to carry out a chore or promising to share something fairly.

Storyberries provides free children’s books, as well as parenting tips, to encourage kids to keep their promises.

Making promises we can actually keep

The main keys to promises is that they can be kept and that they are realistic. It is unrealistic, for example, to promise a child a computer tablet or the latest game console, to improve their relationship with their teacher.

In a wider sense, it is also worth reflecting on whether it is necessary or desirable to materialise either the relationship or the behaviour.

Keeping promises wherever possible

A promise is an ethical and moral commitment, so when we know that our child has made an agreement, we need to make sure they fulfill it, even if they don’t want to. This transmits values of personal responsibility, honesty, trust, and stability.

Thinking before making a promise

Explain to children that it is good idea for them to think before they make promises, This avoid impulsivity, and also helps them to be aware of their own motives. As care-givers we can also try to avoid making promises out of a sense of guilt, or as a quick way to get out of trouble.

Showing appreciation

Use positive messaging, and take advantage of everyday events,, to show appreciation of fulfilled promises: “I am so happy you picked up your toys as you promised” or “Juan was pleased because we attended his birthday, as we said we would.”

Multi-sensory learning

There are excellent children’s stories, and beautiful cartoon episodes to do with promises. In the movie Finding Nemo, for example, Dory does her best to look for Nemo, thus fulfilling a promise she’d made.

Being a good role model

So much of what children learn is from watching and copying the adults around them, so we can help by setting a good example of how to make and keep promises ourselves.

 

Some Free Books About Promises At Storyberries

Keeping Lala Land Clean

In this beautifully illustrated and simple to understand picture book, all the animals in Lala land help to keep things clean and tidy. A helpful book to introduce the idea of helping one another, and doing the things we agree to do.

Where is Lulu?

Young children love to borrow things but find it much harder to give them back! Lulu hides when it’s time to give her favourite book back to the library. A fun story to enjoy, and a delightful book to talk about borrowing, sharing and keeping promises.

This Forgetful Elephant

To be able to keep our promises we need to remember them! In this lovely short story, Peter the Forgetful Elephant knows that Susie will want him to remember their anniversary – not so easy for a very forgetful elephant! A great story for talking about commitment, promises and feelings.

Article by Luzmery M. Romero Gamboa and Fleur Rodgers

Luzmery works in the area of clinical psychology as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and families. Since 2016, she has run a Psychological Center in Venezuela called Psicoluz. She offers workshop facilitations to parents, is involved in recreational activities for children, and has been working as a freelancer since 2017 performing online psychotherapy. 

Fleur is a meditation teacher in France and uses a compassion and loving-kindness based approach to meditation and slow-minded living. Fleur posts regularly to Instagram @rodgers.fleur . She has two children, is a qualified teacher in adult education and is the founder of Timeouttobreathe.com 

The post Helping kids understand the value of keeping promises first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Why is the energy of passion so vital?

Passionate energy motivates, drives creativity, inspires learning and provides the momentum to keep going.

How do we encourage passion?

We can encourage kids by helping find things that spark their passion, and by allowing them to give their energy to the things they love. Their subject of interest may be one that lots of children share, or it may be more unique to them. It’s about discovering what sparks their desire and responding enthusiastically to that.

Where do I start?

Storyberries provides a wide variety of free online children’s books to enjoy, as well as parenting tips to encourage adults to embrace the energy of passion in their kids.

Choosing the things we love

Encourage creativity by allowing children to choose the activities they love. When we respond warmly to the energy of passion aflame in the hearts of our children, their energy increases, as does their desire to delve deeper and to give of themselves fully.

The freedom to explore

We cannot guess what children’s passions will be – passions are born spontaneously, so it’s important to allow children the space and time to explore their interests freely. The discovery of a passion is in itself a treasure of enormous personal worth.

Allowing uninterrupted moments of curiosity and discovery helps kids in really important ways. By being allowed the freedom to explore, they can awaken their passions, and it gives them a healthy space in which to grow.

Enjoying the process of learning

When children start practicing something they really enjoy, we can try to avoid judging their work in an overly-evaluative way, so instead of judging the outcome, we can appreciate the process – by enjoying their happiness, and by valuing their effort, their search for new solutions, or their intensity of concentration.

Setting challenges and celebrating success

We can help kids by setting creative challenges and celebrating what they achieve. Setting fun challenges takes children out of their comfort zone and gives them confidence. In kind ways, we can also acknowledge where they could improve, because children appreciate it when we are sincere.

Valuing and unifying home and school

It’s very affirming for kids if their parents value their school experiences and find ways to link what they are doing at school with activities or responsibilities at home. Doing so helps to provide continuity and gives children a sense of the value of their contributions.

 

Some Free Books About Passion At Storyberries

Wiggle Jiggle

In this funny and delightful book, Wiggle Jiggle embraces life with passion as he enjoys growing from caterpillar to butterfly. A beautifully quirky celebration of life!

His Kingdom For A Fork

What could be better for encouraging kids to live their dreams than reading a wonderfully imaginative story written by a budding young author? Maddie P. tells the story of a girl called Victoria who gives a very surprising gift to the king.

The Ocean Dream

“Everyone she knows has their own dream” muses Coral. Allowing kids to explore their imaginations is so important for helping them to discover their passions. In this beautiful book Coral explores the world of her underwater ocean dreams.

Article by Luzmery M. Romero Gamboa and Fleur Rodgers

Luzmery works in the area of clinical psychology as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and families. Since 2016, she has run a Psychological Center in Venezuela called Psicoluz. She offers workshop facilitations to parents, is involved in recreational activities for children, and has been working as a freelancer since 2017 performing online psychotherapy. 

Fleur is a meditation teacher in France and uses a compassion and loving-kindness based approach to meditation and slow-minded living. Fleur posts regularly to Instagram @rodgers.fleur . She has two children, is a qualified teacher in adult education and is the founder of Timeouttobreathe.com 

The post Embracing passion in children and ensuring they follow their dreams first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

How do children learn?

By exploration: touching, hitting, putting things in the mouth.
By experimentation: testing, by trial and error.
By repetition: throwing things on the floor again and again!
By imitation: copying those around them, be they adults or other children.

What role does the adult play?

The role of the adult is to facilitate the child’s understanding of their environment: to act as a link. There is increasing evidence demonstrating the impact on child development of positive and responsive interactions with adults. Children’s openness to learning depends very much on how information is presented to them, so parents and teachers can help by creating positive environments for meaningful learning to take place.

The wonder of a curious mind

Curiosity is the engine that generates our desire to investigate and experiment. This motivation is key for setting the complex process of learning in motion. Curiosity focuses the mind so that we can give full attention to learning. This state of heightened alertness, aroused by being curious, also activates our memory circuits, and our emotional responses  (for example, desire) so that we are best primed to acquire new knowledge.

How can we stimulate a curiosity to learn?

All of us, whether we are parents, extended family, neighbours, caregivers, or teachers, can take responsibility and help our children to learn by embracing  their curiosity and interacting with them in such a way as to maximise their potential to learn.

Storyberries provides free online children’s books, and parenting tips – offering lots of ways to naturally encourage wonder, curiosity and a love of learning.

Beautiful questions!

When children ask us questions, we can encourage their curiosity to learn more by showing enthusiasm, and by answering them as wholeheartedly as we can.

Encouraging kids to look for answers

One way of doing this is to encourage the use of reasoning to come up with possible or likely answers to kids’ questions. In this way, we are teaching them to analyse facts, make logical and reasonable deductions, weigh up different possibilities, and take an interest in finding out more. 

Often we do not have a clear answer, so we can then do some more research in books (such as encyclopedias) or on the internet. In this way we are giving kids the skills to work in a similar way later when they are alone.

Being available to listen, play and learn

Children need to know that we are available for them. They want to know they can count on us and to feel reassured that someone cares about their concerns.

Creating a space to look further

Sometimes it is a good idea to respond to the child’s question by asking them a few other questions, to prompt them to think more fully and perhaps come up with an answer on their own.

Allowing kids to experiment

We can encourage kids by creating spaces where they can experiment. For example they might manipulate certain objects by taking them apart or testing them. This helps us to see the limits and consequences of our actions – for example, by learning what kinds of things can be taken apart and what happens when we do.

Get Creative!

The Internet (and books!) are full of resources to help children design and make a whole range of different things, such as electrical circuits, yummy things to eat, small greenhouses, home inventions or personal gadgets.

Read, read and read!

There are so many different books available to children – fantasy novels, graphic stories, non-fiction and biographies being just some of them. There are many alternatives for all ages. When children are introduced to a range of different books, they can select the ones that have the greatest affinity with their interests.

Set fun challenges!

By setting children challenges tailored to their interests, we can prompt their curiosity and awaken their desire to complete the challenge, which, when felt to be a success, motivates their future desire to learn.

 

Some Free Books About Curiosity for Learning At Storyberries

A Pebble In My Shoe

A delightful, and beautifully illustrated, story in which a child reflects on where the pebble in their shoe has come from – inviting a journey of curiosity and wonder.

Catch A Moon

A beautiful poetic story about two children and their heartfelt desire to catch the moon. Their curiosity is rewarded when they think up an imaginative way of doing so.

To The Top

Wordless picture books are really good for encouraging kids to imagine their own story-lines.
In this delightful picture book, a young girl opens her mind to new experiences as she and her daddy walk to the top of a mountain.

Article by Luzmery M. Romero Gamboa and Fleur Rodgers

Luzmery works in the area of clinical psychology as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and families. Since 2016, she has run a Psychological Center in Venezuela called Psicoluz. She offers workshop facilitations to parents, is involved in recreational activities for children, and has been working as a freelancer since 2017 performing online psychotherapy. 

Fleur is a meditation teacher in France and uses a compassion and loving-kindness based approach to meditation and slow-minded living. Fleur posts regularly to Instagram @rodgers.fleur . She has two children, is a qualified teacher in adult education and is the founder of Timeouttobreathe.com 

The post Helping kids be open to learning and to trying new things first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Responsibility implies being able to fulfill what is expected of us, and is a quality we acquire as children. We learn to be responsible progressively, at each stage taking on a little more, until we are able to consciously and skillfully handle ourselves as adults. 

The skills needed to be responsible

To accept responsibility we need to be able to plan and direct our efforts, and also consider the consequences of our actions. Such skills help us to commit ourselves seriously to goals, tasks, or obligations, and to maturely face the effort needed to fulfill them. The responsible person knows they must bear the consequences of their actions, whether good or bad.

How do kids learn about responsibility?

Feelings of responsibility begin within the family, and reinforce socially established roles. The feeling of responsibility is based on affirmations. For example, parents are responsible for children, adults are responsible for the care of minors, and authorities are responsible for the well-being of the people.

How can I help my kids gain the skills they need?

Kids learn to become responsible over time, and there are lots of ways that we can help.

Being responsible ourselves

The main way we can help kids is by being a good role model and setting a positive example of responsibility ourselves. When children see others behaving responsibly, they mimic the behaviour and internalise the value themselves.

Kids love to care!

Kids love to show they care. Storyberries has lots of beautiful books on caring for family, for pets, for friends, for wildlife and for the environment. Have fun exploring the Storyberries library today!

Talking Together

In positive, age appropriate ways, we can invite kids to talk about the process of decision-making, and discuss some of the positive or negative consequences of the decisions they make. One important area we can discuss is that making mistakes is okay. Sometimes the best way to become responsible is by seeing what we have done wrong. If children make mistakes we can invite them to work on a solution.

Promoting autonomy

Put simply, this means letting kids do things that they can manage to do on their own. It is so easy for us, as concerned and motivated parents, to get too involved in school activities, or to discourage kids from doing household activities. Instead, we want kids to be able to enjoy, and feel enriched by, vital opportunities for learning.

Valuing positive behaviour

We can promote consistency and self-discipline by recognising effort, and rewarding behaviours that show more responsibility: “Thanks to your care, the puppy always has the food he needs on his plate.”

Getting organised!

We can provide older kids with tools so they can manage their own time and plan their own agendas. For example, we can encourage them to look at their class schedules and organise their own homework and assignments. This might include planning a schedule, deciding on a place to study, organising their materials by subject and doing their own problem solving.

Making family agreements

When it comes to organising, especially when different family needs may overlap, it is very useful to have family agreements (which could even take the form of simple written contracts). Family agreements help to identify different needs and also help family members to agree upon expectations. In doing so, they can provide structure, and prevent conflict.

Free Books for Teaching Kids Responsibility at Storyberries

Keeping Lala Land Clean

In this beautifully illustrated and simple to understand picture book, all the animals in Lala land help to keep things clean and tidy. A helpful book to introduce the idea of helping one another, and doing the things we agree to do.

Our Beautiful World

An encouraging and inspiring book for 7-12 year olds. Our Beautiful World describes the present challenges Planet Earth faces, and invites each of us to take responsibility.

Where is Thabo?

Thabo loves playing football! It is Monday morning and the family are all in a hurry to get to work and school, but they can’t find Thabo! A beautifully illustrated, yet simply crafted, story that kids will love. A great story to introduce the themes of responsibility, taking care of ourselves and others, and of the consequences of our actions.

Article by Luzmery M. Romero Gamboa and Fleur Rodgers

Luzmery works in the area of clinical psychology as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and families. Since 2016, she has run a Psychological Center in Venezuela called Psicoluz. She offers workshop facilitations to parents, is involved in recreational activities for children, and has been working as a freelancer since 2017 performing online psychotherapy. 

Fleur is a meditation teacher in France and uses a compassion and loving-kindness based approach to meditation and slow-minded living. Fleur posts regularly to Instagram @rodgers.fleur . She has two children, is a qualified teacher in adult education and is the founder of Timeouttobreathe.com 

The post Teaching kids responsibility first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Being able to celebrate achievements allows us to live life as an unfolding adventure, rather than feeling stuck and or tied to routines or decisions made long ago. 

Why is healthy pride so vital?

Feeling a healthy sense of pride (without being vain) is a positive reward that nourishes our self-esteem and encourages us to keep going. We can help our children celebrate their successes, and at the same time, respect and value the work of others. The difference between being self-confident and being a narcissist is that we don’t need to seek approval from others, or sabotage the work of others, to shine.

How can I encourage healthy pride and self-esteem in kids?

Noticing and appreciating achievements

Help children recognise the things they do well, and also help them to celebrate the successes they have on the way to reaching their goals. For example, if a child finds it hard to divide numbers, and manages to correctly divide the first few, that would be a good time to reward their success.

Differentiating achievements and responsibilities

It can be helpful to guide children to understand the difference between achievement and responsibility. As an example of the difference, think about family chores. Each member of a family will usually have their “to-do list” of chores (for example, doing the dishes, watering the plants, or throwing away the garbage). These tasks correspond to being a family member, so there is no need to give rewards for fulfilling them. A healthy balance can be found between teaching that it is good to fulfill responsibilities without expecting anything in return, and still appreciating and valuing our contributions when they go above and beyond.

Enjoying the process of learning

When children start practicing something they really enjoy, we can try to avoid judging their work in an overly-evaluative way, so that instead of judging the outcome, we can appreciate the process. We might do this by, for example, enjoying their happiness, valuing their effort, their search for new solutions, or their intensity of concentration.

Setting challenges and celebrating success

We can help kids set creative challenges and then celebrate what they achieve. Setting fun challenges takes children out of their comfort zone and gives them confidence. In kind ways, we can also acknowledge where they could improve, because children appreciate it when we are sincere.

Demonstrating appreciation

Showing appreciation with real affection, using hugs, caresses, and validating words, rather than giving expensive items or gifts. Also encourage children to congratulate their friends, by recognising moments that are important to them, and being attentive to their wishes, too.

Modelling Positive Values

Encouraging and modelling positive values helps children see that striving, discipline, perseverance and effort are really important for achieving goals  Likewise, we can model being brave, and not shying away from difficulties.

Being resourceful

Show children how to be resourceful so they develop skills to use in later life: for example, they might use lists or mind maps to set out their goals, decide things to do, evaluate their performances and identify things to improve. Help them to be creative, using drawing, scrapbooks, or even music. In this way, children will learn to give themselves the recognition that their actions deserve, without needing to seek external validation, which can lead to frustration when they cannot find it.

Participating in group activities

To remain balanced, we need to know that we are not the only ones who have opportunities or skills, and that we require others to be healthy and happy.

Participating in sports, community or social activities helps children see that we all need to participate in order to be stronger and achieve bigger goals.

 

Some Free Books about Healthy Pride at Storyberries

Martin’s Flute

Martin wants to play his new flute but there are so many distractions, even outside in the yard. Martin shows that even in the midst of all the distractions, he can be really diligent, and his efforts are rewarded.

More of Me to Love

A beautifully illustrated and affirming story about a young girl who has been taught from birth to love herself just as she is. A super book for raising self-esteem and for highlighting the things that really matter.

This Rabbit

A wonderfully fun poem that explores the different likes and skills of a group of rabbits. There’s a real sense of celebration to the poem, and also an invitation at the end, for the reader to reflect on their own preferences. A super story for celebrating accomplishment and for building self-esteem.

Article by Luzmery M. Romero Gamboa and Fleur Rodgers

Luzmery works in the area of clinical psychology as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and families. Since 2016, she has run a Psychological Center in Venezuela called Psicoluz. She offers workshop facilitations to parents, is involved in recreational activities for children, and has been working as a freelancer since 2017 performing online psychotherapy. 

Fleur is a meditation teacher in France and uses a compassion and loving-kindness based approach to meditation and slow-minded living. Fleur posts regularly to Instagram @rodgers.fleur . She has two children, is a qualified teacher in adult education and is the founder of Timeouttobreathe.com 

The post How to Teach Kids a Healthy Sense of Pride first appeared on Bedtime Stories.