FunReads4Kids

Do you provide your child with opportunities to scribble? (Uhm but maybe not on the walls 😳)

One of the things I love about reading ‘I’d Rather Eat Chocolate’ with children, is the opportunity to inspire children with their own writing.

Young children will start off with scribbling, and it’s fascinating to watch the progression over time from scribbles, to representations of objects, to the formation of letter-like markings, and then onto letters and words.

Even before then, children can be involved in creative writing. I used to love how my boys would dictate stories and letters for me to write down.

Is writing and sending a letter a lost art? What do you think?

It’s always fun being part of the National Simultaneous Storytime initiative. A gorgeous group of children attended, with Paint Wanneroo REaD volunteers adding their passion for reading with children to the event.

And I was blown away when one of the volunteers came up to me after I finished reading Luna Roo to let me know she had met me years ago. I was the speech pathologist who saw her young son and recognised the severity of his language disorder and provided all the necessary assessments to have him successfully gain a place in LDC. His mum said his literacy and language skills were in the normal range by 9 years and he’s now at university.

Is there any better story than that?!

My incursions are not just about reading I’d Rather Eat Chocolate and engaging children in a craft activity. We also:
🥕 talk about sometimes foods and healthy foods (you should hear some of the kids’ answers to my question ‘What would happen if we ate chocolate all the time?’ 😳🤣)
🥁 we explore rhyming and syllables (kids love using my bongo drums to tap out syllables)
👨‍🌾 one of the favourite parts is the children re-telling my story using dress-up props and veggies (lots of gross motor, verbal memory, usually some giggles and some ‘oohs and ahs’ from any parents present as the kids look so cute)

If you haven’t experienced one of my incursions yet, ask your library, childcare centre, homeschool group or school (Perth surrounds) to book me in!

Not long to wait now for the National Simultaneous Storytime event at Ocean Keys Shopping centre

Come and join in the fun:

📆 Wednesday 27th May
⏰ 10am
🛍️ Ocean Keys Shopping Centre, Clarkson

Proudly supported by PaintWannerooREadD, Mindarie Rotary Club, Ocean Keys Shopping Centre

Luna Roo is the star of the show this year. Written by and and illustrated by . Published by

I was at a childcare service recently and the centre manager was chatting to me about the decline she’s noticed in children’s various developmental milestones - particularly reading and social skills. She mentioned that she often sees children being picked up, buckled into the car, and handed a device/screen to keep them busy on the way home.

I might be out of touch as my 4 boys have now grown up but we always had a multitude of books in the car. Books are the best way I know to engage children. I know reading on long trips can create headaches (been there done that!) but for short trips books are an excellent entertainer!

So I’m interested to know… how many children’s books are lurking in your car?

I’ve been so delighted with the feedback and reviews about I’d Rather Eat Chocolate from children, their parents/carers and Librarians.

In addition to being fun to read, children love the silly animals and that in turn is inspiring them to try different veggies so they can be like the animals 🥦🥕🥒🫛🌽🍄

Signed copies are available via my website or you can order in from any good bookshop around Australia, or request a copy to borrow from your local library.

Counting or identifying syllables (the beats) in a word is a fun way to develop a child’s phonological awareness which is an important skill for successful reading.

When I do incursions with my book ‘I’d Rather Eat Chocolate’, children choose a picture of a veggie from my toy shopping basket and love tapping out the syllables on my bongo drum. I do lots of modelling to help those children who need support to tap out the beats.

You can also use whole body movements eg ‘broccoli’ = 3 syllables - jumping/hopping 3 times; fine motor tasks such as putting blocks on top of each other or pegs in a peg board; use musical instruments to tap out the beats. The possibilities are endless!

How do you like to explore syllables?

Off to Nido Hocking to run an author incursion with the gorgeous Kindy kids.

We’ll be having an interactive reading of I’d Rather Eat Chocolate, complete with dress up props for story re-tell.

We’ll also be making mini veggie greenhouses for each child to decorate, take home, and grow some veggies in their very own garden.

Loads of fun, literacy skills woven in throughout the session, a little bit of craft chaos, and a sprinkle of healthy eating inspiration.

With only 9% of children eating sufficient veggies (ABS 2020/21) non-didactic, funny stories can be a great way to inspire children to make healthy food choices.

And did you know that I’d Rather Eat Chocolate has a range of teacher resources available to make planning a little easier in the classroom?

✅ student activity pack filled with a variety of worksheets to engage your students with healthy eating concepts
✅ teacher guide for additional ideas and discussion questions when reading I’d Rather Eat Chocolate to your students
✅ perfect for teachers and homeschoolers
✅ linked to curriculum AC9HP2P06

Share this with a teacher you know!