You can help Imprints on Cyber Monday!

I hope you have survived Black Friday - now it's time for Cyber Monday! Several online stores and services have adopted the Monday following Black Friday as a day for them to offer special savings. As you begin your journey to savings, please remember that by beginning your online shopping extravaganza at www.GoodShop.com, a percentage of your purchase will be donated to Imprints.

Here's how it works:
1) Go to www.GoodShop.com and select Imprints as your charity of choice.
2) Click on the store of your choice.
3) Click "Shop Now!"
4) A message will come up that says "Your purchases will automatically generate a donation and will be displayed on GoodShop after confirmation by the merchant (this could take several weeks)." (Basically, this means that after your credit card has been charged and your purchase has been shipped, the donation will be made to Imprints).
5) After that message, you will be automatically redirected to the store you chose.
6) You will not see anything else about Imprints as your make your purchase. In a few weeks you can check back on GoodShop and see the impact your purchase has made.

GoodShop has about 1,000 participating stores including: Amazon, eBay, Target, Apple, Toys R Us, and Old Navy. The site also has thousands of money-saving coupons! Please remember to use this site on Cyber Monday and any other day you shop online. If you're just researching things online, use the Yahoo! powered search engine at www.GoodSearch.com, and each search will accumulate about a penny will go to Imprints.

Thank you for your support!

What are your children thankful for?

My favorite Thanksgiving activity is going around the room and talking about what each person is thankful for. The younger kids usually enjoy it as well but have a harder time coming up with things to say so I came up with a more kid-friendly activity.

First, we read a book about thankfulness such as: Thanks for Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks, or Thank You, World. While we are reading, we discuss if they also like or are thankful for the situations illustrated in the story.

Next, we each create a turkey out of construction paper and write, draw, or paste a picture on his feathers that show what we are each thankful for. You can do as many or as few feathers as you like. This project is very easy and a lot of fun.

When it's all finished, have the kids share their turkeys with the adults. It usually inspires a wonderful conversation that truly captures the spirit of Thanksgiving.

How to make a Grateful Gobbler:

You will need:
-approximately 3 different pieces of construction paper (depending on how colorful you want your turkey)
-crayons or markers
-glue (liquid or stick)
-magazines to cut out pictures (optional)
-photographs to cut (optional)


Directions:
-Cut out 1 pear shape approximately 5 inches in height for the turkey body
-Cut out 5 feathers approximately 5 inches long
-Glue the feathers to the back of the pear shape
-Glue the turkey onto a full sheet of construction paper
-After everything is glued down, make a face on the turkey
-Help your child draw or write about what they are thankful for.
-An optional idea would be to cut out photos or pictures from magazines
to show what they are thankful.

What your child is learning:
-Fine Motor Skills - strengthening of the small muscles in their hand
-Creative Expression
-Colors
-How to follow directions
-Family / Holiday Tradition
-Thankfulness

Here is a sample of what your child's turkey may look like:

What's on our bookshelf....

Thanks for Thanksgiving - Written by Julie Markes and Illustrated by Doris Barrette



Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks - Written by Margaret Sutherland and Illustrated by Sonja Lamut

As Thanksgiving is upon us, I would like to suggest 2 books to read over the holiday weekend with your children. The first is called Thanks for Thanksgiving. It is a lovely book with one sentence per page and easy rhymes that the kids will love to try and guess. The brightly colored pictures fill the pages and are a lot of fun to look at. Each page starts with "Thank you for" and then names something that kids would be thankful for. At the end of the book is a place for the child or entire family to write about what they are thankful for.

The second book is called Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks. This book also has about one sentence per page but does not contain any rhyming. The sentences state what they are thankful for and sometimes adds why they are thankful for that item. These sweet illustrations show culturally diverse children enjoying the things they are thankful for.

Both of these books are good choices when talking to your child about thankfulness. Please let us know which book you liked and why - we'd love to hear from you!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

What's on our bookshelf....

Thank You, World written by Alice B. McGinty and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin


This quick but soothing read is wonderful for beginning to talk to your child about thankfulness. Here is a description from the book jacket:

"The joys of childhood are the same the whole world over. In this compelling book of celebratory rhyme and glowing pictures, eight very different kids, from eight different countries, all go about their day and experience the same moments of happiness: greeting the sun in the morning, swinging on a swing, flying a kite, being tucked in by Mommy at bedtime. Uplifting and visually rich, this book reminds us that the world isn't as large as it seems, and that life's greatest pleasures are the simple ones."

The amazing crayon-drawn pictures are sure to transport you to the different countries and experience their days along with them. Enjoy!

Parent Resource Fair - November 10th

The Parent Resource Fair will be here before you know it, so make sure it's marked on your calendar. Here is the information again in case you missed it.

Please join us at Imprints on Tuesday, November 10th from 6 to 7:30pm to learn about community resources for you and your family.

Representatives of the following agencies will be on hand to give out information and helpful advice:

· Family Services/Ways to Work Program

· Work/Family Resource Center

· Goodwill Industries

· Consumer Credit Counseling

· The Experiment in Self Reliance, Inc.

· Crisis Control Ministries

Refreshments and child care are provided. Please contact Trina Stephens at (336) 722-6296 x211 or tstephens@imprintsforfamilies.org to RSVP.

Imprints is located at the Augsburg Community Center, 502 N. Broad St., Winston Salem, NC (corner of Broad St. and 6th Street.) Parking is located in the parking lot off of Pilot View St.

"Amazing feats of Aging"

SciWorks is having a FREE Community Day on Saturday, November 7th from 11am to 5pm. Their current exhibit is "Amazing feats of Aging." Learn why and how animals and humans, age.

Click here to learn more about it.

What's on our bookshelf....

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? Written by Jane Yolen and Illustrated by Mark Teague

Since so many children are sick this time of year, I thought that a book that shows the adorable dinosaurs from the "How Do Dinosaurs" series would be a good choice. How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? is an easy-to-read book with funny rhymes and hilarious pictures. The dinosaurs are shown in the common scenarios of sickness - going to the doctor, having to take medicine, taking their temperature, and more. The beginning of the book shows the dinosaurs spitting out their medicine and throwing their tissues on the floor but by the end, they are all making better choices because it will help them get well soon.

Somewhere in each picture is the name of the dinosaur. Kids love the seeking out the name and trying to pronounce it. It is also fun to guess the emotion of each human and dinosaur by looking at the wonderfully illustrated pages. This book can be as simple or complex as you want to make which makes it fun for all ages whether they are sick or not.