Add to Your Child’s At-Home Library with these Fitness Finds (two are from local authors)
I’m rounding out the month of kids’ fitness finds with some of my favorite fitness and wellness children’s books. If you follow my other Instagram account, you know that last year I took my home schooling duties very seriously. I am happy to have the real professionals back in charge of my kids’ education now, but last year had many wonderful gains in our house. One of which was the growth of our at-home library. A good book not only entertains but educates. I may have learned more than my kids last year! A few of my favorite additions to our at-home children’s library last year were books that focused on the incredible human body and mind. Learning to appreciate our bodies and be wowed by our own capabilities is a lesson we can all benefit from, no matter what age!
Be sure to check out my Amazon Shop under “Fitness Finds”. There is a whole section that includes many more awesome reads for kids than what I am highlighting here.
Here are some favorites from last year:
We did these meditation cards often in the afternoon when we all needed to focus and calm down. The beautiful pictures on these cards drew my kids in. They loved to take turns selecting the day’s meditation based on the illustrations on the back of the cards.
This is a fun book for the littlest yogis in your house. It teaches yoga poses using animals. It’s perfect for ages 1-3.
This is a great book for young readers who are just starting to learn about their incredible bodies. It begins to explore how their bodies work and move and allow them to do all of the wonderful things they do every day.
This book introduces children to the importance of exercise with a little tale about field day. There is an activity at the end of the book that invites kids to make an exercise chart to track their daily activity.
If your kids are a fan of the Cat in the Hat, this book explores the body and teaches about living a healthy lifestyle with the help of the rhyming Cat in the Hat.
During our gym class last year, I was always looking for different and fun ways to get active with the kids. This book of jump rope rhymes was a perfect way to change it up.
When we studied emotions, I found a bunch of helpful books to teach my kids about understanding and managing their big emotions. These were probably the most valuable lessons because we all needed help in this department last year. This is just one of the books but I put the rest in my Amazon Shop.
While expanding our home library, I came across these two books from local authors.
FUEL YOUR BEST by Jen Crompton and Nahjee Grant
Jen Crompton is the Owner of Fuel City Fit and I met her in June when I took one of her classes. Fuel Your Best is about a young boy who is more interested in his video games than anything else. Sound familiar? But when his video controller breaks and he has time to spare, he finally accepts his friend’s invitation to play on his basketball team. The boy begins to appreciate and enjoy being part of a team. And, this is a very special team! The tale is about inclusivity and being active at any age, no matter what your abilities may be.
I asked Jen what inspired her to write this book. “Working with fitness and kids, I have always known the importance of getting kids interested in fitness. But what I also wanted to do was give parents and kids a chance to have a conversation about fitness and inclusivity. Every night, my son and I read a book together and I thought writing a book about fitness would encourage kids to get involved. And more importantly, that there are opportunities for anyone - of any level - to find a way to have fun with fitness and move their body.”
Jen and her son share the book at the book launch party this summer.
When asked if the story from Fuel Your Best was based on any personal experience, Jen responded, “I loved being a part of a team and being in an environment where my athleticism and strength was appreciated. I played soccer all the way up until I was pregnant with my son. Soccer truly changed my life. I want to inspire kids to try sports and fitness and find what they love. Sports and fitness teach us so much about life and provide a healthy outlet for movement and interaction — and I want everyone to explore that opportunity.”
Fuel Your Best is available in my Amazon Shop. The proceeds from the book go towards Jen’s annual Boxing + Brunch program that had to take a little break due to Covid but that Jen hopes to bring back this year. Boxing + Brunch is an event for young women and empowers them to build their self-confidence through fitness and education. Jen cannot wait to bring the program back and continue to offer young women the chance to learn, network, and embrace their strength on all levels.
THE BEDTIME BUNNY by Christy Kaupinen
The Bedtime Bunny (or the “BTB” as we call her) is a pretty big deal in our house. She is bigger than the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and our Mensch on the Bench, combined. That’s because when the BTB is visiting our house everyone is happy because everyone is sleeping! And well-rested people equal a healthy and happy family. The Bedtime Bunny is a tale of a new mystical creature. This one visits houses each night to make sure the children are in bed and if they are, the BTB leaves a sign the next morning that he/she (ours is a girl) has been there— a note, a sticker, or a little present.
I asked Christy where the Bedtime Bunny came from and what inspired her to write this book. “As a competitive athlete (rowing) in my younger years, sleep has always been one of my top priorities. I always think of sleep as the foundation of good health – sleep loss leads to excess caloric intake, lower energy levels, inability to manage stress, and less clear thinking. So, when I had kids, protecting both my sleep and my kids’ sleep was really important to me. When my kids were infants we had all the things – sleep training techniques, sleep sacks and swaddles, and of course the confines of the crib, but once they reached preschool-age, nothing short of magic was going to keep them in their beds at night. So that’s exactly what I created with the Bedtime Bunny. The Bedtime Bunny uses the power of magic to motivate kids to stay in bed, and even includes a sparkly carrot inside the front cover. If the kids are in bed when the Bedtime Bunny hops to your house, he or she might leave a little treat for them to find in the morning. My kids took to it instantly – it was a total miracle – and we finally got our nights back.”
The book is based on Christy’s own family’s experiences. It features all three of her kids, (Katherine, Luke, and Sienna, who was just a baby when the Bedtime Bunny first started hopping to the Kaupinen’s house). The book is even set on her street in Wayne because as Christy puts it “Red Fox Lane sounds like a story book.” Now Sienna is 3.5 and loves the family’s own Bedtime Bunny. Katherine and Luke are in on the secret now, and help “be” the Bedtime Bunny for their little sister.
Christy with her family celebrating the book’s receipt of the Mom’s Choice Gold Award!
Christy loves knowing that not only is the book helping everyone get more sleep, but it’s doing it in a positive way that brings joy to the whole family. Just this weekend, she got a message from a mom that the book has been a “game changer”. And as a mom who uses the book to get her own kids to sleep, I could not agree more!
When you purchase your copy of The Bedtime Bunny, which is available on my Amazon Shop, a sparkly carrot is built into the book. The kids pop it out and start using it. You have to read the story to find out what the carrot is all about!
Last week, I visited my favorite children’s book store, Children’s Book World in Haverford, to get some new books for our library because I had not added to our library since I closed my home school in June. The staff at Children’s Book World is so helpful and always has very thoughtful and accurate recommendations. Here are some additions that I had to get and that I cannot wait to share with my kids.
I love how this book teaches yoga and explains sun salutations and sunshine meditations in the back. It’s a beautiful way to start the day. The illustrations are colorful, enticing and playful to draw the little ones in. The sister book is called Hello, Moon and is perfect for bedtime.
The books from this series by Mallika Chopra teach your older children about meditation, mindfulness and yoga. In Just Breathe, there are different exercises for dealing with common preteen and teenage problems like anxiety, lack of focus, anger, a headache, trouble falling asleep and more. It teaches about the importance of breath, as well as breaking down some basic yoga poses. I absolutely love this book and the others in the series. Visit my Amazon Shop for all of them.
This is a great book to get your busy little ones to just sit. It starts to teach meditation in seven simple steps. This is what I am talking about when I say that I learn from the kid’s lessons!
I am so excited about these two journals I bought for my girls. This one is perfect for my kindergartener who isn’t old enough to write her feelings. Instead, she can draw and dot and scribble them! I got this one for my tween who needs a little push to write. This guided journal gives prompts to your young writer in a fun and creative way. I cannot wait to start journaling with my girls, but I am saving these for the holidays as a gift.
And be sure to check out Children’s Book World whenever you are looking to add to your own home library. I am always so impressed by their huge selection for children of all ages. The store has tons of events each month, but their very personal subscription service could be my favorite thing about this place!
Signing off for the month. It went fast. September went reeeeeaaaal fast! I hope your kids have settled back into their routines and you finally have a chance to focus on yourself. I know that I am starting to feel like a normal human again. And while I could keep going with the kid fitness related finds, I’ll be returning to the usual focus of my blog in October.