http://www.barefootbooks.com/story/childrens-crafts-activities/journey_home_from_grandpas_video/

Help your child learn to love reading

Learning to read is the cornerstone of every child's education. By reading aloud to your child, you will be sharing one of life's most valuable gifts and opening all kinds of doors for the future.


Here are some tips on making the most of reading with your child.

1. Choose a time and a place where you can be quiet and give your child lots of attention. Make the occasion a special one.
2. Turn off any distractions such as the TV, music or the computer.
3. When you are reading aloud, show your child that you are having fun!
4. Involve your child. Let yourself be interrupted with questions; talk about what you think of the story and the pictures.
5. When your child has started learning to read, follow the text and encourage him or her to point to the words as you go along.
6. Establish a routine. Try to devote some time every day to reading.
7. Take your child to your local library and involve him or her in choosing books.
8. Notice what kinds of stories your child enjoys and look out for ones with similar themes.
9. When you are reading aloud, praise your child for listening well and sitting still. When your child is learning to read to you, give praise and encouragement too, but be sure to gently correct your child when he or she makes mistakes.
10. Help build your child's vocabulary and memory skills by supplementing reading sessions with audio books on car journeys and after meals or at bedtime. Audio books are especially helpful in building memory skills and supporting the learning of dyslexic and autistic children.

Sharing your child's journey into reading can be one of the most rewarding experiences of parenthood. You owe it to your child, and to yourself, to make it a priority in your daily life.

Experience a Barefoot Book now with your child by clicking on the link below.

http://www.barefootbooks.com/story/childrens-crafts-activities/journey_home_from_grandpas_video/

Looking for homemade pet food & treat recipes?

I belong to numerous pet boards and of course I've found time & time again, more and more people are searching the internet for homemade pet treats and food. Having lost one of my own, I can truly understand their fear. The one thing I like to make people aware of, is our pets nutritional needs are different from that of a human. So although some of the recipes I collect and will share with you from time to time and sound absolutely scrumptious, they can be lacking in nutritional value and that's where Sojos can help. Simply by adding a little Europa or Muesli to your pets favorite recipe will add the nutritional value that was missing originally.

Europa Ingredients: Sweet Potatos, Carrots, Broccoli, Celery, Apples, Whole Egg, Flax Meal, Parsley Leaf, Calcium Carbonate, Carob Powder, Kelp Powder, Alfalfa, Ginger Root, Garlic

Monzie's Muesli Ingredients: Organic Oats, Organic Barley, Organic Rye, Organic Quinoa, Organic Flax Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Kelp Powder, Carob Powder, Vegetable Broth Powder, Garlic, Parsley, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Dandelion

Missing Link for Cats & Dogs: One of our favorite general vitamin/mineral supplements. Nutritional supplementation is a great thing to add to any pet food, especially for puppies and kittens, older animals, or animals with special nutritional needs. Like Sojos Pet Food Mix, Missing Link derives its nutrition from unprocessed, nutrient-rich, human-quality whole foods. The Missing Link is nitrogen flushed and vacuum-packed for freshness to protect its precious nutrients. For years, veterinarians and pet owners have used Missing Link to promote better digestion, healthy skin and coat, increased energy, quicker recovery, reduced allergies, reduced odor, less joint stiffness and overall health and well being. Available in Missing Link for Cats, Missing Link for Dogs, and now Missing Link Plus for Dogs (with Joint Support).

Here are some great recipe books to start you down the right path that both you and your pets will enjoy and if you have a recipe your pets would like to share, send it to us here at lil Country Paws and we'll add it to our blog.


BARKER's Grub

A cookbook filled with wholesome, easy-to-prepare meals for your mutt or your pedigreed pooch -- and you'll find all the necessary ingredients in your fridge or at the local supermarket. She includes not only fun everyday meals, but healing meals for specific health problems, as well as special diets for different life stages, such as:
* Lo Mein Barking Style: the doggie alternative for Chinese takeout
* Beef Puppy Food: just the right mix for a growing dog
* Davie's Juicy Jiggly-Wiggly Anemia Diet: a blood-boosting dish of liver, rice, and spinach


Throw Me a Bone

50 delectable recipes for snacks, meals, and treats for your canine companion.

Maybe you're cooking everything because your collie has colitis or your Akita has a wheat allergy or your older dog just isn't thriving on commercial kibble. Maybe you're mixing up the occasional biscuit or treat to help your best fur-bearing friend over that I-just-ate-a-tennis- ball-and-don't-feel-so-good episode. Whatever the reason, the recipes in this book (which have been approved by dog trainer and nutritional consultant Stacy Alldredge) will satisfy the most discerning doggie palate. Many of them, in fact, can be shared with a favorite human (though preferably not from the same dish).


Real Food for Dogs

Instead of scolding your dog for begging at the table, pull up a chair and invite him to sit down! With these 50 vet-approved, easy-to-prepare recipes - from Pooch Pancakes to Gobble-Down Goulash - you can make nutritious and delicious food for your dog, and you'll laugh out loud at Anne Davis's delightful illustrations as you cook. You'll also learn "Canine Nutrition 101" and pick up helpful tips on dog care. A section on prescription diets is included for dogs with special needs.

lil Country Paws