While I'm not professional or experienced enough to give good advice regarding story telling targeting preschooler audiences, I would like to share this wonderful clip on how author Mercer Mayer tells his story of "There's An Alligator Under My Bed"; this book is available in the library and I'm sure you will be able to capture your child's attention by reading it the way the author did.

Additionally, if you have difficulty getting your preschooler's attention despite reading to them the all-time-favourite Dr Seuss classic collection, you can try tuning into the following clips for tips (for tips, i meant trying to imitate how the reader read that book ) on how to pace your reading and voice tonation (and also how to pronounce some of the 'nonsensical' words).

Dr Seuss ABC

Does your boy resist reading?  Having difficulty getting them to pick up that book? The solution? Laughter is indeed the best medicine.

Two years ago, when struggling with getting my then-K2 to start reading on a more regular basis, I picked out a "Humor book" from NLB. I still remember vividly, how ds1 complained that there were a lot of pages (about 60 pages) in that book. Pinning on the hope that he may be enticed by the funny story and finish the whole book in one sitting (actually there are only a few lines in each of the 60 pages), I merely told him that he could stop after 3-4 pages and continue the next day if he wished. 20 minutes later, he told me (proudly) that he finished the whole book and the story is quite funny. Bingo! So hence started our journey down the funny lane....

1.Horrible Series Handbooks (Suitable for K2 to P1)

My husband had been wanting to be a blood donor, but never taken that first step until 6 months ago. It all started after he learnt that one of his subordinates is a regular blood donor. These are what he shared with me:

Peer Pressure/Support

Whichever way you view it, blood donation is still voluntary. Peer pressure to lead by example spur my husband to partake in his first blood donation (hm…in addition to the time-offs he granted them for this event, maybe it is peer support too that his subordinate turned up for their organized donation ). Peer support makes the whole process of donation fun and makes regular blood donation possible as it becomes a bonding event among colleagues/group-mates/friends.

SGH/HSA

In the bid to entice my boy into the world of science, we tried the following 2 very simple experiments at home and talked about surface tension of water thereafter.

Metal Floats On Water! Kids Science - Funny videos are here

You may find that there are some words which cannot be sounded out using phonics rules (eg 'one') or which, by itself, cannot be easily explained to a child (eg 'is', 'to''). Such words form part of the 'Sight Words' list or commonly known as the 'Dolch Word List' and mastering them may enable a child to read more efficiently as the words in the list is said to make up 50-75% of all words used in books.

An example of the Dolch Word List can be found in this website.

Here is what I did with my then-5yr-old boy:

Discipline is about far more than responding to misbehavior. Effective discipline - teaching your son (child) character, attitudes, and skills - is something that should happen every hour and every day of your lives together. At its heart, discipline is a powerful expression of your love for your son (child). ~ Cheryl L. Erwin

Reviewed from a book titled  "The Everything Parent's Guide To Raising Boys: A Complete Handbook to Develop Confidence, Promote Self-esteem, And Improve Communication (Everything: Parenting and Family) " by Cheryl L. Erwin, below are some salient points extracted from Chapter 6 - Discipline as Teaching, that particularly interest me...