Creating good picture books that tell the traditional Easter story is difficult for a couple of reasons. First, the traditional story is quite violent, so a graphically illustrated version of the story could be quite shocking or disturbing for a young child. Second, the deep significance of the story can be pretty complicated for a young child, and so creating a picture book that tells the story in a way that is both true to New Testament theology and understandable for a young child is challenging.
Some picture books navigate these challenges by simply presenting the text from one (or several) of the Gospels along with illustrations that are not overly detailed. I think Easter: The King James Version
However, as I see it, the trouble with picture books that take this approach is that the text of the New Testament—especially in King James Version—is pretty difficult to understand for young children (hard enough for adults!), and pictures without much detail are not as interesting to look at. (Incidentally, if you would like to read something close to the New Testament story to younger children—say, 5-to-10-year-olds—I recommend The Child’s Story Bible
Thus, I prefer picture books that show the religious meaning of Easter through an illustrated story, but that do not just give the New Testament text itself. One such picture book is Petook: An Easter Story
Petook: An Easter Story
The second part of the story is many years later, when Petook and Martha are old, and Jesus is about to die. Again, Martha is sitting on a nest of eggs. As Petook waits for his new clutch of chicks to hatch he observes… Click here to read the rest of The Easter Story in a Picture Book: Petook, by Tomie dePaola, Caryll Houselander at Children’s Books and Reviews.
discovers six beautifully decorated eggs that her grandmother had packed away many years ago.
Katy brings the eggs downstairs, and her equally surprised grandmother declares that while Katy may not have found the most eggs, she found the most beautiful eggs. “Grandmom” explains how she had made the eggs herself when she was a little girl. She gets a tree and decorates it with the colorful eggs—like a Christmas tree—which inspires the kids to make more of the eggs, and soon the children have decorated a large tree with many eggs (and an even bigger one the next year!). Each year people come from miles around to see the family’s egg tree.
Children will find several things appealing about The Egg Tree. First, the story is charming. Milhous ably conveys the excitement of Easter morning, and captures the reader’s imagination with the beautiful egg tree tradition. However, what I found most appealing was Katy’s journey from feeling left out to feeling included. At first Katy feels that the Easter Rabbit has forgotten her, since she can’t find any eggs. However, when her discovery in the attic precipitates a wonderful annual tradition, she ends up feeling like an important part of the celebration. In the final lines of the picture book Katy is anxious to provide a flower-petal breakfast for the Easter Rabbit: “It would never do to forget the Easter Rabbit, for the Easter Rabbit had not forgotten her.”
The illustrations and overall design of this picture book are also very attractive. The bold-colored illustrations are simple yet artful, and transmit a traditional feel that goes along with the Pennsylvania Dutch traditions that Milhous portrays. The decorated eggs are particularly attractive, bearing traditional designs called “The Bright and Morning Star,” “The Deer on the Mountain,” “The Cooing Dove,” “The Pomegranate,” and “The Horn-blowing Rooster.” Also, most pages have top and bottom borders decorated with simple solid colors, or interesting traditional designs—just like the special eggs in the story.
In addition to being attractive, this picture book is developmentally valuable for children in several ways. First, the book provides an educational…Click here to read the rest of Attractive Easter Picture Book: The Egg Tree, by Katherine Milhous at Children’s Books and Reviews.
Making money as a freelance writer is a perfect fit for a work at home mom and is definitely one of the most popular work at home ideas in general. The great thing about being a freelance writer nowadays is that the Internet allows you to work for companies and individuals all over the world who need writing services on a regular basis. If you are willing to provide writing services at a competitive price and have a good command of the English language, you will never be out of work.
One spectacular benefit of being a freelancer writer and a work at home mom is that getting started is as easy as doing a little research online and then applying for a position or project. The only other things you really need are a PayPal account and a computer.
As with any business idea or career change, there are some things you’ll need to know and consider before you decide to take the leap.
Writing For Money
If you want to write as a way to make a consistent income, then you are most likely going to have to write non-fiction. While you may find a job here and there that requires a different genre, steady income in other areas will be hard to find.
The upside is, if you are enthusiastic about writing non-fiction and finding work online, then you will have a ton of opportunities at your fingertips.
You can break it down your options into two basic forms of non fiction writing: writing for print and writing for the web.
Writing for print is what most people will still think of when you tell them that you’re a freelance writer. This is when you write articles for print publications like magazines and newspapers. Most writers begin by submitting queries (basically a resume and a pitch for a story idea) to smaller, local publications that have limited applicants and less competition to new writers to deal with. The smaller ones are also more willing to give new writers a chance.
The downside to writing for print is that you often have to submit several queries, if not dozens, before you even get a response. Also, actually seeing a paycheck can take months. For most work at home moms, this situation just isn’t feasible and so they turn to the Internet to get started.
Writing online is much different. There are ample opportunities to get started and you can start seeing payments soon after you decide that writing is what you want to do.
Here are just a few different types of writing you can do online:
There are numerous freelance sites online, many which are free to join and have tons of job postiings daily. Here are just a few of the popular ones:
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and becoming an official work at home mom, chances are you’ve already thought of all the wonderful benefits like making money in your pajamas, flexible hours, and more. However, like every great idea, this one too has drawbacks that you should consider before you jump in with both feet.
The Transition
The first thing to consider is how hard the transition will be from your current job. For instance, you may be working a job that allows you to continue doing the exact same thing from home (i.e.; data entry, design, writing). However, it is an entirely different scenario if you have to quit your current job to pursue your new venture.
The Costs
Costs can vary a great deal when starting a new business, depending on what it is, but regardless what you decide to, there will be expenses at the beginning that you will have to endure. Also, if you do have to quit your job in order to begin your work at home career, then the costs become an even more serious aspect to look at since your current income will discontinue and you will have to wait until your new business gets off the ground to get ahead. You will be paying your own income tax, purchasing software and office accessories to track profits, etc. Make a detailed list of what you will need to get started and then make sure it is feasible before you begin.
Working At Home With Your Children
Although it’s definitely a benefit to work at home with your children in the house, it’s not always as easy as it may sound. Small children (as you probably know) can be quite demanding, and if you are still in charge of them during the day, then you might have to do your work while they are sleeping. This can be tricky as it’s because it’s sometimes hard to start your work shift after a long day of energetic child care, especially when you’re at home with your big comfy couch a few feet away.
Isolation
Even if your whole family is at home while you’re in your office, you are technically isolated and it’s much different from the majority of jobs as an employee at a bigger company. At the very least you typically see a few co-workers in the morning and chat beside the water cooler every now and then. You have to be prepared to be comfortable working alone for hours at a time.
Ultimately, it boils down to commitment, dedication, and discipline. If you are passionate about being a work at home mom, then you can do it as long as you stick to it and treat it like a real business from the start.
Procrastination is fun, isn’t it? A stroll out on to the deck with a fresh cup of coffee. A “quick” stop into the playroom to see the kids as you pass down the hallway on the way to the bathroom. Those seemingly short breaks might actually do you good if that’s all they were; short breaks. However, when the your procrastinator side kicks in, a 5 to 10 minute break can turn into an hour and twenty minutes of play time.
When you have an unlimited number of tasks to do (being a work at home mom doens’t really ever come to a stop), it’s understandable that stopping to play with the kids is enticing. However, in order to make your business flourish, you will have to learn to recognize when your slip into procrastination mode and figure out ways to quickly get back to work mode.
Here are a couple examples of signs to look for and what to do to counter any temptations.
