Sponsor Giveaway: Alphabet Glue

Today I welcome Annie Riechmann here with me to share the wonderful creative resource that she has recently created, Alphabet Glue. Alphabet Glue is an e-magazine for children who love books (and their grown ups too). Annie has just released her second publication, which is jam packed full of creative ideas such as how to create story starting jars, hidden binding accordian books, story lanterns, DIY detective kits, making compasses, seasonal book lists, printable bookmarks, and more. Like I said…FULL of wonderful activites for you and the special child(ren) in your life. Alphabet Glue also has a facebook page, where you can find additional bits of craftiness, lots of sharing, and cool happenings such as children’s handmade book exchanges. When Annie is not busy creating all of this lovliness, she can be found sharing tidbits on her blog, Bird and Little Bird.

Welcome Annie!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Annie: I live in Vermont with my husband, who is in medical school, and my seven year old daughter. We moved here about two years ago from the San Francisco area. I have worked as an elementary school special education and literacy teacher for the last eleven years, but this fall I’m taking some time away from teaching to do a Library Science program. I blog at Bird and Little Bird and am also a regular contributor to The Magnifying Glass, an online nature-science journal for families.

How did the idea for Alphabet Glue come into creation for you?

Annie: It happened pretty organically, actually. I just realized that I was collecting all of these ideas for future blog posts, and then started thinking about how it would be nice to put them in a format that was a little bit easier for people to reference without necessarily having to dig back through my archives. Over the last couple of years, my blog has become very children’s literature oriented, so the content for the magazine so far has really all been stuff that is related to what I enjoy writing about anyway.

Do you have a favorite project from Alphabet Glue’s Volume Two that just came out? Can you tell us a little bit about what makes it your fav?

Annie: I really like the storystarting jar. I think because it is such an incredibly easy project to put together, but one that can be really useful during those inevitable moments when kids are looking for something to do.

What inspires the creation of the projects, activities, and printables that reside within the pages of each Alphabet Glue publication?

Annie: Most of what you’ll find inside an issue of Alphabet Glue comes pretty directly from whatever I’m feeling excited about at the moment. I really try to put together a balanced mix of content that inspires love for both reading and writing. I also really like to have an emphasis on projects that help to connect the two; encouraging kids to think about what they’re reading and hearing and to use that inspiration to create stories of their own.

As a mom, I love to have materials in my house that my older kids can use to find a way to occupy themselves and be educational at the same time. Do you have any suggestions for younger children and how to start to involve them in these activities even before they can read on their own?

Annie: I definitely think of Alphabet Glue as having an emphasis on projects that can be used with children of a wide variety of ages with just a little bit of modification. I think that simple bookmaking projects are great for younger children; I started making books with my daughter when she was about two. She would draw pictures and dictate her story to me. I would write the words for her. She felt like she was getting to “write a book” even though she was still a long way from writing any words herself.

You mention that Alphabet Glue is for kids who love books (and their grown ups too)! Would you mind sharing your thoughts on how literacy and a love of the written word can bring a sense of connection between a child and adult?

Annie: I think that reading together is one of the best things that you can do with your children! Reading a book together creates a shared experience, which is wonderful in and of itself, but I especially like that with books, as opposed to a lot of other things you might do together, the shared experience relies a bit on imagination. I also think that reading together presents a great opportunity to have conversations about how vast and intricate the world is. There are books on almost everything, and sharing in your children’s discovery of all that there is to know out there is pretty magical.

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Annie is generously offering 5 Earth Mama readers a free copy of the second edition of Alphabet Glue.

To enter simply leave a comment below! COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

**For an additional entry, you can share this post (facebook, twitter, on your blog, email some friends, call your mom, etc.) and leave yet another comment letting us know how you helped to spread the word.**

This giveaway will close FRIDAY morning 8am EST. The winner will be chosen via random number generator and announced in this post shortly after.

Thank you so much Annie for sharing all of your creativity with us. I know that I have thoughroughly enjoyed your first edition of Alphabet Glue and am very excited to dive into the second!

*For anyone who doesn’t win this giveaway or those of you who are interested in purchasing a copy of Alphabet Glue, it is available to download HERE for just $4.*

AND the 5 lucky winners are:

Sara: “These look like such great ideas and a valuable tool. Thank you for hosting, I think it would be very helpful not only for ideas for my own children but those of my family child care porgram. Happy Weekend!!”

Tracey: “How great!”

Karen: “Yes, please. Summer is here, and the days are wide open!”

Justelene: “What a sweet idea”

debra: “this looks wonderful! i would love to share this with my girls! thanks for the give-away…”