PODCAST UPDATE

The Night Light Stories Household has been busy. This Spring and Summer we packed up and moved to a new house. Before we knew it, the Summer was gone and the school bell was ringing. 

Due to all of this excitement, we're going to be on hiatus. We will be back as soon as possible with new content for your listening pleasure. 

Welcome back to school to all of our listeners! 

LIGHTING THE WAY WITH WORDS

We have our first loose tooth in our house!
Have you heard our story about loose teeth?
A Tooth's Story: (17:12)

A tooth learns that he will be leaving his home 
in the mouth from a voice down below the gums.  
He must say goodbye to his friends and inform 

the rest of the teeth about their own impending journey.

Free audio download: A Tooth's Story

Blog with activities: A Tooth's Story

Our kids love to narrate stories to each other and to us. While they narrate, they come up with clever details and exciting twists and turns. They work well off one another to create the silliest story possible. When do you narrate stories? Do you write your stories down or type them out? Share with us in the comments or on our Facebook page. 

As always, we look forward to watching the glow grow brighter 

with the many words we can share together.

Our other words that begin with "N"

Nestle

Nibble

Nourishment

Nutcrackers

Episode 30: Mojo's Reptile Rescue

Click here to listen to: Mojo's Reptile Rescue

Hi All,

Living on a mountain, we are lucky to have a lot of wildlife around us. We often will wake up to find deer chomping on our weeds, frogs croaking in our ponds, and the creek babbling behind our house. Occasionally in our ponds we will have some special visitors, like the box turtle. We enjoy these visits because it gives us the opportunity to observe the animals in their natural habitats and it gives the kids a quick, authentic, science lesson. 

VORACIOUS VOCABULARY

What did you say? A word of the day! In our story there are many

juicy words that are fun to use and say.

anticipation: realization in advance.
bewilderment: to confuse.
clumsy: awkward in movement or action.

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1.  Create your very own animal riddles. Write down different characteristics of the animal you want to describe and then read them to a family member or friend and see if they can guess. An example would be from our story:This animal is green and can tuck his head and legs in his shell to protect himself.


2. Visit this website about turtles to learn some "fast facts" and find some more kid friendly sites about turtles to explore.


3. Have you heard our other Mojo stories?  

Mojo and the Magic Couch

Mojo Goes Bananas

Mojo's Cousin Trouble

Mojo and the Ear Mites

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. What type of animal is Lexor?
2. Who gives Lexor the first raisin?
3. How does Mojo fall into the bath tub?
4. Where does Mojo's mom find Lexor?

BRIGHT BIRTHDAY WISHES

We want to send out bright birthday wishes to:

Christie H. of Philadelphia

Victoria J. of Maryland

Aunt Julie of New York

Mike N. of New York

Luke N. of Virginia

Will D. of Spain

Audrey D. of West Viginia

We hope your day SPARKLED!

As always, we look forward to the many stories we can share together!

Sharing Tips On Patience With The Mighty Mommy

Hi All,

We were honored to be featured on the Mighty Mommy podcast,  Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting.  Mr. Chris and I have been listening to her podcast since our son was a newborn.  She provides quick tips on subjects ranging from potty training to reading with your children. It was fun to write her a tip about the strategies we use to teach patience to our two young children.  We had written about it in this blog post and posted a story about it called, "Captain Destructo".  

We'd like to extend a special welcome to any visitors from The Mighty Mommy. You can find links to all our original stories to the right. We would love to hear what you think!  Feel free to contact us by leaving a comment on the blog or at [email protected], subscribe for free via iTunes, follow us on Twitter at nightlight08, or join our fan page on Facebook at Night Light Stories.  As always, I look forward to the many stories we can share together!

Episode 12: Untitled Imagination Story

Click here to listen to: A Place for Everyone

Hi All,

The school year is in full swing at the Night Light household. Trail hiking, river swimming and all day family days will have to wait until the weekends. Our minds are rested and rejuvenated from the summer adventures and we are ready to have some new adventures in school! We hope you admire your teacher, are blissful when collaborating with your classmates, never disguise how ecstatic you are about school, flabbergasted by all the new things you learn, and most of all we wish you all a gigantically successful school year!

CREATE A TITLE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COOL SNACK BAG!

Our twelfth story was written by Chris and Melissa Bugaj and well, to be honest, it does not have a title! We could really use your help and creativity! After you listen to the story, come up with a creative title for this story. Leave it as a comment on the blog, twitter it to us at nightlight08 or email me at [email protected]. Our favorite title will win this very fun and reusable snack bag created by Natalia at the Woobie Shop. Great for lunchboxes, purses, book bags, diaper bags or really anywhere you can fit it.

What did you say? A word of the day! That is right! In our story there are

many juicy words that are fun to learn and say!

launch:to send forth or release
slogan: catch word or catch phrase
summit:the highest point or part of a hill

swivel: to turn or pivot

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1. Keep a special journal or notebook where you keep all of your thoughts, ideas and drawings.

2. Sit together as a family and write down three goals for the school year for school and home that you want to achieve.They could be daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals or yearly goals.

3. Mrs. Brighton made her lunch and packed her backpack the night before so that she would not have to rush to do that in the morning. Think of one or two things you could do the night before school to make the morning a little bit easier for you. Examples would be: Take a shower, pack your lunch, organize your book bag or set out your clothes.

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. Why did Mrs. Brighton have such a difficult time choosing a theme for her classroom?

2. Where is Mrs. Brighton when she thinks about "Leaping into Second Grade" as her theme?

3. What does she finally decide on as a theme? Be as specific and detailed as you can in describing her classroom.

BRIGHT BIRTHDAY WISHES

We want to send out bright birthday wishes to:

Amanda M from New Hampshire

Heather J of Virginia

Saben J of Virginia

Aunt Nenny

Danielle B of Buffalo, NY

Proby of Chigago Illinois.

We hope your day SPARKLED!

If you know someone who has a birthday coming up and you'd liketo send them a Night Light Birthday wish, send us an email at [email protected]. Please send us your loved one's first name and the first initial of their last name only and we'll pass along the birthday wish. There are no age limits!

As always I look forward to the many stories we can share together.

PROMO

Click here to listen to: The Promo

Hi All,

We have recorded a promo for Night Light Stories. Until now, we've primarily been letting people know about Night Light Stories by sending updates to our family and friends, who have been gratiously spreading the word. We would love for you to share our stories! Feel free to download the promo and play it on your podcast, post us on your blog or share it through email with anybody you know. We are hoping even more families will share in the experience of listening to the stories together. Check out the comprehension questions for each story we've posted so far. Comprehension questions will continue to be a part of every future episode as well.
Thanks for all your support and we continue to look forward to watching the glow grow brighter with the many stories we can share together.

Episode 1:Mojo and The Magic Couch

Click here to listen to Mojo and The Magic Couch

Hi All,

The first of the stories is up for your listening pleasure. I am so thrilled to have started this and get the light glowing bright! I wanted to share a little background on the story of Mojo and the Magic Couch. My husband and I are the authors. We came up with the idea for it after we noticed our ferret, Mojo, was escaping into the depths of our couch. He literally had dug a hole in between the cushions and would leap in there while we desperately tried to get to him before he wriggled his slinky body all the way in. We always joked that he was going in there to a magic land, and so that is how the story came to be.

As promised, here is the picture of Mojo,

the little rascal!

What did you say? A word of the day!

That is right! In our story there are many juicy words that are fun to learn and say! I am going to post a word or two or three from the story that would be fun to try to use in your conversations throughout the week.

Scamper: To run or go quickly and lightly. A quick light run or movement.

Smidgen: A very small amount.

Wriggle: To twist to and fro; writhe; squirm.
To move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm or snake.

FAN ART

What did you picture while you were listening to the story? What was your favorite scene? What did the inside of the couch look like? We would love to see how you pictured our story! Send us a picture of your favorite scene or anything that has to do with the story. Submit the pictures to [email protected]. I will post these illustrated works of art as I receive them. We look forward to seeing your imaginations at work! As always, keep your light and minds glowing bright!

SHARE IT!

Feel free to contact me at my website, [email protected] with any comments or suggestions you may have. I have just begun my journey with podcasting and blogging and would love to hear from you! Keep your minds glowing brightly!

Night Light Stories is also available for free on iTunes!

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1. A male ferret weighs about 2.5 pounds. How much do you weigh? Use a scale to find out. Who weights more, you or a ferret?

2. Mojo is a curious ferret, which means he is interested in new things. What are you curious about?

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. Mojo's parents did not want him to go into the couch. What was their reason?

2. List 2 things Mojo saw when he did wriggle into the couch?

3. What did Mojo share with all the other ferrets that was special to him?