Feed Me Books Friday: Velcro?

Independence versus Skills

My son’s teacher has a shoe-tying policy. I haven’t decided if I find it funny or disturbing. I’m navigating this new world of not knowing EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of what goes on in the classroom, and I’m trying not to rush to judgment. She mentioned her policy at back to school night. Children who have not learned to tie their shoes by Halloween should wear Velcro because she will not be tying them in November. In some ways, this is a very logical, common sense position: 64 untied shoelaces could take up the bulk of her just-over-3-hour session. At the same time, isn’t there a difference between the child who is chronically dragging his untied shoelaces along behind him and the one who is struggling with the dexterity and has an occasional moment of frustration? (Even writing this, I’m feeling like an enabler…)

Make it IM-personal

B has started to practice shoe-tying. He WANTS to be able to do it. He tied his own shoes every day of our recent trip (even though I sometimes had to re-tie later) and even tied his brother’s (which is no easy task on a squirmy 2 year old). But this week he’s back to wanting me to do it, which I believe is thanks to a combination of morning sluggishness and a lack of confidence in his (often loose) tying abilities. He is concerned they’ll come undone at school and he’ll either have to take the time to fix them or ask for help. Some of the best advice I’ve read about teaching  to tie shoes is to remove the pressure of getting ready and make it more maneuverable at the same time by having them practice on someone else’s (often larger) shoe whether or not it is currently on a foot. So when I saw Don’t Lose Your Shoes in the scholastic book order from B’s preschool teacher last spring, I thought it would be a great practice tool! The book has a three part cover. A laced-up “shoe” panel folds open next to the pages bound between the front and back so that children can practice the actions along with the story. The text tells the plight of Eric, a monkey who is plagued by untied shoes tripping him up at the playground. With the help of some animal friends, Eric learns to lace and tie his shoes. Each page of the book illustrates a different step in the process as Eric learns it. Children can follow along on the shoelace panel. The inside cover also has a visual reminder of the steps for practice. Following the steps in the story produces a double-loop or “bunny ear” style knot and bow. If intend to teach your child a different tactic, this story won’t be much good to you. Otherwise, the story is engaging, the tool is useful, and the connection of a narrative to the manipulation of the laces might just be the bridge between cognitive and physical development that your child needs.

Appropriate for preschoolers, (and primary students still practicing).

So help me out, do you think the teacher is using humor to encourage parents to work on this skill at home, or do you think she’s a burned-out shoe-tier? Should I be pushing the practice with laces or shopping for Velcro and cinch-ups? Is one tying method superior to another? Should I teach more than one to see if it comes easier or will that just confuse him? Hope you’ll help me out! (and share what you’re reading, too!)

photo courtesy kasahara on flickr

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Feed Me Books Friday: Sky Watching

Day and Night

Summer is the perfect time for gazing up at the sky. Whether it’s laying in the grass and soaking up the sun, or staying up past bedtime on a balmy night to study the stars, summer skies are hard to beat.

On the Horizon

I am celebrating my win from Brimful Curiosities by pulling my telescope out of the attic. B has become super interested in planets, stars, and space lately, so I was thrilled to win the contest on the Brimful blog for the Klutz Guide to the Galaxy. It arrived just before our vacation so we haven’t had a chance to “dig in,” but a flip though the pages is very enticing – can’t wait! Must mention – love the contests Janelle hosts and the round-ups she puts together every week – if you’re not following @Iambrimful, you should be! This particular contest involved guessing the time shown on a backyard sundial – our recent sundial crafting seems to have paid off in helping me estimate closely!

In the Rearview

We’ve experienced some unusually humid weather this week. And while not especially comfortable, it has been accompanied by some gorgeous cloud formations and thunderheads. Beautiful to behold, and fodder for the imagination. It takes some complex cognitive development for children to expand beyond the literal (it looks like a cloud) to the imaginative (it looks like a sailboat). It Looked Like Spilt Milk, by Charles G. Shaw was an ideal choice for the weather and the creative nudge we needed. Very simply stated but a brilliant conversation piece, each page features a cloud resembling an object that is identified, then dismissed: “Sometimes it looked like a rabbit, but it wasn’t a rabbit.” The illustrations are a great way to discuss how we each perceive things in our own way. If you’ve ever cloud-gazed and had trouble describing what you saw, you’ll appreciate the ability to physically point to the features and say, “this looks like a ______ to me.” Literal and concrete toddlers developing into abstract and imaginative preschoolers will benefit from the practice in visualizing and accepting multiple interpretations.

On the Wall

As a fun extension, we did some abstract painting and then considered what it might resemble or represent. I had seen this idea for string painting and itching to try it, so I was glad the opportunity came along. 

• Begin by laying several 10-12” lengths of string across a tray, cardboard scrap, or even some heavy paper. 
• Squeeze dollops of tempera or acrylic paint next to one another on the string. 
• Carefully pick up the now rainbow string and lay it on your paper. 
• We chose to crease the paper first, then lay all the strings on one half and fold the paper over and smush the paint between the two sides. 
• You can also drag the string, but the rainbow effect gets muddled with too much movement. 

Hoping to pick up some white paint this weekend to make some spilt milk style paintings on blue paper.

Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers

Do you prefer to sky-gaze in the day or night – what’s the most interesting thing you’ve seen?

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You Put Ketchup on What?

Kids' Eating Habits

For the most part, B has been a pretty adventuresome and often voracious eater. We count ourselves lucky and I still knock on wood. I know many other moms plagued by the picky habits or allergic limits of their children’s eating habits: only pasta and rice, chicken nuggets for every meal, scanning every label and quizzing every restaurant for peanuts, wheat, or eggs, avoidance of all things green, dipping all food in ranch dressing or ketchup. Sound familiar to anyone? T’s appetite has not been as adventuresome as B’s so far, but he’s super independent and interested in table food, so I’m hoping as his ability to chew and his dexterity improve, he’ll follow his brother on the path to broader dietary horizons.


A Book for Picky Eaters


Though we haven’t had to work hard to convince B to try new things, we had fun talking about the picky eating pigs in Mrs. Pig’s Bulk Buy, by Mary Rayner. I recommended it immediately to a couple friends who do have picky eaters, and I’m now sharing that recommendation with you. Read it with your child as a nudge toward trying new things or as a cautionary tale to avoid getting stuck in a food rut.



Ketchup Gets a Little Tiresome

The little piggy children in Mrs. Pig’s Bulk Buy are big fans of ketchup. They like it on EVERYTHING. Mrs. Pig gets a little frustrated when her children cover everything she works so hard to cook with ketchup. (Can we blame her?) So she comes up with a plan in the vein of that tried and true parental trick: reverse psychology. On her next shopping trip, she purchases 6 enormous jars of ketchup, and from the time she returns home, that is all she serves.
 As you can imagine, the piggies are excited at first, but it is not long before they are begging for something else to eat. Satisfied she has taught her piggies a lesson, Mrs. Pig goes back to cooking tasty meals for them – and they aren’t so eager to drench them in ketchup. The author attributes the rosy skin of pigs to Mrs. Pig’s ketchup experiment: “all piglets have been like that ever since,” and warns the reader against becoming too fond of ketchup or “who knows, you just might turn really bright pink yourselves.”


How do you deal with picky eaters or food ruts in your house?


Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


Linking Up With:

What My Child is Reading This Week

Tackle it Tuesday

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How to Adjust to a New Baby Brother

I’m a Proud Mama

Lately I’ve been admiring what an amazing big brother B is. Sure, we have frustrating moments, like when he needs me to find the race car with the blue stripes and the hood that lifts up right now, which is just as T has decided he needs to nurse right now. But by and large, he is one impressive brother! He is kind; if T is getting antsy on a car trip, B will sing him a song. He is generous; he has not complained, even once, about sharing a toy with T (we’ll see how long that lasts). He is protective; he checks the floor carefully before T plays to make sure there’s nothing dangerous he could put in his mouth. And best of all, he just likes to have his brother around; he begs for T to take a bath with him or lay in bed together while we read stories. I’d like to say this is all the result of some amazing parenting, but I’m proud, not arrogant, and I am just thankful that B has been blessed with such a lovely personality.

A Nudge in the Right Direction

The one thing I can claim to have done to foster this big brother relationship is to prepare B for T’s arrival. We didn’t jump the gun – due to B’s age and lack of the concept of months, we didn’t even talk about the new baby until I was about 7 ½ months pregnant. Uncertain of how to make it comprehensible to him, I of course turned to books. We checked out about a half dozen library books about babies and pregnant mommies, and several were helpful, including Mama Outside, Mama Inside, I'm a Big Brother, and What Can Our New Baby Do? However, my favorite is one we came across by accident perusing the shelves: I Used To Be the Baby, by Robin Ballard. This book presents some of the possibly challenging sibling scenarios: sharing toys, car rides, feeding time, among others, and shows what a great big brother (or sister) can do to make things easier. For example, when baby is sad in the stroller, big brother holds his hand, and when baby tries to eat books, big brother gets out the baby books and reads to him! Love it! There are no shoulds here, just positive examples and great discussion starters.

Making your own Transitions

Books are excellent tools to ease transitions and help that social-emotional development along when children are facing a new experience or chapter in their lives. I Used to Be the Baby is a tool you can use with toddlers and preschoolers who are may be challenged to think about the needs of a baby, especially because developmentally, the world still revolves around them. The responses of the big brother in this book are not necessarily the only appropriate responses. I used this book to talk about options with B, and I asked him to come up with some of his own alternatives. One of his suggestions: instead of being quiet when baby is napping, we can play outside! No book will make a child a good big brother or sister – but the conversation generated by this one might help make the transition easier for everyone.


Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.


What other transitions have you and your child been challenged by?




I’m linking up with Janna @ The Adventure of Motherhood for Feed Me Books Friday. Check out other great reads there!
I've also linked this post to "Meme's the Word!" on Saturdays at Lemon Drop Pie.

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