Bodies and Bones

What are they for?

When we got out our Halloween decorations, the skeleton prompted some questions from B about what’s inside our bodies and how they work. We’ve also been talking about Real and Pretend from last week’s preschool theme, which is timely to address some of the Halloween decorations and costumes. We talked about how a skeleton has a head, body, arms, hands, legs, and feet just like us. We posed the skeleton in various positions and then copied him with our own bodies – and then we found a good book to go with our play.

I Can Do It!

Eric Carle’s From Head to Toe is a fun book to play along with as you read, and has the added benefit of both cognitive and motor development as children learn about body parts and then practice using them. Each page features a different animal performing an action with a specific body part: the giraffe bends its neck, the cat arches its back, etc. Younger children will enjoy learning the names of body parts, while older children will refine their cognitive concept of those parts by comparing their own bodies to those of the animals. We enjoy reading this book like a game of Simon Says. B is pretty adept at mimicking the animal movements now, but T continues to learn more body part names, and enjoys the show B puts on.


Starting Simple

While T may not be quite ready for the games in From Head to Toe, he does know several body parts, and we have fun practicing and learning more with I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak. The playful text and illustrations identify both physical and intangible things to love. Not only do we love hands and eyes, but also behaviors like giggles, and personalities, like “your silly side.” We like giving kisses or raspberries on each body part mentioned. T isn’t quite ready yet, but B enjoyed demonstrating the behaviors and emotions. This is just a fun cuddle-up book, but it also makes a really nice precursor to the more active From Head to Toe.


Real and Pretend

As we talked about all the things our bodies can do, B became more and more curious about how it works! We recently received a book from Grandma that helped with some of the explanations. Outside-In, by Clare Smallman is a through reference book of kid-friendly text and lift-the-flap illustrations that answers questions like “What is blood?” “Does food go into our legs?” and “Why Do I Get Goosebumps?” At 32 pages, it’s a lot of information to take in at once, but we read a section at a time, and paged through all the pictures even without the text. Topics include skin, muscles, blood and circulation, lungs, bones and teeth, and digestion. Flaps help children picture the muscles, vessels, and organs inside them that are discussed in the text. It’s a book we’ll keep handy for answering more of B’s questions as they arise.

A fun read that emphasizes the importance of understanding our bodies and knowing the difference between real and pretend is Tedd Arnold’s Parts. The rhyming text and comical illustrations chronicle a boy’s escalating concern that his body is falling apart when he notices lost hair, peeling skin, and even a booger mistaken for a piece of brain! He is finally assured by his parents that his panic is unnecessary and all these parts are made to be lost and regenerated. There are some facts to be learned from the story, but emphasizing that the boy’s fears of falling apart are unfounded is important for the younger crowd. Arnold’s sequels, More Parts, and Even More Parts revolve around all of the bodily idioms that fill our vocabulary, like a broken heart or laugh your head off. While B has a pretty good grasp of the way many of these are used in every day speech, the humor of the literal (mis)understanding is a little beyond him, so I’m keeping those on the “for later” shelf.
There’s a little something for everyone here, so I’m saying:
Appropriate for: Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Primary Grades
Come join We Play at Childhood 101 and show off your great ideas at ABC and 123’s Show and Tell.


Come back Wednesday for a body-part related book-giveaway! And don’t forget to link up your own book recommendations Friday at Feed Me Books Friday!

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Apples, Apples, Everywhere

Two Apple Projects, One Apple Book, and a Gift
Between Back-to-School season and the arrival of harvest time, it seems apples are in abundance in the stores as well as the blogosphere. See in particular, Little Page Turners and Welcome to our Wonderland. B had an apple project to complete for his first day of preschool, so, inspired by all the apple reading and crafting going on in my Google reader, I pulled out a story I’d been holding on to for fall to get us in an apple-y mood.


Reading about Apples, Cooking, Geography

I am a baking hobbyist, so when I saw the title of How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, I was intrigued. The story begins with the premise that baking an apple pie is quite easy and requires just a few simple ingredients. However, an adventure ensues when the local market is closed and ingredients must be found elsewhere. The narrator advises the reader (who is represented in the illustrations by a young lady) that she should travel to Italy, Sri Lanka, and France, among other places to procure the best of each item required for baking. The last stop is Vermont for apples, followed by milling flour, churning butter, evaporating seawater for salt, and other not so simple tasks. Finally the pie is baked and ready to share with friends. A recipe for apple pie is included at the end, and maps of the journey decorate the front and back interior pages. There are so many opportunities for cognitive development in this book – following directions in a recipe, learning about food production, (wheat to flour, milk to butter, etc.) and learning about the world around us and local specialties. I’m excited to go find the sister book, How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A.!


Apple Project #1


Using the super-simple and kid friendly recipe from How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, B and I started on our pie project.

We measured and mixed the pastry (with our fingers – fun!).

Using pre-sliced organic apples from Costco was a shortcut – I peeled the slices, then he used his plastic “knife” to chop them into bite size pieces before mixing with cinnamon-sugar.

The pie was filled and baked, and we shared it with our friends: Grandma, Papa, and Great-Grandma (on grandparents’ day)!


Apple Project #2


Feeling apple-y, we moved on to our second apple project, which was to be completed prior to B’s first day of preschool. At summer registration, each child was given an apple to decorate and bring to school to add to the class tree. The apples were about 6”x8” printed on glossy cardstock. B chose to use stickers to put his name on his apple, then added 4 red felt circles with brown stems and green leaves a la glitter glue. He also gave the apple a face with googley eyes and a yarn mouth.


The Gift

I’d seen mention of meet-the-teacher gifts on a couple blogs. I have to point out, I was never the recipient of a first-day gift in my teaching days, but I know middle school is different than preschool, so I did a little searching. I found plenty of crafts – some cheesy, some adorable, but few I had the time or energy for on the day before school started. (Yes, this was a last minute thought.) Then I found a post on 2CleverBlog about gifting a book to your teacher – right up our alley! The suggestion is that the child gives his teacher a book that connects to something he did over the summer, thereby introducing himself and connecting with the teacher. Perfect! I had recently picked up a copy of Planting a Rainbow after being introduced to it over at Red Ted Art! We checked it out from the library and enjoyed it enough to purchase, so it turned into our teacher gift and I’ll purchase another copy for B and T to remember our summer garden. B’s teacher was pleased by the gift (and his note) and B had a fantastic first day.

How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World is appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


Come Play at the We Play link up!

I’m also linking up with the Book Lover’s Blog Hop at Story Time Under the Stars and

The Back to School Link Party at ABC and 123


Come back to Little Sprout Books on Friday for Feed Me Books Friday!

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Play with Logic and Spatial Skills

You’re Getting Warmer…
Hide and Seek and Peek-a-boo are timeless games around any home with children, and here is no exception. The warmer/colder game is a fun twist on hiding play. Sometimes B (or more often Mommy or Daddy) gets tired of hiding under the stifling blanket and waiting to be found (especially in the heat of summer)! We take turns with B hiding objects inside and out:

On the bookshelf...

In the couch cushions...

On the bed...

Even in the bathtub!

...and in the garden.

Then we give clues to find them: “You’re getting warmer, warmer, now colder, warmer, hot!” Sometimes we also practice spatial cues, including higher, lower, left, right, near, and far, for an extra cognitive challenge. B loves to be the clue giver as much as the hunter, and I love that he’s practicing academic vocabulary while he’s having a good time. Sometimes we hide several objects at once, sort of like an easter egg hunt, and it becomes a memory challenge as well. Occasionally B gets so caught up in finding good hiding spots, that the object disappears for a day or two until we come across it again in another game!

Backseat Hide and Seek
I’ve capitalized on this interest in searching for hidden objects to make car rides and waiting at the doctor or restaurant more fun as well. There are several great books that introduce kids to the concept of searching for hidden pictures without being quite as complex or challenging as the famous Where’s Waldo? We enjoy the Little First Look and Find series for independent play/reading because they’re sturdy board books and each page has a picture bank of items to find, so word recognition is not required. Some of the I Spy series has this feature as well, and B enjoys the more challenging I Spy Books when he has a grown-up to help with the reading. We recently purchased Hide and Seek in Colors, which has a magnifying glass on a ribbon that tucks in the front cover; and while it isn’t really necessary, it makes the seeking more fun, and having a physical object to seek with allows us to practice our warmer/colder game.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades (depending on complexity and independence)


Come Play at the We Play link up at Childhood 101


Stop by Friday and share a book or two at Feed Me Books Friday!

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Big Fun, Little Guy

Playing with the Big Guys

My son, like many 4-year-olds, vacillates between feeling he can take on the world and being afraid to enter his own dark bedroom alone. My husband (shout-out to a super dad!) tries to include B in many of his activities. It accomplishes two things: first, Daddy gets projects done and spends quality time with B at the same time; second, B gains a real sense of pride at being able to do grown-up things. He loves to work on projects around the house or yard with Daddy (and thanks to Papa he has kid-friendly versions of all the requisite tools). He accompanies Daddy to the driving range to practice his golf swing. He’s even tagged along for a couple of casual lunches with Daddy’s colleagues. Unfortunately, sometimes B’s sense of big-boy entitlement goes a little too far, and he has to be reminded that Mommy and Daddy make the rules, and not all activities are appropriate for kids.

It’s a book! It’s a toy! It’s a souvenir! It’s a lesson!

I’ve shared my affinity for books as souvenirs before, and as anyone whose read my last two posts knows, I just returned from some family vacation time. Most of our time was spent blissfully unscheduled, relaxing at the resort pools and recreation areas, but we did fit in an aquarium visit. B’s souvenir from the aquarium trip was a fun book by William Boniface, The Adventures of Max the Minnow. First of all, the book caught B’s eye (and proved entertaining on the car ride home) because of the googly eyeballs protruding from the cover. A rigid clear ball encases each greed-irised “eyeball” which glide and jiggle and are weighted such that no matter which way you turn this board book, the pupils continue to “look” at you! Now, while Minnows weren’t exactly the feature creature at the aquarium, I think a book about fish is enough of a connection to jog our memories and discuss our vacation excursion.


Braun vs. Brains

The story of Max the Minnow is told in rhythmic couplets – iambic septameter to be exact. Unnecessary terminology, I know, that’s the Lit. major in me coming out. What that means to the reader is that every other syllable is accented in slightly shorter lines than Shakespeare wrote most of his works. It makes the text very bouncy and light. The illustrations are bright and cartoonish, and holes through to the back of the book allow a different creature to show off the googly eyes on each page. Max begins the story frustrated that little guys (remember he’s a minnow) must hide and watch the big fish at play. Inspired by watching blowfish puff up, he sets out to try to become bigger by eating malts, pizza, and noodles, but discovers his new pudgy size makes him the target of some clownfish teasing. His last stop is Sharky’s Diner, where his new plump physique makes him a target for the shark chef. He’s sure hope is lost when he discovers his size has slowed him down, but remembers in the nick of time that “brains mean more than bulk” and finds a space just large enough for him (but not the shark) to escape. When children experience frustration because they’re not allowed to do grown-up things or because they’re not physically big enough to do certain activities, this story is a great way to start a discussion about all the special qualities they do possess or privileges they have.

Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades

What special activities make your child feel grown-up? Hope you’ll share in the comments and/or add your own link to share a recommended book!

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