Start Somewhere

Stop Waiting for Perfect

Blogging is one (but certainly not the only) area of my life that I put off getting started because I want to be sure I do it “just right.” The scrapbook stalled several years ago… the recipe binder needing organizing… the child’s closet needing cleaning… the craft… the repair… the garden… you get the picture. Fear of mistakes is a paralyzing feeling for adults and children alike, but the truth is, there are few situations that can’t be overcome by just getting started. Errors are rarely earthshattering and can often be creatively converted to masterpieces, but they’re hard on the ego.

A Gentle Push

Sometimes what we need is someone we trust to give us a gentle push (or a swift kick) to get us going. Knowing someone believes in you helps when you’re having trouble believing in yourself. Last week I was helping in B’s kindergarten class. The classroom next door had an incubator of chicken eggs just hatching and I got to take over a few students at a time to see the chicks. When they returned to the classroom, the teacher asked them to draw what they saw. They draw people and animals and objects every day on their reading papers, but for some reason, drawing the chicks they just saw was mighty intimidating. I walked between the tables to choruses of “I don’t know how to draw a chick!” and “Can you help me?” While my first instinct was to respond with, “Just try,” I knew that wasn’t going to get them past the artistic roadblock of trying to accurately capture a newborn chick in pencil and crayon. So I appealed to their sense of humor and reminded them that they did possess some expertise:

“Well, let’s see – chicks have a body and a head, and six legs, right?” [grumpy “no”s]“Oh no? Well I know they have long tails.” [annoyed “no”s with a few giggles]“And they also have big sharp teeth I think.” [exasperated “no”s and eye rolling]

Not baby chick day art, but art,
nonetheless.

Once they had to tell me what the chicks looked like (wings, beaks, feet, eyes) drawing them wasn’t such an enormous task. Were the drawings perfect portrayals of hours-old chicks? Not really. But they were sure adorable.

Start Simple

In Peter Reynolds’ The Dot, young Vashti experiences the same art paralysis. She doesn’t know how to begin. Her encouraging teacher advises her to make any mark on the paper. In a characteristically immature move typical of an uncertain artist of any age, she jabs angrily at the paper. Rather than responding with frustration, the teacher directs her to sign her mark and proceeds to frame and display it. Inspired by her teacher’s demonstrative show of confidence, Vashti creates a whole gallery of very creative dots that become part of a school show. The teacher’s lesson is not lost on Vashti – she repeats it to a peer who is awestruck at the show. This book is a lovely story to share with your own child when he or she is feeling fearful of a new undertaking, to read for yourself when you’re stuck before you’ve started, or to give as a gift to a special teacher or inspiring person in your life. We’ll be sharing it with B’s kindergarten teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week. 

Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades, everyone!

By the way - Teacher Appreciation Week happens to coincide with Children's Book Week this year - hoping to share lots more about the books we're enjoying as the week goes on, but if I don't get the posts up, it's because I'm "perfecting" teacher appreciation gifts - check out the LittleSproutBooks Facebook Page.

Linking up with a massive Children's Book Week Linky - hosted by Reading Confetti, among others (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Smiling Like Sunshine, Carrots Are Orange, Teach Preschool, and Toddler Approved)

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Feed Me Books Friday: The Book I Needed to Read

Giving, Gratitude, and Moderation

Ever have the feeling that a particular book has made its way to your nightstand, shelf, shopping cart, or library tote for a reason? I NEEDED to read Just Enough and Not Too Much this week, and I should renew it from the library up to my renewal limit and reread it several times. I would probably purchase it, but that would undermine the lesson of the book. During the holiday season, we endeavor to focus on gratitude, appreciation, and selflessness, but the temptation to get wrapped (literally) up in consumerism, bargain-hunting, and over-indulgence is hard to avoid.

My Shop-aholic, Pack-rat Tendancies

I do not consider myself truly addicted to shopping, nor do I believe I collect things to the point of hoarding. However, I am well-aware that I get a rush from finding a bargain and I save and pack away more than is necessary and sometimes reasonable. What do these confessions have to do with children’s books, you’re wondering? Kaethe Zemach’s Just Enough andNot Too Much found its way into my library stack purely by chance as I browsed the shelves without intention. It was just before Thanksgiving and the title piqued my interest. I hoped for a “count your blessings” kind of moral to guide my discussions of gratitude with B and counter some of the “gimme” behaviors ramping up with the holiday store displays and toy catalogs arriving daily. Little did I know it would speak to me as well.

Do You Need It?

Just Enough and Not Too Much is the story of Simon the Fiddler, who lives a contented life until he decides that the things he has make him so happy that he should get even more so he can be happier. So he gets more stuffed animals, more chairs, more of everything that makes him happy, only to find that his crowded house no longer makes him happy, it makes him uncomfortable. He invites all his friends over for a fun party, and then literally shares his happiness when he sends them home with all his extra items. He finds that sharing makes him happier than all the things he had filled his home with, and he goes back to his contented, simple life. There are so many lessons in this book for both children and adults: being content with what we have, the joy of sharing, the value of simplicity, which could all  be adjusted to fit the needs of your own family situation. I’m focusing less on surrounding my Christmas tree with gifts and more on sharing the experiences of the season with my children and my family. I am prone to over-do the joy of sharing with my kids to the point of fearing we spoil them sometimes, so I’m also focusing on simplicity for both me and them.

Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades, everyone!

How do you stay focused on "Just Enough?"

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Feed Me Books Friday: Changing the Bedtime Routine, Again

Make room!

My husband and I were marveling the other night at the 180 degree shift T has made in his attitude toward books. Where we once couldn’t pin him down long enough to get through a wordless board book, we now have to set a limit on stories before he pulls every title off the bookshelf (and not just for the fun of the mess). It gives me great joy to say T has become a book lover. I even had to have J bring half a dozen books from home for T’s recentstay at the hospital. We read them so many times I think I’ll have to hide them for the next couple of months just to give myself a break! With T’s growing interest in books, we’ve made an adjustment to the bedtime routine, namely, making room in B’s bed for T to listen to books, too. Now, each boy gets to choose a book for Daddy to read. T usually insists on positioning himself in the middle rather than letting J hold the book between the boys – which is odd – I guess he likes the cuddle factor as much as he enjoys the stories. 

Sibling Sweetness

The combination of my existing fondness for warm andfuzzy bedtime books and the glow I’m basking in thanks to T’s newfound love of reading led to a special affinity for Goodnight Me, Goodnight You, by TonyMitton. I stumbled upon this gem at the library, but I’ve already put it on my Amazon wishlist because I found the soothing text and vibrant but still mellow illustrations so pleasant that I’m sure we’ll need (and enjoy) repeated readings. The story, written in rhyming couplets, follows the bedtime routine of a sister and brother as they bid goodnight to their day, their surroundings, and the world. It concludes with the siblings telling one another goodnight and settling into bed. While T and B are certainly not going to put each other to bed, it is a treasured feeling to see them cuddling up together to foster literacy as well as emotional bonds.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.

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Un-Spooking

As I promised last week, I have a selection of Halloween “treats” to share this week. B has (thankfully) not found the allure of gruesome decorations or jump out of your skin scary movies. We put a decorative metal pumpkin with tiny cut-out swirls and a little flickering tea light on his dresser and he is thoroughly pleased with the degree of “spooky-ness.”  I am elated that he has no desire to dress up as some blood-oozing monster. He’ll be outfitted as an astronaut and enjoying Halloween in the way I’ve always found it most appealing: an opportunity to try on a new persona for an evening (and indulge in way too much chocolate)!

Silly, Not Scary

Both of my choices this week turn what might normally be scary characters and contexts into humorous and innocuous entertainment. Allison McGhee’s A Very Brave Witch takes the line of reasoning that witches might very well be afraid of humans! Told by a first-person narrator witch through the use of dialogue bubbles, the story begins by asserting that witches find humans terrifying. Our narrator, a curious young witch herself, decides to find out what exactly is so scary. After a flying mishap, she is assisted by some very helpful (and non-scary) trick-or-treaters. Their friendly exchange convinces her there is nothing to worry about, and she even takes one reader on a ride on her broom.

Iza Trapani uses a similar turn-the-tables approach in her counting book, Haunted Party. A ghost is the host at this party, which begins by counting up a parade of creepy creature guests: mummies, gobblins, werewolves, etc. Number ten is represented by trick-or-treaters at the door, which sends the creatures into a frightened fit. Count back from ten to one as the creatures take off and escape. After one last “Boo,” the final illustration shows the ghost relaxing on the porch littered with candy wrappers and trick-or-treat bags. While it is implied that the ghost scared away the trick-or-treaters, it isn’t explicitly stated, which makes it easy to select your degree of fright.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary.

B and T both get to have Halloween/Harvest celebrations at school on Monday, and I’m taking goodies for each to share – the non-sugary variety. So far my plan is tiny Halloween notepads from Joann’s with Halloween pencils for B, and stickers and spider rings for T’s younger group. Any other creative and brilliant suggestions?

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