(Purple Socks!)

Why We Love Boynton

If you’re a Little Sprout facebook fan you may have noticed that earlier this week I got excited that T wanted to be a part of B’s bedtime story. (If you’re not a facebook fan yet, go click that “like” button in the right sidebar!) This excites me for two reasons: First, as much as T likes to look at pictures, carry books around, and pet the touchy-feely ones, he hasn’t shown a whole lot of interest in stories up till now. Second, if they’ll both snuggle in and listen to a story, bedtime will be soooo much more pleasant and easier to handle. So yesterday, T brought me a book and willingly sat in my lap and listened to THE WHOLE THING! Which book did he find so intriguing, you ask? One of Mommy’s favorites too: Moo, Baa, La La La, by Sandra Boynton.

Irresistible! (And Good For You, Too!)


We have a wide selection of Boynton board books, because they are super fun to read AND have super developmental and literacy-building qualities. All (or at least all I’ve encountered) are rhyming and rhythmic, which help pre-readers memorize, predict, and become involved in the story. Just a few of our favorites (in no particular order):


Moo, Baa, La La La: T’s recent pick. As you can guess, the focus in this one is animal sounds, but some humor is infused by the 3 singing pigs. This contradiction adds both comedy and a cognitive challenge as babies and toddlers begin to process categorization and generalization.


Barnyard Dance: This one was actually B’s early favorite. Could have had to do with the fact that I usually read it with him on my lap and bounced along with the cadence of text and performed along with the motions of the dance with his little arms and legs. It is a great vocabulary development opportunity as well as a chance to work on fine motor skills. You can also read my full review and game suggestion.


But Not the Hippopotamus: This one is a series of couplets, each of which is punctuated by the line: “But not the hippopotamus.” Plenty of laughs in the actions and illustrations, and pre-readers will be chiming right in. Extra twist at the end for a giggle!


The Going to Bed Book: One of the best-loved books in our house. Was a nightly part of bedtime for B for a long time. Daddy actually memorized it after reading it so many times, so he was able to “read” it to B over the phone while away for work. Nice for rehearsal of bedtime routines, like bathing, tooth-brushing, and pajamas. After some mid-book silliness, the conclusion is peaceful and relaxing – just what a bedtime book should be.


Snoozers: Speaking of bedtime books – this one is a tabbed collection of bedtime selections. We often read the whole thing (it is after all, just a board book) but sometimes add just one of the little poems or mini-stories after finishing another book when B is asking for, “just ONE more???”


Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs: A fun romp with rhymes, opposites, and vocabulary, with great illustrations to go with the language!






Hippos Go Berserk: A count-up and count-down story for numbers and number-correspondence practice. Who could help but love a berserk hippo party in the middle?






Doggies: Also an early favorite of B’s. It’s a simple counting book, but as the dogs increase, so does the silliness of making all the different barking noises!

 
What’s Wrong Little Pookie: Little Pookie is a recurring character for Boynton, but this one is a favorite of mine because it is great for bringing out the giggles when we’re experiencing an unexplained funk. Pookie’s mommy tries a long list of suggestions to figure out his bad mood before he reveals he forgot what he was upset about to begin with – sound familiar?


Blue Hat, Green Hat: Anybody notice my post title is my favorite line from this book? B found it hilarious in toddlerhood. The animal characters put on items of clothing in various colors, but each time, the turkey puts his item on incorrectly, resulting in an “Oops!” I would read the text for the appropriately dressed animals, and B would respond with the “oops!” (which was sometimes difficult between belly laughs). At the end of the book, the turkey finally gets his clothes on correctly, and the purple socks appear, (which are not mentioned elsewhere) but he stands poised to dive into a pool fully clothed! Oops! More belly laughs. What is great about this one is that the pictures match the simple text exactly, so B has “read” it to me many times, and has tried to read it to T (despite T’s inattention). Now that T is showing a little more interest, I’ll have to encourage B again!

Are you a Boynton lover too? Do you have a favorite? Or is there another author that you just can’t get enough of? I’d love to hear about it!


Link up any book recommendations of your own and stop by and visit a few others!

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Alternatives to TV

When Your Child is Glued to the Couch

Thanks to a bout with the stomach flu, B has pretty much lived on the couch or in bed for the last few days. He has been absolutely drained of energy. It’s times like these that I most appreciate the worthwhile children’s programming on PBS. However, even on a sick-day, I just can’t live with myself if I let B sit in front of the TV all day.




Books for a Busy Mom


photo courtesy ginnerobot

B would be perfectly happy to listen to me read books all day. And when he’s feeling icky, I really try to put aside as many items on my to-do list as possible and do just that. Unfortunately, T has not yet acquired the interest or attention span for our read-a-thons, so we can only read a couple at a time before he interrupts, or wait for naptime. Technology comes to my rescue to feed B’s book appetite (which seems even larger when his food appetite shrinks). So these are more situationally than developmentally appropriate recommendations, though I would have to say exposure to books is better cognitive development than most passive TV viewing.

Audio Books


You can find many of your favorite books on CD, older ones on tape, and even some on MP3. The challenge for preschool age kids is that most picture book readings don’t last as long as their attention spans. We have two selections in our personal library that occupy a little more of B’s time and attention than others. First Disney’s Winnie the Pooh CD Storybook was a gift from B’s aunt. It has 4 stories in 125 pages, which actually prevents it from being a frequent read-aloud choice because B isn’t very amenable to breaking mid-story. Putting on the CD when B is lounging in bed is very successful, and it runs well over an hour. My only complaint is that there are no page chimes, but B doesn’t seem to mind; he sometimes follows the pictures and other times he just sets the book aside to sit back and listen.

We also have a compilation CD featuring Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? And Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? All read by Gweneth Paltrow. We have board book versions of each story, and even with the lack of page chimes, B is able to follow along easily thanks to the repetitive pattern of the text and the illustrations. For bilingual families (or those who’d like to be) the CD also includes the Spanish version of each story.


Books on Screen

Like audio books, the number of books on DVD is rapidly growing. Normally, I would pass over DVDs in favor of experiencing the real thing, but during weeks like this one, they come in handy. B received theDVD version of Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom and he loves it. I don’t know if it’s because he already loved the book, or if it’s thanks to the songs and animation, but this is a much requested feature at our house. It includes 6 other stories, bring the running time to 60 minutes. B loves to get his copy of the book and read along with the story. I’m still working on purchasing copies of the other featured stories.


Tumblebooks Mascot


B also enjoys selections from the Tumblebooks library. Tumblebooks is a subscription ebook service that you can access from the internet, but thanks to our public library system, if we access it from their portal page, it’s free! Book selection and page navigation is pretty simple, meaning that when B had the energy to sit at the computer desk for a while, he could listen to some virtual books and enjoy the original illustrations brought to life with some extra animation.
Appropriate for: preschoolers, primary grades
Linking Up with Show and Tell at ABC and 123


What do you do to occupy sick kiddos who have the energy of a slug?

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Feed Me Books Friday: I’m Hungry!

What’s For Lunch?

Typical lunch choices here include the kid standards: hot dogs, dino nuggets, and PB&J or tuna fish sandwiches, but we occasionally enjoy leftovers from dinner or make lunch preparation a project in itself by experimenting with a recipe we find on TV, in a magazine, or exploring a book. B is a pretty adventurous eater, and T is following in his footsteps. I’d like to say that has something to do with an amazing parenting secret I can share with you, but I think we’re just pretty lucky. We encourage our kids to give new things a shot, whether in reference to foods, activities, or even new shoes! I think the best way to help kids broaden their horizons is keep expectations high and avoid underestimating them. If your voice of doubt says, “they’ll never eat that,” then they’ll never get a chance to try.

Curiosity and Geography Shake Things Up in the Kitchen

We were inspired to liven up our lunch menus by a book we recently brought home from the library. B has been very interested in the globe, maps, and people around the world, so I’ve been trying to snatch up books that give a little glimpse into others’ lives. Little did I realize a glimpse would become a taste! This is the Way We Eat Our Lunch, by Edith Baer, is a simple yet entertaining compendium of kids’ lunches around the world. Each page features a two line rhyme with the name of a child and the dish they are enjoying for lunch. Sometimes their location is part of the rhyme, sometimes not. The locations are noted in italics on each page, and the beautiful, full-page, pen-and-watercolor illustrations by Steve Björkman set the scene for each menu. The lunches begin with several American locales, including gumbo in Louisiana and burgers in Kansas, but soon jump overseas to couscous in Moracco and tempura in Japan. The final pages of the book also include a world map with labels for each of the lunch locations, a few recipes to try, and some glossary-style notes on some of the foods mentioned. The final text is a note from the author encouraging children to think of ways to help all children have good food to eat, which can trigger a humanitarian discussion all its own. There is potential here for both cognitive and social development, not to mention some yummy fun!

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.


What’s for lunch at your house? We’re looking for new ideas!


If you have a book recommendation or activity posted this week, link it up, then check out some other great books and spread the comment love!

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Winner!

Congratulations to Janelle at BrimfulCuriosities, who said,

"While it is not exactly a body part, I just finished discussing blood with my kids. We are recovering from some particularly annoying colds and I wanted to talk about white blood cells and how they fight infection."


Your copy of The Butt Book will be on its way soon! Enjoy!

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Election Reading Materials...

...For Your Kids

It’s Election Day across the country, and while Mr. Obama’s job is safe (for now), there are several heated gubernatorial, congressional, and senatorial elections in the news, not to mention local elections and ballot measures. Good Morning America called it the “wildest election ever.” Now, I will start with two important points: first, I am not a political blogger, and second, I find the nastiness present in some campaign ads and political media downright revolting. However, being a citizen of a democracy and instilling civic values are important to me, so I wanted to share Election Day with B to the extent that he can understand it.


Why do We Vote?


I wanted to share some political coverage with Bradley (mostly maps and photos on-line, with a few pre-viewed news videos on local candidates and issues). We also took a look at some websites aimed at kids, including Ben’s Guide (a publication of the Government Printing Office), Congress for Kids (aimed at slightly older kids, but gave me some talking points), and The Democracy Project (designed for election 2008 but still relevant information on government and election processes).


A Campaign Tale

Feeling like he was having trouble processing all these bits of information together, I went digging through my boxes of books hauled home when I packed up my classroom. (Then I gave myself a congratulatory pat on the back for remembering just the right book and locating it in a mostly organized way among the ten, yes 10, boxes of books stashed in my house.) B is always excited for a new book, so we sat down to enjoy Vote! by Eileen Christelow. The main text of each page explains the campaign and election process in a factual way. The illustrations are comic-like, with multi-panel storyboards on some pages. Through these storyboards, the tale of a fictional mom’s campaign for mayor is told from the perspective of her dog. Some of the details and humor were over B’s head, so I selectively left out some of the conversation bubbles. But he did enjoy the dog’s narration and I think feeling the dog’s connection to the candidate made him a little more invested in the result. In just 41 colorful and entertaining pages, Christelow explains the basics of platforms, campaigns, ads, political parties, debates, fundraising, polls, ballots, and returns. She even gives a little background on political efficacy and historical voting rights. The book also includes a voting glossary, a voting rights timeline, political party FAQs, and a list of useful web resources.


Putting it in Action


When we finished our reading, research, and lunch, I took the boys along with me to cast my vote at my local polling place. B was duly impressed by the large registration books and voting equipment, and after a look at my ballot inside the booth, happily entertained T in the stroller while I paged through my markings in my sample ballot. He proudly sported his “I Voted” sticker in the grocery store (I would have too, but T pulled mine of and rolled it into a ball while I strapped him in his carseat).

Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.
How ‘bout you? Did you vote? Did you share it with your kids? Please leave your opinions about the candidates or ballot issues out, but share your opinions about the process.
Don’t forget, you have until tomorrow to enter the giveaway I posted last week!
I’m linking up at ABC and 123’s Show and Tell, See you Friday for Feed Me Books Friday.

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