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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Feed Me Books Friday: Halloween for the Younger Crowd

The Good, the Bad, and the Scary

What I love about Halloween for toddlers and preschoolers: a day devoted to pretend and imagination and playing dress-up! What I don’t love about Halloween: filling little minds with ideas of ghosts, witches, haunted houses, or otherwise scary creatures or places. Call me naïve or accuse me of sheltering my children, but aren’t there enough scary things in the world without telling them about imaginary things to be scared of “for fun?” When I taught middle school and my students devoured Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, it made for a good discussion of urban legend and fun, chill-inducing read-alouds at Halloween time. However, finding books appropriate for younger children, engaging books that highlight the fun without giving the creeps, has proven a little challenging for me!


Costume Fun

The best part of Halloween for young children is the dress-up. Deciding what to dress as, selecting or crafting a costume, and showing it off at parties or trick-or-treating is plenty of excitement for little ones. I was drawn to Here Comes Halloween, by Caroline Jayne Church, because the illustrations so closely match those in one of my favorite books, I Love You Through and Through (reviewed here). I was not disappointed once I got a look at the text. It is a board book, including some touch and feel features and flaps, but even at 4 years old B continues to enjoy it. A child explores his Halloween costume choices through dress-up and imagination. What fun!

Also centered on the choice of costume but including other seasonal elements as well is And then Comes Halloween, by Tom Brenner. This picture book has more advanced text and detailed illustrations. The feel is just magical as the family goes about seasonal preparations for Halloween, which include costume selection as well as decorations, pumpkin carving, and changing weather. The conclusion of the book is trick-or-treating and happily off to bed, which is exactly the kind of Halloween experience I hope for my boys.


Seasonal Selections

Last week Maggie of Red Ted Art linked her review of Apples and Pumpkins to Feed Me Books Friday, and I just had to check it out. It was an excellent follow-up to our trip to the pumpkin patch with B’s preschool class. The harvest season is more emphasized in this story, but it does include carving the jack-o-lantern and trick-or-treating.

Prior to our pumpkin patch trip, I checked out Kids’ Pumpkin Projects, by Deanna F. Cook, from our library. It’s not a read-aloud, more of a reference for parents or a project book for older kids. Great year-round projects though, including planting a pumpkin garden, caring for it, harvesting, enjoying, and preserving pumpkins. We enjoyed several recipes and B is adamant that next year’s garden include a pumpkin vine.



Some Friendly Tricks

So how do you explain the phrase “trick-or-treat” without being too scary? B and I talked about tricks like riddles or fun surprises. B is a lover of riddles in general, so I used that interest and understanding to make a friendly introduction to some of the Halloween icons he’ll see in the stores, decorating the neighborhood, or costuming older kids. How Do You Know It’s Halloween, by Dian Curtis Regan, presents riddles in the form of listed clues and a revealing flap. Some of the items revealed include a jack-o-lantern, a skeleton, and a ghost, but the illustrations are friendly and nothing menacing is suggested by the clues. We used it as another opportunity to talk about real and pretend.

A similar lift-the-flap riddle book is Boo, Who? by Joan Holub. It introduces Halloween stand-bys like a ghost and a witch with simple, rhyming riddles and light-hearted illustrations. The final riddle reveals the “scariest monster” in a mylar mirror! Great reminder that the costumes kids encounter hide kids just like them and are nothing to fear.
Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.


Any suggestions for making Halloween fun and friendly? Leave me a comment or link up a review of your own (whether or not it’s Halloween themed).
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway on Wednesday’s review post!

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