No Excuses!

(Please!)

First off, I need to acknowledge (without excuse-making) my absence last week – did you miss me? No Friday link-up – my apologies to anyone who came looking. I will offer an explanation, not an excuse: life got busy, and my writing, my blog, took a backseat. It was an intentional decision based on my priorities, but disappointing nonetheless. On the bright side, I’m back, life is marginally more under control, and the quiet on the blogging front was not an indicator of the quantity or quality of books we’ve been enjoying.

Worry-wart or Whiner?

I’ve complained vented before about B’s anxious tendencies: everything from refusing to get in the public pool for lessons (while diving to the bottom at home) to fearing costumed characters like Mickey or Smokey the Bear. While I work hard to alleviate his fears with explanation and preparation, a mom can only be SO prepared and can only give up SO much time for negotiation before she goes batty. Of course we like books that help with new experiences, and now is no exception.

Silly Scaredy!

My pick this week hits two REALLY important social-emotional points: some fears, while genuine, are downright unreasonable, AND being open to the unexpected can be very rewarding. Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, by Melanie Watt is centered on Scaredy’s (genuine but unreasonable) fear of being bitten. He is afraid to make friends because they COULD be biters – like beavers, rabbits, or Godzilla. When he discovers a goldfish living nearby, he thinks he’s found the perfect friend: no teeth, not noisy or dirty, very predictable. After creating a detailed plan to win over his ideal friend, Scaredy’s efforts are thwarted by a curious and energetic dog. While initially terrified, Scaredy learns that the pup is not only friendly, but fun. And while he may have germs, teeth, and even a somewhat unpleasant odor, the dog makes an excellent friend. It’s been one of B’s favorite books recently, and I’m hoping the message is sinking in a little. The comical illustrations and quirky squirrel behavior are sure to incite giggles, but if those giggles also diffuse some tension and fear, it’s a double success. I’ve already requested the rest of the Scaredy series from the library – and hoping it makes an impression!

Appropriate for preschool, primary grades.

Tell me this fearfulness and excuse making is just a phase – then tell me what I can do to survive it!

Read more...

Feed Me Books Friday: Bears!

They’re Everywhere!

It’s B week in preschool, with bears for a theme. In a happy coincidence, Daddy brought back a bear souvenir from his last business trip, we got lots of pictures of bears on our weekend trip to the river, and there is no shortage of great bear books to read! Classics that come to mind include Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Corduroy, The Berenstain Bears, and of course Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The one I chose to share with you (and highlight here at home) is one you should become familiar with, if you’re not already.


You’ll Never Know Until You Try…

Ever run into resistance from your little sprout to try a new food, activity, or even article of clothing just because it was unfamiliar? Of course not, me either. (HA! I wish!) Pick up a copy of A Visitor for Bear, by Bonnie Becker, and you’ll not only enjoy the lovely illustrations, humorous surprises, and charming friendship, but you’ll also have in hand a subtle lesson that we shouldn’t dismiss the unknown as undesirable. In this enjoyable read-aloud, Bear is so determined that he dislikes visitors that he posts a sign outside his door. The sign does not deter Mouse, however, as he persists in attempts to be invited in to tea. Despite being shooed out over and over again, with further locks and barricades each time, Mouse continues appearing (“small, and gray, and bright-eyed”) in the cabinet, in the bread drawer, all over the kitchen! Kids and grown-ups alike will delight in Bear’s futile attempts to get rid of Mouse; his humorous exclamations, like “Vamoose!” “Begone!” and “Insufferable!” will incite giggles and provide a language lesson! Out of exasperation, Bear agrees to let Mouse stay for tea if he promises to leave afterward. Then he finds that he enjoys Mouse laughing at his jokes and being attentive to his stories, prompting him to tear down his No Visitors sign, assuring Mouse it’s only for salesmen, “not for friends.”


Learning from Bear


I think there’s a reminder here to all of us that sometimes we get so wrapped up in having things go our way, or the way we planned, that we might miss out on something wonderful and unexpected. Toddlers and preschoolers thrive on routine and predictability in their lives, but a little push to their social-emotional development to adjust and adapt to change is a positive lesson. One we could all benefit from now and then. Enjoy the giggles during the reading, then keep Bear’s realization in reserve next time you’re trying to cajole your little one (or yourself) into trying something new. What habit would you like to shake up in your family?


Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.


If you have a book recommendation for the week, please include a link back here and add it to the list below!



P.S. Did you notice I added the facebook "like" button on the right sidebar? If you're a facebook fan, "like" Little Sprout Books to get extra reading recommendations and tidbits about our book experiences!

Read more...

Feed Me Books Friday: Friendly Fun

Wanna Play?

For most children, the invitation is unnecessary. They begin with parallel play as toddlers, and as they grow and mature socially, they find playmates more enjoyable. Playmates may be found in a sibling, our neighborhood, children we meet at the park, the library, preschool or other classes, or sports activities. Frequent playmates become friends, and the social-emotional development continues as bonds form. But for many children making their first friends, the habits of parallel play or play with a parent leave them with some bossy behaviors or strong opinions about the right and wrong ways to enjoy an activity. How do we teach our children to be good friends?

Good Models, High Expectations, and Meaningful Chats


There’s no doubt B learns the most simply by watching what goes on around him. He’s a very observant kid. Most children are aware of adult interactions and these become their first model for their own interactions. In that sense, the best things I can do to teach B about friendship are model kindness and compassion, and surround myself with others whose actions I respect and admire. I think we can take learning about friendship beyond what is simply absorbed by sharing our expectations and chatting about experiences. And, of course, I always think a good story or picture book is a lovely way to engage a child and begin the conversation. With B starting preschool this month, I wanted to prepare him for meeting new friends, and the school theme for the week is friendship, which gave me two good reasons to pull together some of our favorite books about friends.


Kindness, Commonalities, and Acceptance


Children who have been accustomed to ruling the roost (especially oldests like my B, or onlies) can sometimes have trouble adjusting to playing cooperatively with peers. His ideas of how certain games should be played or the “correct” way to pretend can be pretty rigid. Two books that encourage getting along with others are The Crayon Box that Talked and Little Quack’s New Friend– both occupy real estate on B’s bookshelf. The Crayon Box that Talked, by Shane DeRolf, follows a box of crayons from its squabbles on the shelf of a toy store to its purchase and later use by a little girl who gets the crayons to work together on a beautiful picture. After doing so, the crayons realize that each of them is different, but they all contributed something valuable. I like to relate this to allowing friends to play different roles in a game or activity: they may not all play the same way, but they each contribute something. Little Quack’s New Friend , by Lauren Thompson, is part of the Little Quack series, and my favorite so far. Little Quack and his siblings are approached by a frog that wants to play, and initially, each of his siblings refuses based on something that makes the frog different from them (he’s green, tiny, doesn’t quack). But Little Quack is happy to have a playmate, and they head off together. As the siblings watch Little Quack and his froggy friend have fun, each in turn decides they’d rather play than sit and watch, and soon they are all playing together. I like using this story to encourage B to be open to new friendships and new activities. The sounds of each activity (including “boinga poinga,” and “plunka splunka”) contribute light-heartedness and make the book fun rather than a heavy-handed lesson. Both of these would have easily crossed over into my post on uniqueness last week. And Big Little Elephant, from last week’s post, would also be a great book to focus on friendships. Finally our latest library find on friendship was Hi, Harry! The moving story of how one slow tortoise slowly made a friend, by Martin Waddell. Harry the tortoise begins the book in search of a friend, but everyone he meets is in too much of a hurry to play or get to know him. Feeling a little dejected, Harry tries to befriend a mushroom, a rock, and even his own reflection! He is happily surprised when Sam Snail asks to be friends. He finds that Sam is just the friend he’s been looking for because they have so much in common! They enjoy slow races, Heads-in and Heads-out, and turning around and around together. The story demonstrates how finding things in common helps build friendships. It’s the kind of encouragement a little one might need when he’s feeling hard-pressed to establish friendships in a new environment.
  

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades


How do you help your child be a good friend? Please share!


If you have a book recommendation for this week, link it up! And, pay a visit to a blog I enjoy, 5 Minutes for Books! They’ve got a fall festival of children’s books going on this week, with some excellent recommendations and great giveaways!

Read more...

Feed Me Books Friday: Noticing Differences

I am Special.

In case you were wondering, B’s start to preschool this week was fabulous. He adores it. Can’t wait to go back, and certainly doesn’t want me to tag along. Makes me proud and weepy all at once! The theme for the week was “I am special,” which included about-me crafts and getting-to-know-you activities. I decided I’d use some of our library choices to reinforce the theme at home. We have had a few conversations (often in the middle of a grocery store I’m afraid) about people who look different from us in some way. B has asked about overweight people, disabled people, even a wrinkly elderly man and a woman with an outlandish outfit. We talk about how differences make us special and unique, that they are not something to be ridiculed or feared. So far, I feel like his questions and comments arise out of genuine curiosity as opposed to criticism, but he is definitely aware that being different can be a source of discomfort. While on vacation, he refused to make the walk from the hotel pool back to the room without a shirt on “because people might look at me and think I’m strange.”

Unusual is OK.

To spur the social-emotional development of valuing differences, I love a book that we came upon by chance on one of our library visits. Big Little Elephant, by Valeri Gorbachev, tells the story of a young elephant looking for playmates. When he comes upon a frog, a turtle, and a heron playing together, he is thrilled to join them. However, they soon realize that diving in the water and jumping rope are just not safe for small creatures when an elephant is involved. Sad Little Elephant is encouraged by his parents to find different activities they can enjoy together, and Little Elephant realizes his size and abilities can help his friends enjoy kite-flying on a windless day and pretending to be firefighters. We talked about the social dynamics: how Little Elephant felt when the friends decided he couldn’t play with them, how the friends felt when they realized how special Little Elephant really was, feelings of exclusion and belonging. It’s a lovely story to use in discussing unique qualities or just to encourage positive interactions among friends.

Unique is Not Ridiculous

Sometimes feeling different leads to a desire to take on the traits of others. This is the plight of the hippopotamus in You Look Ridiculous, by Bernard Waber. The story begins as the hippo is informed by the rhinoceros that she looks “ridiculous.” She is initially surprised, but when the rhinoceros matter-of-factly points out that she is lacking a horn, she laments her previously unknown fault and sets out to ask the other animals of the jungle if she is indeed ridiculous looking. Each animal she meets points out a trait of its own that she is lacking (the lion’s mane, the elephant’s floppy ears, etc.) and her feelings of inadequacy multiply. Some of the animals say things like, “if you want me to me honest,” or “no harm intended,” but their comments are hard for poor hippo to handle. We used her distraught reaction as a discussion point, and I asked B if hippos were supposed to have things like turtle shells or long necks, which elicited both giggles and good discussion of liking ourselves the way we are. In the end, hippo has a dream that she is transformed to possess each of the unique traits of the other creatures. While she is initially thrilled, her excitement fades when she glances at her reflection and discovers she looks truly ridiculous. She wakes from her dream thankful and happy to be in her own skin.


A Collage Waiting to Happen

We hadn’t even finished You Look Ridiculous before I was formulating a plan for an art project involving the mash-up of animal traits hippo was longing for. While we got to see one illustrator’s version at the end of the story, I still thought B would enjoy the silliness of putting the parts together, so I started my search for animal pictures. In my admittedly brief research, I was most impressed by the selection and variety of printable animal coloring sheets at First School. We printed two hippos: a before and after, or unique and ridiculous versions. I also printed a lion, an elephant, a rhinoceros, a giraffe, a monkey, and a turtle. The hippo in the story also wishes for leopard spots, but we just drew those on.

B cut out the hippo bodies, and I did the cutting of the features from the other animals.

Then B glued the two hippos to a large piece of construction paper and added all the other animals’ features, as well as some color. He thought the mixed up creation was hilarious. He even wanted to show it to T to make him laugh, though I doubt T has absorbed enough about hippos to know there was anything out of the ordinary! We had a lot of fun with our mixed up animal, but we also had some good conversation about how nice she looked just the way she was. We also discussed why some of her features were important to her way of life, like small flat ears she could close underwater. This book and activity made for a very balanced mix of developmental discussion and simple laughs and fun. We had so much fun with the mixed up animal creature, we may print some more animal pages and make some more silly friends!

Appropriate for toddlers, preschool, primary grades.

How do you handle questions about differences with your child? What do you do to affirm their confidence in their individuality? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Link up your book recommendations for the week below, and please link back to Little Sprout Books. (Consider adding the button!)

Have a great weekend in your special and non-ridiculous way!

Read more...