Feed Me Books Friday: Velcro?

Independence versus Skills

My son’s teacher has a shoe-tying policy. I haven’t decided if I find it funny or disturbing. I’m navigating this new world of not knowing EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of what goes on in the classroom, and I’m trying not to rush to judgment. She mentioned her policy at back to school night. Children who have not learned to tie their shoes by Halloween should wear Velcro because she will not be tying them in November. In some ways, this is a very logical, common sense position: 64 untied shoelaces could take up the bulk of her just-over-3-hour session. At the same time, isn’t there a difference between the child who is chronically dragging his untied shoelaces along behind him and the one who is struggling with the dexterity and has an occasional moment of frustration? (Even writing this, I’m feeling like an enabler…)

Make it IM-personal

B has started to practice shoe-tying. He WANTS to be able to do it. He tied his own shoes every day of our recent trip (even though I sometimes had to re-tie later) and even tied his brother’s (which is no easy task on a squirmy 2 year old). But this week he’s back to wanting me to do it, which I believe is thanks to a combination of morning sluggishness and a lack of confidence in his (often loose) tying abilities. He is concerned they’ll come undone at school and he’ll either have to take the time to fix them or ask for help. Some of the best advice I’ve read about teaching  to tie shoes is to remove the pressure of getting ready and make it more maneuverable at the same time by having them practice on someone else’s (often larger) shoe whether or not it is currently on a foot. So when I saw Don’t Lose Your Shoes in the scholastic book order from B’s preschool teacher last spring, I thought it would be a great practice tool! The book has a three part cover. A laced-up “shoe” panel folds open next to the pages bound between the front and back so that children can practice the actions along with the story. The text tells the plight of Eric, a monkey who is plagued by untied shoes tripping him up at the playground. With the help of some animal friends, Eric learns to lace and tie his shoes. Each page of the book illustrates a different step in the process as Eric learns it. Children can follow along on the shoelace panel. The inside cover also has a visual reminder of the steps for practice. Following the steps in the story produces a double-loop or “bunny ear” style knot and bow. If intend to teach your child a different tactic, this story won’t be much good to you. Otherwise, the story is engaging, the tool is useful, and the connection of a narrative to the manipulation of the laces might just be the bridge between cognitive and physical development that your child needs.

Appropriate for preschoolers, (and primary students still practicing).

So help me out, do you think the teacher is using humor to encourage parents to work on this skill at home, or do you think she’s a burned-out shoe-tier? Should I be pushing the practice with laces or shopping for Velcro and cinch-ups? Is one tying method superior to another? Should I teach more than one to see if it comes easier or will that just confuse him? Hope you’ll help me out! (and share what you’re reading, too!)

photo courtesy kasahara on flickr

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Feed Me Books Friday: I Spy, In the Rearview Mirror

Two Happy Road-Trippers

Rather than a big summer vacation, we’ve made several shorter jaunts this year – which has meant a considerable amount of time on the road. As a result, I’ve been on the lookout for car-friendly entertainment. Scored a Crayola dry-erase lap board on clearance at Target, found travel scavenger hunt cards in the dollar bin at Joann’s, and we keep the portable DVD charged and stowed under the backseat just in case. But my favorite find this season has been a toy combined with (you guessed it) a book!

Look – in the backseat – it’s a toy, it’s a book, no it’s a lifesaver!

Ok, so lifesaver might be a better descriptor for the carseats my kids are riding in, but I really had no idea how cool this would be when I ordered it! I have had my eye on I Play’s Peek a Book Bags for some time now – car toy, church toy, diaper bag toy – many possibilities. Then I as I was checking for new options and price drops, I found the Peek a Boo Pack. It combines the Everything A to Z Peek a Boo bag with a board book in a travel friendly fabric case. The bag is made of cloth with a clear vinyl window. Inside, tiny plastic and rubber objects representing all the letters of the alphabet are hidden among tiny white beads. The user (you’ll find this as entertaining as your child) manipulates the beads by squishing and turning the bag while peeking through the window to find the objects. The book features pictures and rhymes highlighting the hidden items and giving children a master list as well as increased motivation to search for them. We had a blast with it on a recent 4 hour car trip. Not only did we search for the objects as directed by the book, but we made up our own games like who could find objects the fastest, finding objects in alphabetical order, finding an object then identifying its beginning sound, and finding an object then challenging a partner. I also purchased the Language Development Eye Spy Bag; while it does not include a book, it does come tagged with a card giving suggestions for vocabulary building activities like practicing letters, colors, shapes, even prepositions, and pronouns. By having two bags we avoided sharing issues and both are definitely entertaining. Your child can benefit from both the cognitive as well as the physical challenge of finding the objects among the beads. This is an item that will be part of my travel bag from now on – B even asked for one this week during a short ride to the grocery store!

Appropriate for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.

photo courtesy M Kuhn via Flickr

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Feed Me Books Friday: April is National Poetry Month

A Poem is More than a Rhyme

Lots of children’s books are full of rhymes, but that doesn’t really mean they are all poetry. From where I stand, a book written in rhyme may or may not be a poem, and a poem may or may not be a rhyme. I adore poetry – reading it, writing it, sharing it – so how do I define it? I really like this definition:

Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. […] The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define. (From about.com)

If poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience, then exposure to that awareness could certainly promote growth in any of the developmental domains, depending on the experience! I keep a section on B’s book shelf reserved for poetry books, and I’ve been trying to give them a little extra attention this month, but unfortunately haven’t gotten any up to post yet – hopefully this will be only the first of at least a few special features.


Couplets on Common Characters

One poetry book that B has enjoyed enough to request repeat performances is Douglas Florian’s Beast Feast. Florian is known for his accessible and often humorous children’s poetry, but he refrains from downright slapstick jokes and imbues his poems with a quietly curious quality. I especially like this excerpt from “The Ants,”

While down below

Beneath the mound
They’re building tunnels
Underground.
And so it’s been –
And it will be –
Since greatest
Ant antiquity.

Simple and yet profound. Also love that much of Florian’s work includes really meaty language that is just the ticket to passively building vocabulary. Florian also illustrates his poetry with very kid-friendly paintings. They are colorful and attractive without being cartoonish or immature. Beast Feast, as you might guess, is a collection of animal poems. Besides “The Ants,” you’ll also find “The Walrus,” “The Armadillo,” “The Camel,” and “The Sloth,” among others. Florian has several other themed poetry collections, many of which are living on my wish list right now!
Appropriate for: everyone!

Kids’ Poetry Challenge


Janelle at Brimful Curiosities is hosting a Kids’ Poetry Challenge for the Month of April. The first two weeks got away from me, but I’m excited to be able to join in this week. Even if you don’t have a poem to share (try next week!) you should check out her explanation post – she’s got a ton of great poetry resources and links listed there! Janelle’s post also reminded me that there’s more great poetry to be found (some kids some not) each week at the Poetry Friday Round-up, hosted this week at Random Noodling.

Do you have a favorite poem book to read with kids? Even if you don’t have a post about it for this week, I’d love to hear suggestions in the comments! Don’t forget: There are a couple days left in library appreciation week – check out our activity if you haven’t already!





[*Poetry Month Logo from poets.org*]

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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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Books for Little Fingers

Within Reach and Not on the Floor

Between six and ten months, most babies learn to enjoy the “drop-it” game. You hand them a toy, a sippy, your keys, etc. They drop it, then fuss. You pick it up. Repeat ad nauseum until you get sick of it. It really does have a purpose. They are developing the cognitive understanding of cause and effect, as well as a physical understanding of the space around them. However, there are times and places that developing this particular understanding is not exactly ideal: like in the shopping cart at the market or cruising the neighborhood in the stroller. Enter attachable toys. You’ll find them in many varieties: links, magnetic bands, clips, velcro. As a mama fond of reading and desirous of a childhood attachment to books, I am all for attaching books to (ok not really) but near my child! T is in a stage where he’s not real patient to listen to the stories, but loves to flip through the pages.


Variety Close at Hand

Soft Play publishes sets of baby-friendly books on clip-able rings that are just the right size for little hands. Each book is about 4 inches square, and my favorite set comes with two board books, two cloth books, and 1 bath book (no ring). The cloth books have dimensional animals on the front, and are great for babies in the chewing stages. I’ve successfully laundered the cloth books after they’ve lived in the diaper bag for a while. One of the board books is touch and feel, and the other has sparkly patches in the illustrations, both highly entertaining. The bath book has a squeaker in the cover. Each features a different animal and has short rhyming text on each page. The stories are not prize-winners, but they’re fun and entertaining when you’re in line at the grocery store or the bank. This is one of my favorite gifts to buy for baby showers because of the variety and the fact that they are appropriate from infancy on with the soft cloth books and small size.


Appropriate for: babies, toddlers


Come Play at the We Play link-up!


Come back Friday with your book recommendations for Feed Me Books Friday!

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More Bang for Your Book-Buck

Fitting Imagination, Reading, and Play in Your Carry-On

With so many folks traveling in the summer (myself included) I like to share tricks I’ve learned for keeping my preschooler busy whether it’s in the back-seat, on an airplane, or in the living room waiting for guests to arrive. Top That! Publishing has a huge selection of magnetic play and learning books that I love! We own On the Farm, Wild Animals, and Let’s Build, Each includes a story on board book quality magnetic pages as well as a fold out scene for imaginative play and an attached case to hold the 20 play scene magnets.
 

  
Fantastic Features of These Books:

• Wordless 3-panel play scene encourages imaginative, open-ended play that does not require direct adult participation for non-readers.
  
• Magnetic pages allow play on the move (though they’re not super strong – if you drop them on the floor of the car, the magnets will fall off).
  
• Text of stories introduces contextual vocabulary, and then matching magnets help children identify and interact with new words.
  
• Manipulation of magnets and placement in scenes encourages physical dexterity and fine-motor-skill development.
  
• All pieces can be neatly stowed in attached case, helping to prevent loss and frustration.

Disclaimer:
I’m starting to feel like this review is bordering on sounding like an advertisement, which it’s not. I have no connection with Top That! I did go check out their website to look at some other products, but my links are my normal Amazon affiliate links. I’m hoping the reps at Top That! enjoy my review and might send me something else to share with you, but that may be wishful thinking...



Your Child Makes the Story Complete

In each book, the text of the story identifies where items or characters are located and the actions that are taking place. Your child uses the magnets to complete the illustrations so that the pictures correctly illustrate the text. That’s not to say you couldn’t add whatever magnets looked nice, but B is in a stage that he has realized text has meaning, and he’s emphatic that I read it carefully with him and make sure we choose the correct pieces. When I’m not able to participate closely (i.e., I’m driving) he can open up the play scene and make up his own story. Sometimes he narrates has he goes, and sometimes he creates the scene then describes it for me afterward.

 

Myriad Possibilities

I usually try to limit our packing to one play set when we travel, but at home they sometimes come out all at once. The wild animals have visited the farm and a cow has shown up on the building site – that’s part of the creativity! The Funny Faces series looks adorable and I’m intrigued by the Play and Learn Series, which includes text and magnets that introduce concepts such as shapes, numbers, colors, and first words. I may have to order a new one before our next trip, because as we know, something new is twice as entertaining!

Appropriate for: toddlers (if they’re supervised and past the stuff-in-mouth stage), preschoolers, primary grades.

Don't forget: Feed Me Books Friday will be hosted HERE at Little Sprout Books this week! I hope you'll come back and link up!

Linking Up With:

We Play at Childhood 101 link up

What My Child is Reading

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Comin’ Down to Storytime (‘Cause I Love My Library!)

A Tradition of Treasures

You might think that with the obscenely large collection of books I’ve amassed in my home, we wouldn’t need to frequent the local library (or check out stacks of 15 or so books at a time). However, variety is the spice of life, we never know what treasure we might find, and the library has even more to offer besides great books! Before I had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom, B started attending library story time with his babysitter Rosi, and his best friend E (her son). His excitement began when I dropped him off on a library day, and by the time I picked him up, he had jubilant stories to tell. It’s a tradition I’ve happily continued, and introduced T to along the way. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Rosi for her influence on our library habit (among countless other positive influences).

Literacy Topped with Love

In my book, there are very few good reasons for missing our weekly preschool story time. Our children’s library staff treats the kids to great read-alouds, finger-plays, songs, flannel-board stories, rhymes, and opportunities to share, followed by a parachute song and a take-home craft. Coming recently from public school employment, I never cease to be amazed at what they can do with what I can only imagine are meager resources. Our three treasured ladies of the library exude joy as they lead the activities and interact with the kids, and they’re knowledgeable and helpful to boot!

Soakin’ up the Extras

In addition to the weekly story time, we check out tons of books, hang out in the children’s play area, and make use of the toddler-friendly computers every time we visit. We also try to take advantage of monthly special activities, including summer and winter reading programs, parent workshops, holiday crafts, and visiting storytellers and performers. B is always proud to share his reading log with one of the enthused staff members and thrilled to collect his prize of a special pencil, stickers, or even a new book! His favorite performance was a recent magic show – he’s just at the stage where he was amazed and enthralled and yet just a little wary of the tricks.

Singing Our Way to the Library

When I first came across Comin’ Down to Storytime, by Rob Reid, on our library shelves, I was immediately attracted to several things – adorable illustrations (by Nadine Bernard Westcott) of barnyard animals partaking in story time activities, rhymes set to the scheme of She’ll be Comin Round the Mountain with spot-on rhythm, and the inclusion of nearly every activity present at our treasured library story-time. B was impressed that this story was also a song, and we both loved the way the “yee-haws!” in the traditional song were replaced with contextually appropriate exclamations: “Itsy-bitsy!” for the finger-play verse, and “Mother Goose!” for the nursery rhyme verse, among others. The book has been returned, but the song stuck with us, and Wednesday mornings often include several verses of "Comin Down to Storytime" as we get ready for our library trip.

Comin' Down to Storytime

Sprouting in Every Direction!This book offers opportunities for growth in every developmental domain. Cognitively, the rhyme, rhythm, and repetition are all key pre-reading skills to emphasize and practice with your little sprout. Even without a tune, it won’t take many pages before your toddler or preschooler can fill in the blanks in each verse, which helps him or her correlate words and sounds with print in a fun and memorable way. Physically, use the activities highlighted in each verse to act out, developing large motor skills with “Skip-to-my-Lou!” and small motor skills with “Itsy-Bitsy!” To go for the Social-Emotional gains, use this book to get your child prepared and excited to join a story time group at your local library. Reading about and enjoying some of the activities in advance can help your child be more confident and outgoing in the social setting of a story time or playgroup.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.

I'm linking up with Little Page Turners Love My Library. Hope Comin' Down to Storytime will encourage you to go check out your local library or if you're already a regular, I hope it gives you something to sing about!

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