Feed Me Books Friday: Unless You Enjoy Counting to 600
Friday, May 13, 2011
You Need Another Reference
The other day, B announced that he could keep a balloon in the air by swatting at it for 10 minutes without letting it hit the ground. I suggested that was a pretty long time and he might want to start a little easier. He asked the question that so many parents have tried to explain accurately: “How long is it?” I’ve tried things like, “As long as it takes to drive to the library,” “Long enough to sing 4 or 5 Wiggles songs,” and even, “About as long as it takes to make macaroni and cheese.” But on this particular day, my response was, “Long enough to count to 600.” So of course, he wants ME to count to 600 while he swats at the balloon. No, thanks. It’s moments like these that we realize just how hard it is for our toddlers and preschoolers to develop an accurate concept of time. They certainly won’t have it down before kindergarten; in fact they’ll likely continue to hone this cognitive skill well into elementary school. Gains in mathematical understanding help with the short term measurements, but concepts of months and years and generations are still challenging. (By the way, I set the kitchen timer rather than counting, and he tired out before the 10 minute mark but definitely got a work-out!)Establishing a Context
When trying to explain a time period to a child, the best we can usually do is to help give them a frame of reference that they can relate to. As evidenced by my many attempts above, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes because the child has never really considered the time involved in the chosen reference. Other times, the question of time arises out of anticipation, which skews even adult notions of the passage of time. Our recent library find, How Long
, by Elizabeth Dale both addresses the elusive understanding of time and captures a sentimental expression of the timelessness of a mother’s love. The story begins when Caroline (a young mouse) tries to figure out how long she has to wait when her mother says “in a minute.” She uses activities like painting, lining up toys, and digging to measure the increments of time her mother attaches to various activities in her day. At the end, Caroline asks how long she will be loved, and her mother changes her response from minutes to the abstract, as a mother’s love is immeasurable. She assures Caroline that she will love her for “as long as it took to make all the stars in the sky, and everything else there is.” This kind of explanation defies mathematics and hearkens more to the kind of estimations found in Guess How Much I Love You. The combination of both a teaching tool and a heartwarming bedtime story prompted me to add this title to our wish list, but not before we meet our renewal quota at the library! How long is 3 weeks, anyway?
Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades. For some additional time-themed books and activities, check out Scholastic’s Ages and Stages article., by Elizabeth Dale both addresses the elusive understanding of time and captures a sentimental expression of the timelessness of a mother’s love. The story begins when Caroline (a young mouse) tries to figure out how long she has to wait when her mother says “in a minute.” She uses activities like painting, lining up toys, and digging to measure the increments of time her mother attaches to various activities in her day. At the end, Caroline asks how long she will be loved, and her mother changes her response from minutes to the abstract, as a mother’s love is immeasurable. She assures Caroline that she will love her for “as long as it took to make all the stars in the sky, and everything else there is.” This kind of explanation defies mathematics and hearkens more to the kind of estimations found in Guess How Much I Love You. The combination of both a teaching tool and a heartwarming bedtime story prompted me to add this title to our wish list, but not before we meet our renewal quota at the library! How long is 3 weeks, anyway? How was your Mother’s Day? Anybody come across an awesome book about moms or family relationships? Always on the lookout! (I got a lesson in my son's perspective as I spent last night wondering, How long until Blogger is back up?" If you came looking for a link up earlier, I apologize!)
Hourglass photo credit: fotopedia
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is the kind of non-fiction book that combines just enough illustration and intriguing detail to keep kids engaged while they learn the salient facts of the topic. In this case, Pfeffer’s topic is Sping, and she effectively explains both scientific and historic aspects of the season. The book begins with a poetic description of the arrival of spring, and then explains the science behind it in both clear narrative and helpful illustrations. Next, traditions and celebrations from several cultures are highlighted in chronological order. 
, by Charlotte Zolotow, tells the story of a little girl who is too young to quite understand the passage of time. She has snippets of memories about holidays and seasons, but they all run together. Each page describes a holiday or seasonal event, and includes her mother’s explanation of what will come next. The last event is the little girl’s birthday, at which she wishes that it will all happen all over again. So many children frame their understanding of months and seasons around holidays and traditions that this story seems a very familiar and accessible way to talk about the passage of a year. The little girl’s birthday wish is a clever way to emphasize the order and pattern of the calendar.
, by Gerda Muller, was one of our serendipitous library finds. I am in love with the concept and the artwork in this book. Each season is described with the changes that take place in nature as well as common seasonal activities. The activities are illustrated with small pictures next to the text, but the outstanding two-page spreads that depict nature and human activity in each season are beautiful and full of their own stories. There are two such spreads for each season, making for much rich discussion beyond the text, and truly a new experience with each reading. I’ll be on the lookout to pick up this one as a used book, but I also found that it was originally published as a four-book series (one for each season) and has been 
In a coincidental parallel to our anniversary, we recently brought home Shutta Crum’s The House in the Meadow. Inspired by the counting poem “Over in the Meadow,” the story follows the life of a couple from their marriage to the completion of their home. “A bride and a groom and their best friends 10” celebrate their marriage in the meadow, then the countdown brings a myriad of workers and community members who contribute to the construction of their home, including masons, carpenters, and plumbers, right down to inspector number 1. The rhythm sometimes gets a little sticky with the construction vocabulary, but B loved talking about each worker and seeing the house take shape with each turn of the page. The illustrations are cut-paper collage, striking and bold. I appreciated that the workers represented various ethnicities and included women as the leaders of several crews. The home is completed the following spring, just in time for the couple to move in with their new little one. With my experience limited to home renovations rather than construction, I can only imagine that year would feel like an eternity, and yet at the end, that couple with the new baby would look back at their wedding and say, “has it really been a whole year?”
