Babies, Books and More

The rewards of being an integral part of your child's schooling are long-lasting

2007-11-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last week I had an opportunity to speak at a Parent Participation Preschool. It was a real pleasure to visit the school and meet the parents. The PPP format includes regular parent education workshops and I was invited to speak about children's books and how we can help prepare young children for reading.

This morning I was in my ten year old's classroom, helping the children with a sewing project. They are making button blankets and needed help threading needles and stitching buttons. There were three moms in the classroom, two of us are former Parent Participation moms. My experience has been that both our boys (almost) expect mom to be around the school, driving for field trips and helping where needed because mom was involved from the start. For kids whose parents were in the preschool classroom, it is only logical that they become involved in the elementary school. When considering a preschool, I urge you to make parent involvement a priority. I know it is much easier to drop off your child at preschool or school but the rewards of being an integral part of your child's schooling are forever.

A Fantastic Family Holiday in Southern California

2007-11-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from a terrific holiday in Southern California. In early November my husband and I surprised our two boys. With suitcases packed, coaches and teachers notified, newspaper stopped, etc., we waited until after school to let them know that they would be boarding a 7:30 p.m. flight. It was a tough secret to keep. I don't know how many times I almost said the wrong thing. Anyhow, this is the second time we have surprised them like this. Our view is that we want them focussed on school right up until departure time. No goofing off the day of departure. We also needed a good sleep the night before as my younger boy had a (groan) 6 a.m. hockey practice the day we left.

They were thrilled and we all headed off to Disneyland. What a terrific spot for a family holiday. We had a great time. Unlike some vacations where mom and dad try to balance their interests with those of the children - and try to entertain kids day after day, we think Disneyland strikes a perfect balance. We all enjoyed the park thoroughly and laughed together.

We have been there a number of times with and without children. My eldest was just 2on our first trip. He is twelve now. Our priorities have shifted away from wading pools and Fantasyland toward thrill rides, pizza by the pool and late nights. I couldn't recommend the trip more highly.

When did you start reading to your infant? Take part in our poll

2007-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, when did you begin reading to your baby? I began when my eldest child was six months old and haven't quit yet (he's now twelve years old!) I never got into reading to my unborn children nor did I try with newborns. Please answer our survey -- when did you begin reading aloud?

Bright, Bold and Dimensional Nursery Rhymes for Baby

2007-08-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

Barbara Reid, a Canadian illustrator who works with Plasticine and found objects, is acclaimed for many, many books. My personal favourite is Subway Mouse. It tells the tale of a young mouse who longs to escape the subway and discover Tunnel's End.

Ms. Reid has now created a new board book edition of Sing a Song of Mother Goose. Featuring fourteen nursery rhymes, as one would expect, the illustrations are delightful: bright, bold and dimensional. An excellent choice for very young children.

For additional background information, Ms. Reid's website has loads of news about her books and the various techniques she uses.
Sing a Song of Mother Goose at Amazon.ca

Next time you visit the library with your child...

2007-07-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Next time you visit the library with your child, here are some of our not-to-be missed family favorites you might like to 'check out'... These are the books that will stay on our shelf for a very, very long time.

Allen, Nicholas

The Queen’s Knickers - Might be difficult to find but well worth the hunt. Who knew the Queen had such a variety of knickers? A pair for every occasion!

Beaumont, Karen

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! - Fun illustrations show us just how far a determined artist can go. Who can blame mom for trying to hide the paints? This child paints everything!

Blades, Ann

Back to the Cabin - My boys still gravitate toward this gentle summertime book. Mom drags her reluctant children to the cabin for a vacation without electronics (and then drags them away when it is time to go home). Lovely.

Cronin, Doreen

Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type - Apart from the fact you will have to explain what a typewriter is, this is a not-to-be missed treat for the whole family.

Gay, Marie-Louise

Stella, Fairy of the Forest - One of my favorite picture book depictions of the relationship between a brother and sister. Don't miss Stella and Sam.

Goodman, Peggy

Bernard’s Bath - What to do when a baby elephant refuses to take a bath. Really good fun.

Hedderwick, Mairi

Katie Morag Delivers the Mail - Katie Morag is another delightful character. Ah, it would be wonderful to visit her island in Scotland.

Lawson, Julie

Whatever you Do, Don’t Go Near that Canoe - Who can resist climbing into a canoe for an evening paddle? Before long the children are enjoying a rollicking hot dog roast with a raucous band of pirates.

Shannon, David

No, David - Your child will love to watch poor David as he tries to be good.

Van Alsburg, Chris

The Polar Express - The movie is great - the book is even better.

Martin, Bill Jr.

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom - Really good fun and especially appropriate for youngsters who are starting to be interested in letters and the alphabet.

Martechenko, Michael

Matthew and the Midnight Tow Truck - Every boy's dream. A midnight experience like no other.

Numeroff, Laurie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - A classic!

Rathburn, Peggy

Officer Buckle and Gloria - Terrific illustrations help to tell a dog-gone good tale.

Reynolds, Peter

The Dot & Ish - Good for children and great for their parents - especially those who have given up on being artists.

Van Dusen, Chris

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee - A favourite of mine because the story is captivating and the illustrations are terrific. This sort of book is great for children and enjoyable for parents

When Choosing a Book to Share with Baby, Have a Look at the Poetry Shelf

2007-06-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

When choosing a book to share with baby, have a look at the poetry shelf. Sharing poetry with young children will introduce rhythm and rhyme, create wonderful memories and start your child on the path to reading success.

Snuggle up, give your child her favorite toy or blanket and enjoy...

What Will We Do with the Baby-O?
Rhymes and songs collected by Thero Heras, illustrated by Jennifer Herbert
A brightly illustrated picture book for very young children and their caregivers. What Will We Do ... includes ten songs and rhymes to share with babies and toddlers. Sheet music is included along with suggestions for clapping and bouncing. Good fun!

Lavender’s Blue A Book of Nursery Rhymes 50th Anniversary Edition
Compiled by Kathleen Lines, Pictured by Harold Jones
Originally published in 1954, this is a definitive collection of nursery rhymes. It was a runner-up for the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and it won a Carnegie special commendation. It was also listed as an American Library Association Notable Book and it received a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1960. It has the look and feel of the original book. A lovely gift for new parents.

What Will We Do With the Baby-O? at Amazon.ca
Lavender's Blue : A Book of Nursery Rhymes at Amazon.ca

Celebrating Daddies and All They Do

2007-06-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Matching books to occasions is one way to help our children connect books and their own experiences. If you are planning to celebrate Father's Day on Sunday, I hope you will include a special book in your plans. For a very young child, might I suggest The Very Best Daddy of All? Rich, evocative illustrations introduce offspring and daddies from the animal kingdom. Children will enjoy discovering the many ways animals provide for and nuture their offspring. As well, we witness the many wonderful ways human daddies express their love.

The Very Best Daddy of All at Amazon.ca

Have You Discovered Owen and Mzee?

2007-06-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Have you discovered Owen & Mzee? The New York Times #1 Bestseller Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship was the first of a remarkable series of books. The project began when Isabella Hatkoff heard the true story of an unusual relationship between a young hippo and a 130 year old tortoise. The hippo was orphaned as a result of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Isabella convinced her dad that he should create a book about the friendship. Thankfully, Craig Hatkoff listened to his young daughter.

The story has since grown and includes an interesting website http://www.owenandmzee.com/omweb/ and several heartwarming picture books. Best Friends (Owen And Mzee) is a new board book that will appeal to very young children. It features endearing photographs of Owen and Mzee and a gentle message about friendship.

Owen & Mzee at Amazon.ca

Summertime Outings Lay the Groundwork for Reading Success

2007-06-11T12:56:00.001-07:00

Did you know that the outings and experiences you share with your preschooler contribute to her future reading success? Whether you go to a park, the beach or the zoo, tour a fire hall or ride on a bus, your child's vocabulary will grow. In the not-too-distant future, as a beginning reader, her super-sized vocabulary will help her as she tries to understand the words she encounters.

First-hand experiences - especially if you make the extra effort to talk about what your child is seeing, hearing, tasting and touching - are incredibly valuable. If, upon returning home, you can find a book that relates to your outing, you'll reinforce her learning that much more.

Phonemic Awareness is One of the Keys to Reading Success

2007-06-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

For a beginning readers, knowing the alphabet and letter sounds is not enough. Have you heard about the importance of phonemic awareness? Phonemic awareness is one of the keys to reading success. It begins with awareness of spoken words. As P.A. develops, the child comes to recognize oral sound patterns. This recognition of sound patterns will help a beginning reader decode words and will help a beginning writer to spell words.

When we recite nursery rhymes and read rhyming books, we are introducing the idea that words are made up of sounds and those sounds can be manipulated or played with. It is not difficult to develop your child's phonemic awareness. It can begin with a very young child and can be done virtually anywhere and without any materials.

Here are five ways to help your youngster develop phonemic awareness

1. Recite or read poetry, nursery rhymes and rhyming books aloud.

2. Play "I Spy" and look for things that begin with a particular sound ..."I spy something that begins with /m/" (say the mmmmmmm sound rather than the letter name)

3. Have fun with rhyming games like... How's your nose, Rose? (Next person says, How's your back, Jack?, How's your leg, Greg?, etc.)

4. Sing and clap or tap to the beat.

5. Make up riddles, "What rhymes with jog and says ribbit, ribbit?"

You'll find more ideas for developing Phonemic Awareness at my website: Storytime Standouts. The Phonemic Awareness page at Storytime Standouts has many good ideas for developing this important skill.

Colorful Concept Books for Little Ones

2007-06-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

When choosing books for very young children take a good look inside the cover... are the illustrations colorful? Is the language appropriate, does it flow? Is the book one that you will enjoy reading again and again? Some board books are too heavy to manage with a squirming youngster and others are unlikely to survive a drooling baby or an enthusiastic toddler.

One of the sorts of books you will want to look for is a concept book. These are books that will illustrate particular concepts like large and small, above and below.

Featuring bright, bold, paper cut images, Tom Slaughter has illustrated three special concept books; Over Under , One, Two, Three and One Some Many Each book clearly illustrates concepts in an engaging and playful manner.

Tom Slaughter at Amazon.ca

If Your Child Won't Sit Still for a Story

2007-06-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

From time to time I am asked what to do if a child won't sit still for a story at bedtime. Just because your child wants to move, doesn't mean you can't enjoy a story together. For older children, try providing crayons and paper and suggest they listen and draw while you read.

One of my boys likes to listen to a story while bouncing a ball off the side of his bed. The ball bouncing is his way of unwinding and more often than not, he bounces the ball for awhile and then curls up next to me and listens to the end of the chapter.

For really little children, it is perfectly alright to give them another (board) book to explore or some soft toys to play with. I've even read while my child is sitting in a high chair - talk about a captive audience!

Ideally, most of us would love to have our children curl up and sit very still while listening to a story but that doesn't always happen. Don't give up. Be creative and persistent and keep reading aloud. The long-term benefits are immeasurable.

A Bedtime Story and Hugs From Daddy - What Could Be Better?

2007-06-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I frequently make presentations to parent groups and very often we talk about how to keep children reading -- especially how to keep boys reading. One thought is that bedtime stories are frequently read by moms and, as boys get older, the boys come to the (wrong) conclusion that reading is largely a feminine activity. As a result, some boys turn away from books and reading.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love to read aloud to my sons. In fact, right now we are reading Inkheart together. Having said that, my sense is that my sons have both been strongly influenced by my husband and the pleasure he has demonstrated when reading to them. Through him, they have discovered that men enjoy books and reading as much as women do.

From the start, we should make every effort to have Daddy read aloud to youngsters. For babies, a great board book choice would be Daddy Hugs (Classic Board Books). Baby is delighted to spend the dady with Daddy and shares ten different kinds of hugs - everything from "Kiss is all better" boo-boo hugs to "Yay, you did it!" hugs . Good fun!

Daddy Hugs at Amazon.ca

I Believe I Could Use a Personal Penguin!

2007-06-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sandra Boynton can always be counted on for delightful books for really small children (and their parents). I can still recite the entire Going to Bed Book from memory. At our boys' requests, we read that book over and over and over again.

Today I am looking at an awfully cute (plush) penguin that seems to be looking right back at me. In Your Personal Penguin (Boynton on Board) Boynton's penguin reveals it would be great to walk right by my side and to travel with me far and wide. The penguin reveals, 'if I could be yours and you could be mine our cozy world could be twice as nice.' Come to think of it, we can all use a friend to listen to whatever we say!

Boyton has a great touch -- relatively simple illustrations and text that is perfect for little ones. Visit www.workman.com/boynton to listen (or download) a free MP3 of Your Personal Penguin.

Bravo for Babies and Books

2007-05-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

In their book BABY READ-ALOUD BASICS: Fun And Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez provide a list of ten benefits of reading aloud to your baby from Day One.

I confess, I waited until my first son was six months old before beginning to read aloud nightly. Whether you begin immediately after birth or wait a few months, you will have an incredible impact on your children if you choose to read aloud to them regularly. According to ABC Canada Literacy Foundation, children aged 2 to 3 who are read to several times a day do substantially better in kinderarten. Let's explore the wide variety of fun ways to lead young children to the joy of books and reading.