This week's book of the week is BULLY by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (also the author of Green).

BULLY teaches this important lesson in a very kid-friendly way by using farm animals as the story's characters. The mean-spirited bull at the center of the tale is great at making fun of others, but find out what happens when he gets a little taste of his own medicine.

The illustrations in BULLY highlight the animals and their emotions, which is a crucial element to the theme of the book, and makes for a perfect learning opportunity. It's an easy book to read with those three and under because it's short for the babies and toddlers, and clever for the 3-year olds who may understand the significance of the title and main character.

After reading this book

Extend your child's literacy and comprehension by taking a few minutes to discuss the book after you are done reading it. Try to:

talk about the moral. Why is it bad to be a bully? How did being called names make the animals feel?

relate the book to the child. Have you ever been a bully or been bullied? How did it make you feel?

talk about each animal. What animals can you name from the story? Why did the bully call each animal the name that he did?

draw a picture. What animal would you add to the story? How would he feel? What would he do or say?

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I realize I haven't been posting much over the past few months - thanks to moving, a newly crawling baby, and wanting to take a little bloggy break over the summer. I hope to be back to blogging regularly now that it's officially "back to school" time. You may see some changes on the blog over the next few weeks - a new design or layout, so bear with me as I get back into blogging once again and get the site reorganized! Hope everyone had a fantastic summer, and I'm looking forward to sharing with you many great books and early literacy tips!

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It's been a crazy couple of months. We moved. And we survived the selling, packing, loading, and unloading of everything. Only now that it's all over can I actually breathe, and get back to posting!

Selling our house and finding a new one was LITERALLY a job. Cleaning our house for showings was an even bigger job with two baby bookworms. But, the biggest job in this whole process was finding a way to keep these little ones happy, entertained, and engaged in real learning activities while all their toys, books, and resources that we used day in and day out were packed away in boxes.

So what could we learn without all kinds of "stuff"?

Turns out a lot. You don't need fancy "stuff" to help your child learn. Sure, it's nice. But, as I was packing all of our stuff away I thought back to one of my favorite and most inspiring lectures that I heard in my graduate school career. It was on conditions, methods, and outcomes....let me explain.

As a parent I consider myself also a teacher. If I want to be a good one, my main goal is to take whatever conditions I'm given (a house full of boxed up toys, craft materials, and other learning supplies), apply the appropriate method (or delivery strategy) necessary to get the desired outcome (or learning goal). 

To me it's kinda like a fun challenge - making learning fun with limited resources.

So here we are packing, unpacking, and learning all the while:

Labeling boxes - practicing writing, letter sounds, spelling

Organizing bags and decorations - practicing sorting and patterns

Making comparisons - which is taller?

Practicing counting - 13 vases to pack

With all of our books packed, we made great use of the library, and borrowed a few books on moving. These three were our favorites, and we read them the week before moving.




Baby bookworm's favorite room in the new house? The office where she has her own desk.



My favorite room? A room devoted to all of our books! There are at least 10 boxes to unpack and I'm overjoyed to have a place to display them all and read them over and over again.

Looking back, the whole moving process wasn't too bad - I just hope we don't have to do it again for a very, very long time!

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I had the pleasure of attending the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) conference a few weeks ago. One of the workshops I attended was on best new books for preschoolers, and I thought I would share a few of the recommendations from Isabel Baker of BookVine.com.

Here were a few of her selections for good literature for children, as well as ones that I thought really stood out as exceptional books. While the workshop was aimed at preschoolers, I think babies and toddlers would enjoy and benefit from all of these selections.

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Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a book full of vibrant pictures, and unique hues of green. It's no wonder that Green is a 2013 Caldecott Honor Book.

Green provides a great opportunity to celebrate this one color, and talk about how many different shades a color can come in....pea green, or khaki green, or wacky green...

Both of my baby bookworms (ages 3 and 2 months) enjoyed this book. It's simplicity and intoxicatingly beautiful illustrations had them begging for me to read it again.



But, at the conclusion of the story I had to ask my 3-year old....are there any other shades of green? And, so here you have it. The missing shade of green from Seeger's book - "Icy Green".




If you are tired of all the shamrock and rainbow crafts to celebrate St. Patty's Day (although terribly fun and cute, too) - try an art project inspired by the book Green instead. Have your child use his imagination...and I bet he'll come up with a shade of green you couldn't have even dreamed of.

I, of course, had to join in the fun and add my own green to the story too....can you guess it?

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Your newborn might not be mobile, or able to talk to you in the conventional sense, but that doesn't mean you can't create meaningful learning experiences with him or her.

The time to begin reading, playing, and interacting with your baby is... now! Providing a stimulating environment for your new baby will strengthen the interconnections between his neurons and boost his development. Even newborns like to look at interesting things, hear various sounds, and move to music!

Not sure exactly what types of activities to do with a newborn? Here are some fun learning ideas that I do with my baby boy bookworm, who is just a couple of months old. But, before I begin, there are a few things to keep in mind when playing with newborns:

1. Be sensitive to your child's mood. If he or she looks away, seems distressed, or generally unhappy - its time to stop! You can try again later.
2. Consider your child's temperament (or behavioral individuality). Some babies are easy, some are fussy. Adjust your activities according to your own baby's little personality.
3. Babies learn through discovery. Limiting time spent in things like bouncy chairs or swings will help him experience the world through his senses and learn from those experiences. 
4. Babies develop at a rapid rate in the first few months. If you try something and your baby doesn't like it at first, in a few weeks time he might.
5. Babies learn through repetition. You can read the same books over and over, play the same games, and sing the same songs multiple times.

Finger Plays and Songs
A newborn loves nothing more than to hear his parents voice, especially when its singing or saying fun little baby chants. You can play "this little piggy" or "row, row, row your boat" from the second your baby is born, and in a few weeks time the same little song will bring a smile to his face.

Finger plays and songs not only increase bonding but are a fun way to build language skills.

Books
My favorite way to stimulate my baby, of course, is by reading to him! You can begin reading to your newborn immediately. Not sure what or how to read to a newborn, then check out two of my posts:

How to Get Started with the Littlest Learner: Tips and Book Recommendations for Reading with Newborns

Read Aloud Tip in Practice: Start Young!

Reading to your child is a wonderful way to increase bonding, language development, and memory as you read the same books over and over.

"Watch Me" Games
Your baby will undoubtedly love to look at you as you move around the house and do your daily activities, but if you really want to give him something more fun to view, try a "watch me" game.

What's a "watch me" game? Exactly what it sounds like. A game where your newborn watches what happens as you do something. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Feather drop. Take a few colored feathers, and let them float through the air as baby watches. You can also stroke his cheek with the feather, too.
 

• Crumbling tower. Build a tower of blocks and knock them down.

• Balloon inflate. Blow some air into a balloon, and then let it go (just remember a balloon is not a baby toy though so keep it out of reach of his little hands).

• Funny faces. Stick out your tongue, blow out your cheeks, scrunch up your nose. Baby may even try to mimic your silliness.

As you are doing these games, make sure you narrate: "Look baby, watch what happens when I drop this feather. Oh, look it's floating! It landed on you....let's see how it feels. Oooo...soft. You like that, huh?"

Activities such as these help to strengthen eye muscles and vision, communication, brain and language development.

Get Moving
A newborn might not be able to dance on his own, but he'll love to sway in your arms. We love to put on music at home and bounce to the rhythm, or bounce to the beat as I read nursery rhymes. You can also wear your baby in a sling or a carrier at home as you go about your daily business. I have found that my everyday movements often rock baby boy bookworm right to sleep.

This activity is a fun way to bond with your child.

Mirror Play
Babies love faces. Place a mirror in front of your baby as he does tummy time, like we do. It encourages him to lift his head a little bit higher!

This activity helps to strengthen neck muscles and vision.

Sound Play
Every household with a newborn baby is sure to have at least one rattle. Even before your child can hold a rattle you can put it to good use. How? Jingle it, and watch as your child turns his head to see where the sound is coming from. Don't have a rattle? Of course you can use just about anything. I like to call my baby boy bookworm's name.

This activity gives your child practice in locating sounds.

Talk it out
Babies learn language by hearing language, so make sure you are talking a bunch to your newborn. One thing that I often do with my baby boy bookworm is I narrate what I'm doing. For instance, if I'm changing his diaper I'll say, "Let's put you up on the changing table, and unsnap that onesie. Look at those chubby legs! Let's get you cleaned up. First I'm going to take out a clean diaper..." You can narrate just about anything you are doing, and it's a great way to expose your baby to varied language.

Jungle Gym Play
You know those play mats with all of those hanging toys that you got at your baby shower, get them out now. Using one of these jungle gyms is as easy as placing your baby on the mat! As your child grows, you'll notice one day that one of his jerky little (unintentional) movements causes one of the hanging toys to move. Your baby will notice this though, and think, wow that was pretty cool! Soon he'll try to repeat this action in a more intentional way to get the toy to move. Piaget called this a primary circular reaction - a reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance. I call it pretty cool, and this is baby boy bookworm's latest feat.

Playing in a jungle gym strengthens your child's coordination and eye muscles, and teaches cause and effect.


Play Surprise!
Babies don't have a concept of object permanence, or that objects out of view continue to exist. Playing "surprise" with your baby will be sure to spark his interest and intellect. Try pulling various objects out of a box, or playing peek-a-boo. In our house we like to play "mystery bag" and put a bunch of objects into a bag, and I have my three year old try to guess them by touch. To adapt this game for my newborn, I pull an item out of the bag and say, "SURPRISE! Look, it's a _____".

Cool Things in View
It's a good idea to think about what your baby sees down there on the floor! Take a moment and get at his eye level and ask yourself: What does the world look like from down here? Are there interesting things for him to look at? Providing stimulating things for him to look at helps boost brain development by strengthening the neural circuits that control thought. Place some colorful pictures in his line of sight, pictures of your family, or a mobile. With having a three year old to entertain as well, I feel like I use this learning idea often, as my new baby bookworm is sometimes left to gaze at the world by himself as I attend to big sis. I try to always make sure there's something new and interesting in his view, and try to vary what he is looking at throughout the day.

I hope you have as much fun exploring and learning together as we do.

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We made a fantastic find a few weeks ago when we stumbled on the interactive book How to Build an A by Sara Midda.

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Who doesn't love Dr Seuss books, right? They are full of goofy words and rhymes, unusual characters, and often teach pretty cool lessons! In celebration of Read Across America and Dr Seuss' birthday on March 2nd, baby bookworm and I read Hop on Pop and followed up with some math and literacy activities inspired by the book.

The great thing about Hop on Pop is that it's FULL of simple rhymes, which makes it an ideal match for children ages 3 and under. Here's how we learned from Hop on Pop by Dr Seuss:

1) We read the book together.

• I pointed out the rhyming words to baby bookworm on each page
• Since the words are repeated in the book, I asked her to find and point to each rhyming word as well

2) We played a rhyming game.

• We created two cards, one that said "yes" and another that said "no"
• I called out two words from the book such as "house" and "mouse"
• If the words rhymed, baby bookworm would hold up the "yes" card; if they did not rhyme she would hold up the "no" card

3) We created rhyming lists.

• I selected four of the rhyming words from the book
• I asked baby bookworm to name as many words as she could that rhymed with each of these words
• We wrote down our words on a white board

4) We made a graph based on the words that we rhymed

•  We tallied up the number of words in each group
• I asked baby bookworm which word had the most rhymes, and which had the least
• Then, we created a graph using dot paints; we put number of words along the y axis (vertical) and words along the x axis (horizontal) (she loved this activity so much that she asked to do it again the next day)

Graph

So I ask you now: What are you doing to celebrate Dr Seuss' birthday? What is your favorite Dr Seuss book?

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I'm very excited to be participating today in the Booking Across America project hosted by Jodie over at Growing Book by Book - a blog devoted to "nurturing our youngest readers". For this project, a child-friendly blogger from each state will showcase one book related to their state and an activity to go with the chosen book.



I'm representing our hometown state of Pennsylvania and have selected My Little Pennsylvania ABC to go along with our learning activity: A fun, crafty, kid-friendly MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA.


When I came across this book at Barnes and Noble earlier this week, I thought it was perfect for this blog, my baby bookworms who are 3 years and 2 months, and the Booking Across the USA project. Here's why:

1) it has this super cute baby on every page that is dressed up as "something Pennsylvanian" (for example, L is for Lancaster and he's dressed up in Amish gear) - which happens to make learning a little more fun,

2) it's a board book which is great for the "littlest learners" ages 3 and under that are the focus here at Land of Once Upon a Time,

3) it teaches alphabet knowledge and phonemic awareness - important emergent literacy skills,

4) it provides a great basis for a discussion about our state and could easily tie in to a crafy learning activity, and

5) baby bookworm could make connections from the book to her life because we had already visited many of the places in PA (which is a great learning mechanism).

Showing off the cover of the book



J is for Johnstown Incline Plane - a place we have visited!

After enjoying this book several times, we dove into our craft and learning activity which was a MAP OF PENNSVANIA. It could easily be created with infants, toddlers, or preschoolers by modifying a few elements.

Here are the instructions for this learning activity, if you would like to make your own (for PA or another state).

Gather the following materials:

• Contact paper
• Scissors (adult)
• Finger paints
• Art smock
• Large sheet of paper
• Pen (for drawing the outline of PA)
• Craft letters (to spell Pennsylvania)
• Craft stars (for showing where cities are)

Then you are ready to paint (and make a mess) - which is the fun part!


Let the paint dry for a few minutes and then peel off the contact paper; your outline of Pennsylvania will be revealed.


Allow the paint to fully dry, then grab your craft letters and stars, and your book! Identify the word Pennsylvania on the front cover, and invite your child to name each letter; play a little search and find game with the craft letters and see if your child can find all of the letters to spell out Pennsylvania.

Once you have found all of the letters, glue them on to your map.


Last but not least, add stars on your map to represent various cities in PA. We chose to identify cities in PA where we had friends or family living, or ones that we have visited.


In addition to this book on Pennsylvania we read a bunch of books on the largest city in PA - Philadelphia, which also happens to be where we live.



Our collection of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia books      1 2 3 Philadelphia by Puck - A counting book for young children   Good Night Philadelphia by Adam Gamble - A perfect bedtime story The ABC's of Philadelphia by Greg Landry - An illustrated guide to the city P is for Philadelphia by Susan Korman - An ABC book about Philly illustrated by Philly kids Philadelphia and the State of Pennsylvania: Cool Stuff Every Kid Should Know - A book with tons of facts for learning   

Baby bookworm loves seeing the places that she has visited in these books, and has a list of places she would still like to see.

I'd also like to mention that Pennsylvania is home to a few of our favorite authors: Jan and Stan Berenstain of the Berenstain Bears series (my last post was about their book The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist and learning activities to accompany it), and Mr. Fred Rogers who was from Latrobe! Comedian and educator Bill Cosby is also a Philly native.

Be sure to visit Growing Book by Book for links to each post, but here is also a list of all participating blogs that are full of wonderful kid-friendly activities:

Alabama: Everyday Snapshots
Alaska: Little Wonders’ Days
Arizona: Simply Kinder
Arkansas: Homeschooling in Arkansas
California: Juggling with Kids and The Outlaw Mom
Colorado: Learners in Bloom and Living Montessori Now
Connecticut: The Teacher Park
Delaware: Mama Miss
Florida: Teaching Stars
Georgia: Fabulously First
Hawaii: Teaching With Style
Idaho: True Aim Education
Illinois: Growing Book by Book
Indiana: Teach Preschool
Iowa: Surviving a Teacher's Salary
Kansas: KCEdventures
Kentucky: Chicken Babies
Louisiana: New Orleans Moms Blog
Maine: Maine Adventure Mom and Country Fun Child Care
Maryland: Picture Books and Piourettes
Massachusetts: Mama Smiles
Michigan: Play DrMom
Minnesota: The Wise Owl Factory
Mississippi: Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk
Missouri: Ready. Set. Read!
Montana: The Honey Bunch
Nebraska: The Good Long Road
Nevada: Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts
New Hampshire: Elementary Matters
New Jersey: The Pleasantest Thing
New Mexico: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
New York: What Do We Do All Day
North Carolina: Realistic Teacher Blog
North Dakota: ND HealthWorks
Ohio: Smart Chick Teacher’s Blog
Oklahoma: Herding Kats in Kindergarten
Oregon: Journey of a Substitute Teacher
Pennsylvania: Land of Once Upon a Time
Rhode Island: Smiling in Second Grade
South Carolina: Cookies and Kiddos and JDaniel4’s Mom
South Dakota: The Wise Owl Factory
Tennessee: No Monkey Business
Texas: Curls and a Smile and Kid World Citizen
Utah: Teach Beside Me
Vermont: Burlington Vt Moms Blog
Virgina: Once Upon a Story, and The Freckled Homeschooler
Washington: Home Learning Journey and Boy Mama Teacher Mama
West Virginia: This Week @ Great Peace Academy and Mamas Like Me
Wisconsin: Reading Confetti
Wyoming: No Twiddle Twaddle
USA: The Corner on Character        

Disclosure: Some of the book links in this post are Affiliate links.

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February is National Children's Dental Health Month. It also just so happened that baby bookworm took her very first trip to the dentist this month.

I wanted baby bookworm to know what she could expect at the dentist, so we read The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist. In this story brother bear visits the dentist to get a cavity filled, and sister bear goes along to get her loose tooth pulled.

With kid-friendly language and pictures that show exactly what a child will encounter on his first visit to the dentist, it is the perfect book to read to help a child feel at ease with this new experience.

Baby bookworm did amazing while in the dentist's chair, and I actually learned a lot from the dentist about what she should be eating and drinking and what she should not (I didn't know raisins were worse than chocolate for your teeth!). I am a firm believer that reading books before (or after) various life events helps a child to feel more at ease. Children can easily identify with their favorite characters, and will make the connection back to the book! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures at this first appointment so I don't have any to share, but will hopefully remember to bring my camera in 6 months at the next visit.

As a follow-up to our trip to the dentist, we did two learning activities based around a dental theme. Here they are:

Count Your Teeth

One of the things that the dentist did while he was examining baby bookworm was count her teeth. She learned that she had 10 on the top, and 10 on the bottom.

Repetition is an easy learning technique, so to reinforce (and repeat) what she had learned at the dentist, we did a counting and sequencing activity with baby bookworm where she had to put 20 teeth in order in a mouth.

 

"Good" Food or "Bad" Food

The dentist also talked to us a great deal about the foods that will help to build healthy teeth and those that will hurt teeth. To repeat this idea, we did a sorting task and categorized different foods as to whether they were healthy for our teeth or bad for our teeth.



Even if you don't have a trip to the dentist coming up, I hope you have fun with these learning activities! And if you do, "Good Luck".

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Children learn through play, which is lucky - because play is fun!

There are a few simple ways to promote the development of literacy skills during play.

All you need to do is simply add a few extra materials to your child's play areas that you probably have laying around your house.

Check out these suggestions:



Add to a kitchen play area to promote literacy:  flyers, cookbooks, menus, notebook and writing utensil

For your kitchen play area try adding:

• cookbooks
• recipe box and cards
• grocery flyers
• writing utensils
• empty food containers
• books on health and nutrition
• cash register for practice with reading numbers
• take out menus

For your dramatic play area or dress-up area try adding:

• fairy tale books or books that coincide with the dress up themes in your play area
• audio books that could be used to dress up and act out a "play"

For your arts and crafts area try adding:

• photographs
• magazines to cut up
• books about colors and/or color mixing
• books about children doing art or crafts such as Think Big by Liz Garton Scanlon 
• children's books for craft inspiration such as Create with Maisy: A Maisy First Arts-and-Crafts Book 
• lined paper and pencils so your child can write about what he or she has created
• materials to create his or her own story or book        

For your block area try adding:

• road signs
• maps
• directions for children to pretend to read and then build something
• writing utensils and paper for children to draw an idea and then try to create it with the blocks

For your puzzles area try adding:

• books that feature puzzles such as Apple, Apple, Alligator by William Accorsi or Puzzlehead by James Yang

Of course, these ideas can be applied to any play space or game you can think up! Try see how many literacy components you can add while playing vet, doctor, restaurant, "house", or even library.

How can you tell if your child is gaining literacy skills through play?

Easy.

Watch for behaviors such as "playing" with books, pretending to read, flipping through pictures of a book, reading aloud, drawing, scribbling, writing, or "playing" with writing utensils - behaviors which are all sure to put a smile on your face!

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Read-Aloud Tip:

Start reading to your baby as early as you can. In the words of Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, "Begin reading to children as soon as possible. The younger you start them the easier and better it is."

In Practice: Our read-aloud experience with our new bookworm.

I'm pleased to announce that baby BOY bookworm has arrived, and I'm super excited to be reading to a newborn again. Although, I must admit - finding time to squeeze in a story is a little more difficult with two kids. In fact, after my first full day on my own with my two little bookworms, I was fairly certain I may never eat, shower, or sleep again - let alone read or blog.

But, after giving myself "a break" for the first month of baby boy bookworm's life, I've now made reading to my new bookworm a priority, right up there with eating, sleeping, and showering.

WHY?

Because I know that reading to my baby boy baby from the moment he is born is extremely important and beneficial to his development.

Reading to him gives us time to cuddle and bond, and forming emotional attachments early in life is an essential piece of the learning process. It also aids his language development - hearing language is the best way to learn it! Reading also boosts memory; when a baby hears the same book over and over again, he'll begin to recognize and remember it. Story time can also serve as a cue for your baby. If you read books at the same time each day, for instance before bed time, a baby will start to anticipate what comes next.

So that's the why but what about the...

HOW? 

Well, for us, I try to pick a time when he's well fed, rested, and pretty alert. We only read one or two short "baby books" (more about good books in a minute), and I don't try to make a lesson out of it like I do with my 3 year old - he has lots of time to learn numbers, colors, and letters! I try to make the experience fun and pleasurable by varying my facial expressions or intonation. And, if he seems disinterested (looks away, starts to cry, or seems upset) then I end our little story time early and try again another time. Sometimes I put baby boy bookworm on his belly too for tummy time while I am reading to him. Other times, I hold the book close to him while he's lying on his back, or big sis does the same.

Last but not least, exactly WHAT do we read?

The great thing about having a newborn is that you can read anything to him - your novel, the newspaper, the comics, or poetry. Of course, you can read books especially made for babies too! My favorites are from Tana Hoban, Sandra Boynton, and Sandra Magsamen. Newborns especially like books with bold colors and lots of contrast, books with pictures of faces or other babies, and books with a nice rhythm (think books you can sing or stories that rhyme). For more information on recommendations of what to read to a newborn, check out a post I wrote awhile back on Getting Started With the Littlest Learner: Tips for Reading with Newborns.

Does anyone have any other favorite newborn books or read aloud suggestions?

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What do you see in the "spilt milk"?  That's the question that baby bookworm and I asked ourselves after reading It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw.

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Happy 2013!

Here are 10 suggestions for literacy themed New Year's resolutions for those of you trying to raise a reader at an early age!

• Read to your child EVERYDAY (aim for 20 minutes if you can) - visit my How To Series on reading aloud for some suggestions on learning during read alouds.

• Model good reading behaviors and habits.

          Research shows that children read more when they see others reading. So turn off the TV and cell phone and pick up a newspaper, magazine, or your favorite novel.
         

• Make reading with your child fun.

          Reading to or with your child doesn't have to be a drag or feel like a chore. Make it fun for the both of you, and you'll be more likely to keep it up. Let your child pick out books that he loves, make up a book-related game, even read a comic book or two. Don't be afraid to really "get into" the story and make it come alive!

• Create a well-rounded home library for your child.

          Different books and stories teach different things. Alphabet books are great for teaching letter knowledge, picture books are fabulous for aiding in reading comprehension, and nursery rhymes have been shown to increase a child's phonemic awareness, a skill that aids in learning to read. So don't fall into the trap of owning ONLY picture books! Make it a goal to expose your child to a wide variety of books that will help him gain important skills. {Click the link above to read more on how to do this in your home}

• Set aside some time each week to visit your local library - make it a ritual and stick to it!

          By taking your young child to the library each week - you are demonstrating that literacy is an important part of life. You are also giving your child essential access to a wide variety of books. Check out this previous post on the importance of a library ritual for more information.

• Encourage your child to play with books - make books accessible for play by using bins throughout your home.

          You may have a toy box in your home, but make it a goal this year to have lots of book boxes or bins in most of the rooms in your home. Even the bathroom needs to have books!

• Create a "print-rich" environment in your home.

          One of the simplest things you can do to encourage literacy at home is to make sure you have a print-rich environment. Read this post here for detailed information on how to go about this process.

• Set a reading goal.

          Try to set a goal of reading X number of books before the end of the week, month, year - you name it. We are trying to read 1,000 different books! We have been keeping a book log, and it has been a fun way to get baby bookworm involved in the process. In fact, the last time we were at our library she exclaimed to the librarian, "I've read 200 books!"

• Use books as inspiration (for cooking, crafting, outings - you name it).

          The web is full of creative book and learning ideas.  The Educators' Spin on It is one of my favorite blogs to find book-activity pairings. {You can find a bunch here though too!}

• Create or join a children's book club in your neighborhood, or participate in one online.

          With support, you are more likely to make a real commitment to reading with your child. Click here to visit one popular online virtual book club for young kids.
         

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'Tis the season for giving and getting. Over the past three years, baby bookworm has learned all about the getting of the season, but very little about the giving.

This year I wanted that to change. I knew, however, that teaching her to be a giving person wasn't going to be an easy task. After all, the mind of a three year old is largely egocentric. It's prewired to be self-centered and focus on "me".

I thought the best way to approach the topic of giving with a three year old was to begin with something that she could relate to - books, of course!

So with the help of our friendly librarian, I gathered up a few good ones on giving and sharing, both fictitious and non-fictitious:

We read through these books a few times and talked about being generous, sharing with others, and helping those in need. I explained not only HOW one gives, but WHY one gives, and the emotions involved as well. What I especially like about all of these books is how they put these concepts into concrete, kid-friendly examples.

After we read these books, I told baby bookworm that we were going to go to the toy store to pick out a new toy for a child who needed one. Then I explained that we would take it to our local police station for the police officers to deliver her toy, along with other toys people had donated, to boys and girls on Christmas.

I'm not going to lie and say that baby bookworm exclaimed, "Let's go! Come on! That sounds like fun!"

What she heard was that I was buying a toy that was NOT for her, which did NOT make her happy.

I'm also not going to lie and say that I didn't break down and get a toy for her, too. Because I did. But, generosity is not a trait learned overnight. And it's not one that you can only display one month out of the year.



Baby bookworm donating her toy at at our local police station

So, on this year's New Year resolution list, I have included:
 "To be more giving as a family, all year round."

Because really, that's the way that baby bookworm will learn this value. Through myself and my husband as a model, and through habit. I foresee our giving activities this upcoming year to be simple, though. Picking up litter in our neighborhood, giving time to a friend, donating clothes and books, helping out at a soup kitchen or with the elderly, writing thank you notes to people we love...and I'm hoping that by next Christmas, 2014, I just might hear from her when I suggest buying a toy for another little boy or girl:

"Come on! Let's go! That sounds like fun!"

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Today I'm sharing some tips on home library essentials for young children.

I am admittedly a children's book hoarder. I find it extremely difficult to pass up free and discounted books, books that remind me of my childhood, those that are  packed with facts or useful information, and those with lovable characters like Olivia and Fancy Nancy. I see them and I just HAVE to have them. In some ways I guess this makes me a sort of children's book collector.

But, you don't have to be a children's book hoarder to give your child a really nice at-home library. For those of you looking to start, or even expand, your collection of books at home, I recommend purchasing books from each of the categories below to create a "well-rounded" complete library for your young child. If space or money are tight, I'd suggest one or two books in each of these categories.

Why do I think a "well-rounded" collection is best?

Because while the simple act of reading with your child will give him a jump start on literacy, speaking, and listening skills, reading books from these varied categories assures that your child is being exposed to a diverse set of topics, vocabulary, and printed materials.

Children learn a lot from books - literacy skills as well as other skills, life lessons, facts, and important values.

So, here are types of books to consider for your at-home library.

1. Alphabet books.

These books are great for teaching children letter knowledge, an important emergent literacy skill. Our favorites include Maurice Sendak's Alligators All Around and Bill Martin Jr.'s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

To find your favorites, check out 50 Fantastic Alphabet Books over at No Time For Flashcards.

2. Object naming or first word books.

These books are great for kids 3 and under, who are learning new words at such a rapid rate. Don't be fooled into thinking that these books are just for babies and toddlers, though, and that your child will outgrow them. They are a fantastic addition to a home library because once your child can identify the objects, he can move on to trying to decode the words, or learn the object names in another language.

Our favorite book is DK Publishing's My First Word Lift-the-Flap First Board Book.

3. Nursery Rhymes.

Every home library should have at least one collection of nursery rhymes. They are not only fabulous for helping children with important phonemic awareness skills that are essential in learning to read, but there is actually research that suggests a child's knowledge of nursery rhymes is a good predictor of future reading success.


4. Non-fiction books.

It's a good idea to have a few non-fiction books lying around your house. Non-fiction books are a great way to spark your child's interest in important topics. While it's fun to read stories with animals who talk and do funny things, it's sometimes more fun to learn real facts about animals!

Baby bookworm loves the book Out of Sight which is full of interesting tidbits of information about animals.

5. Poetry books.

Poetry is really an art form. Poetry books make a great addition to an at-home library because they are often full of figures of speech, similes, metaphors, alliteration, rhymes, and varied or unusual vocabulary.

We have a collection of Shel Silverstein's poetry in our home library. This man is a true genius in my eyes.


6. Books on topics that truly interest your child.

For example, if your child is a dinosaur fanatic, then motivate him to read, and read often, by having a few books on this topic on his home bookshelf.

7. Photo books.

Young children love to look at photographs of faces. Having a photo book at your child's fingertips helps him learn about his family, your values, and your culture. It also helps with the formation of autobiographical memories.

8. "Fun" books.

It's also a great idea to allow your child to "play" with books, and some books are more "fun" than others. Lift-the-flap books, musical books, search-and-find books, pop-up books, and sticker books would all fall into the category of "fun". Having books such as these around, gives a child the opportunity to "entertain" himself with a book, much like a toy. In doing so, chances are that he'll gain an interest in books, and consequently reading.

9. Books that teach life lessons.

There are lots of books that teach life lessons. You may want to select a few to own that teach your child lessons that you value.

We own several books with a "sharing" theme such as Mo Willem's Should I Share My Ice Cream? and several that celebrate individuality such as I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont.


10. Bedtime books.

Reading books before bed is a great part of a bedtime routine because 1) you can sneak in some literacy when your child is a little sleepy and more likely to sit still for a story, and 2) it provides emotional bonding and togetherness time. Your child's library should include one or two books that become staple bedtime stories in your home. 

For some suggestions, check out this post on bedtime stories and building a sleep routine.
 
11. Multicultural books or books with diverse characters.

Having a few books on hand with characters from diverse backgrounds helps to give your child an appreciation of others' differences.

One of our all-time favorite books in this category is The Colors of Us by Karen Katz.


Fairy tales generally end with a moral, or lesson, but the real fun of them is that, well, they are just fun and imaginative! Little Red Riding Hood, Golidlocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen... all great characters and stories that children love to listen to over and over again.

Lucy Cousin's has a fabulous collection of fairy tales perfect for young children called Yummy.

13. Wordless books.

A wordless book or two in a home library encourages a child's imagination. Let your child "write" his own story, or simply enjoy the beauty of the illustrations.

For newborns and infants, Tana Hoban has created a number of black-and-white picture-only books. For older children, I like Chalk by Bill Thomson.

14. Counting books.

Learn math by reading math. Counting books like Counting Kisses by Karen Katz are a great addition to any home library. I also highly recommend Anno's Counting Book.

15. Picture books.

Last, but not least, what home library would be complete without a few classic picture books.

I hold several picture books near and dear to my heart such as Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard.

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I often hear parents comment that their young child doesn't like to read and/or won't sit still for story time. I have compiled some quick and easy suggestions to help children ages 3 and under gain interest in books and reading. Persistence, fun, and patience is the key with reading to little ones!

1. Reenact the story
2. Read in a fun location
3. Draw a picture about the story
4. Dress up as the book's main character
5. Keep a list of your favorite books
6. Read a book prior to a field trip
7. Complete an art or craft activity based on the book
8. Place bins or baskets of books throughout your house to encourage book play
9. Use props to tell the story
10. Make a game out of reading the book (e.g., can you find the word "the" on the page?)
11. Ask your child to "picture read" the story to you
12. Listen to an audio version of a story
13. Watch a movie based on a book
14. Prepare a meal around a book's theme
15. Create a list of common words from the books you read
16. Have a conversation and discussion about the book
17. Read interesting or different books (pop-ups, search and find, interactive books, lift-the-flap)
18. Read books with characters and themes that are interesting to your child
19. Read books that reflect what is going on in your lives
20. Reward and praise your child for having completed a reading-related goal
21. Visit your library
22. Get your child his own library card
23. Visit book stores
24. Let your child lead the reading session
25. Give your child books as special gifts
26. Create a reading routine or ritual
27. Read to your child with enthusiasm
28. Let your child see you reading
29. Read and repeat the book

And last but not least,
30. Start reading to your child as early as possible....and, read together often!



I apologize for the lack of posts recently! I am in-between computers and hope to be up and running with more frequent posts soon.

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Baby bookworm and I had some fun recently learning about primary colors and color mixing - and we put a little holiday Halloween spin on it.

First we read two cute books about colors and color mixing (click on images for more info from Amazon).



Both books showcase the primary colors, and what happens when cute animals get a little messy and mix things up!

After reading both of these books we did a color mixing experiment of our own. Take a look at our Halloween Color Mixing Craft:

What you'll need:

1. Blue, red, and yellow paints in squeeze bottles
2. 4 plastic baggies
3. Thick white paper and a pair of scissors to cut it into shapes of Halloween objects (we did witches, Frankensteins, spiders, pumpkins, monsters, and apples).

We added a small amount of paint to each baggie. Here we added blue and yellow.

Then I sealed the baggie shut and let baby bookworm shake the bag, and mix the colors all up to get a nice green.

We added one of our Halloween shapes to the bag - here we are "painting" a witch!

We also mixed orange paint for pumpkins, purple paint for spiders and monsters, and brown paint for rotten apples. Here they are drying before adding the final touches.

We decorated our objects with markers and googly eyes.

Then we hung them from our sky lights to add a little Halloween spirit to our playroom!

Remember, books are a great place to spark a child's interest - but there's nothing better than seeing, experimenting, and discovering with your own senses!  Enjoy.

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I recently had the pleasure of reading an informative, insightful, and helpful book titled Mastering the Mommy Track: Juggling Career and Kids in Uncertain Times by Erin Flynn Jay. Whether you are a mom who goes to the office to work, or one who works from the comfort of home like myself - you will relate to the community of working moms who openly share their experiences, opinions, and advice in this book. What's more is that it offers solutions from doctors, psychologists, life coaches, and other field experts that transforms this book into a working-mom handbook that can be referred to over and over again.

Erin is a Mom Handling it All

Erin Flynn Jay is a mom who knows this topic first hand. In fact, her inspiration for the book comes from her own life experience of raising two young girls while working as the president of her own publicity firm, Flynn Media. Erin shares personal stories of struggles and successes in making her home and work life a healthy and happy one; she is not only a voice, but a role model for working moms everywhere.

A Comprehensive Guide 

Divided into four parts: Home Issues, Health Issues, Parenting Issues, and Work-Life Issues, Mastering the Mommy Track leaves no subject untouched. It offers insight into how to handle such things as mental health, communication, finances, romance, sleep deprivation, nutrition, parenting, childcare, support, time management, self-care, and work - all while playing the dual role as mom and career woman.

What Makes this Book Unique

Erin does not just summarize and offer expert advice - she creates a community for working moms to empower themselves with the information they need to lead happier lives. Juggling a career and kids is no easy task; it can feel isolating and overwhelming at times. Mastering the Mommy Track helps to break down these walls by sharing real-life stories of women who have "been there". No longer does a working mom have to feel like she's doing it all on her own - she can learn from and identify with the impressive mom contributors in this book.

Why You Should Check It Out 

We all want what is best for our family, our children, and our careers. But the fact of the matter is that it's not always as easy as it seems. Mastering the Mommy Track by Erin Flynn Jay takes the guess work out of handling it all. With useful advice from her own experiences, working mothers who have been there, and field experts - you will find yourself not only reading this book once, but using it as a comprehensive guide to becoming the working mother of your dreams.

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A fun, easy way to get a discussion started about a book you have read...

Reading Aloud Tip: Ask Open-Ended Questions!

Specifically, ask questions that initiate a conversation with your child. Through this sort of question and answer session, your child will gain important language & expression skills, comprehension skills, critical thinking skills, and memory skills - all the while using his imagination!

In Practice

I keep open-ended questions for stories on index cards - which gets baby bookworm excited to do them, because she thinks they are a "story game". I generally use the open-ended questions on the cards after we've finished reading the book, but I try to ask additional questions at the beginning of the story, as well as points throughout my read aloud that I feel are appropriate.

Here is an example of a read aloud we did today using open-ended questions with the book Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. It's a cute story about a little girl named Trixie who loses her favorite stuffed animal while at the laundromat with her daddy.


Once we were done reading, I let baby bookworm hold her story cards. She would select one, hand it to me, and I read it. Then we discussed! Here's the questions we used (and her answers).




Of course I elaborated on her initial responses so that we were having a real discussion about the story! These questions are great way to get a conversation started with your child, and here are a few others you might want to try:

Lakeshore Learning has "story wands" with open-ended questions such as these, too, or you could make your own.

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Awhile back baby bookworm selected a book from the library called September Roses. She was drawn to the book because of its cute and tiny size, and I shoved it into our library bag without even looking at it, or giving it much thought.

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It's still summer, but Fall is in the air. For the past 3 weeks baby bookworm has been continuously asking, "Is it Fall yet?" She's been excitedly awaiting going back to music class and ballet - things that I told her would come in the Fall.

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Baby bookworm is in for a big change come January - she's becoming a big sister.

Despite the fact that she REALLY (and I mean REALLY) wanted a little sister, a little brother is on his way whether she likes it or not! I've gotten a few remarks from her like, "but I'm getting a sister, too" since breaking the news (um....that's a big nope), but she's slowly warming up to the idea.

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Today I'm sharing one of my favorite reading tips and how I implement it into our read alouds.

Reading Tip

Read enthusiastically! Read like you want to be there. Put a little "life" into the story.

If you don't sound and seem interested in a book, how can you expect a baby or toddler to be interested?

In Practice
While this tip comes easily to those who are comfortable with little kids, I know it can be awkward (to say the least) for those who are not.

Here's my best advice for "reading enthusiastically" during a read aloud session.



DO:

1. Read the book a few times to yourself prior to reading it to your child. There's nothing worse than listening to an adult stumbling over the words in a book.
2. Find your inner actor or actress while reading - try to "become" each character as much as possible (hint: this may involve creating different voices for each character).
3. Try portray the mood with your voice.
4. Read according to the "rhythm" of the book. Some books are very sing-songy (like Dr Seuss books), so make them that way.
5. Make eye contact with your child.

DON'T:

1. Read with a monotone voice. It's a children's book, not a computer textbook.
2. Act disinterested in the story. Smile! 
3. Be shy. It's OK to look and act silly. That's what kids like! And that's also why they'll want to read the book 900 times in a row - because you made it fun.
4. Be afraid to experiment with different voices while you read. Emphasize various words. 
5. Forget to pay attention to the punctuation. If there is a exclamation point, say the words with GUSTO!

For your added enjoyment, below is a video demonstrating how I "read enthusiastically" and put a little "life" into a story. I hope you find it helpful. I *attempted* to illustrate a few of my Do's and Dont's.

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It's important to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle. Children not only need the proper nutrients for their bodies, but for their minds, too.

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food by Stan and Jan Berenstain is a fantastic book to teach children about "good" versus "bad" food and the effects they can have on the body.


The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a beloved classic book, but can be used as a baby and toddler-friendly method of introducing different types of food. Not only is it highly educational (teaches days of the week and counting), but you could talk with your child about what foods are healthy and which are "sometimes" foods.


Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss teaches children the importance of trying new and unfamiliar foods. Perfect for those picky toddlers!


10 Hungry Rabbits by Anita Lobel is another great book for the wee ones. At heart it's a color and counting book, but also a cool segue into a lesson on vegetables. Captivating enough for babies or toddlers.



Other books to check out:

At the Supermarket by Anne Rockwell

Growing Colors by Bruce McMillian

Gregory, The Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Also visit Delightful Children's Books post titled 10 Children's Books About Food.


Use these books in conjunction with food & nutrition activities such as these:

1) Make a shopping list together.
2) Look through grocery store flyers and identify foods. Try to classify them into food groups.
3) Make a collage of foods from magazines.
4) Make a list of your favorite foods.
5) Plant a garden or visit one. For some added literacy fun, play a  game like "watering an alphabet garden".    
6) Play supermarket at home and raid your cupboards.
7) Experiment with food - play a tasting game, observe changes in food.
8) Create a book inspired meal. For some great ideas visit, The Educators' Spin on it series called Little Hands that Cook with Books .
9) Have a "soup day".
10) Build a tower out of foods like block cheese, or pretzel sticks.

To help end childhood hunger, please visit Share Our Strength.

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