Little Life Lessons

I did my first event last weekend at Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin Dells (hello to everyone I met there!). I had a really nice time and met a lot of wonderful customers and vendors.

Quite a number of people came up to my table asking if we carried potty training books or big brother/sister books, etc. Although we don't carry books like that, many of our books are more than just stories - they're often about learning about yourself, seeing that it's okay to be different, and other great childhood lessons!

Here are just a few examples:

Ages 3-7

Find out what happens when Sam wakes up and finds that he's shrinking! No one will listen to him but his pencil is the size of a crocodile and one pea fills his whole tummy at dinner. This quirky story addresses the woes of a middle child, who is in need of a little attention.

(One of the most recent favorites in our house!)

Watch out - Emily is off and running again! This little girl has a problem with her temper, and every time she gets angry she turns into quite the little tiger. This quirky picture book addresses behavioral issues with humor and an emphasis on intergenerational relationships.

 

 Join Ruby on her way to school and see the world her mom cannot see. In an old house, she spies bats with red eyes peering out and scary witches that flit about. And these aren’t the only dangers on her path: tigers, crocodiles and mighty beasts abound! "I must be brave, I must be strong," chants Ruby as she musters the nerve to scare them off; but will it work?

  

Ages 4-10

 Climb to the top of Lonesome Mountain to meet a very special boy named Rink — every full moon, he grows flowers all over his body. This heartwarming story celebrates difference and friendship, as Rink meets a girl with her own secret, and they discover ways to help each other.

 

Meet Herb, a dragon who knows how to stay true to his values even in the stickiest of situations. When he is captured by the castle's knights in armor, vegetarian Herb is faced with a difficult decision: will he eat meat in order to save his own life?

Love to read what you love

My next blog post was supposed to be about helping your kids learn to love reading, but In Lieu of Preschool beat me to it! So, instead, I'll just share her post: 

Help! My child doesn't like books! -- 25 Ideas to get your little one to love reading

 

 #6 is one of the main pieces of advice I give to parents of early readers: 

 

 Try to choose books that meld with your child's interests. 

 

 When I was in high school, part of my Psychology course required me to visit a local elementary school once a week. The elementary school teacher paired me up with a little boy who was struggling with reading. So once a week, he and I would go into a separate room and read together. What surprised me was that the teacher didn't give the boy an early-reader book to work on - he gave him an instruction manual to a piece of machinery used at construction sites. 

 The student LOVED construction sites, and the teacher had promised him that once he finished the instruction manual, he would take him to a real construction site. Great incentive! And the little boy really enjoyed what he was reading and wasn't frustrated at the amount of words he (and sometimes I!) didn't know!

 ...

 Do you have a kiddo who shows little to no interest in reading? What kind of advice do you have for parents of similarly-minded children?

Early Readers

“Research shows that it is not until eighth grade that a student's reading level catches up to his or her listening level. Until that time, most students are capable of hearing, understanding, and enjoying material that is more complicated than what they could read.” (Jim Trelease) (via Reading with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers) It really makes sense once you think about it (my 3 year old still can't read, but she has spent the past 3 years willingly listening to me read books!), but I think we, as parents, often forget this fact - or at least don't take it quite far enough and, instead, stick mainly to board books and shorter picture books.

When Milena was 2.5, we started reading some early readers to her at bedtime like Frog & Toad and Little Bear. These are great because each chapter is a separate story. As her third birthday approached, she began to pull out her Beatrix Potter collection more and more often (which I loved, as I'm a big Beatrix Potter fan!).

Recently, the mama behind In Lieu of Preschool began talking about the chapter books she was reading with her (nearly) 4 year old. They were currently reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle, but had started with The Magic Tree House series. I think I picked our first Magic Tree House book up from the library that same day!

We started with Pirates Past Noon (#4), because that was the earliest book of the series the library had, and I was too excited to wait for #1! My plan was to read one chapter each day before nap time (and possibly another before bed), but one chapter quickly turned into two or three (before nap AND bed), and we finished the book in just two or three days. Luckily, I came across Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1) at the thrift store yesterday (along with four more Magic Tree House books), so we're set for awhile (although we already read three chapters today ..).


The books are simple enough (and the chapters are short enough) that Milena doesn't seem to have trouble following the story. I make sure to stop every so often to help her picture what's happening, and we always talk about what we read the previous day before reading more.


I love this series because it covers so many different topics (dinosaurs, knights, space, weather) that there's a little something for everyone. And it's exciting to think that someday soon Milena will be able to pick these off her shelf and start reading them all by herself!

...

Which books are current bedtime favorites at your house?