It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (4)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!  is a meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach.Mentor.Texts. 

Welcome Fall.  This week Lil Guy and I have been busy reading and I am happy to be back to posting a weekly update with It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?  Besides reading this week we also had a few educational field trips going to 2 different planetariums.  (Yes, I am lucky enough to have 2 different planetariums in a short distance) along with a couple different story times and nature park programs.  It seems this week everyone is getting ready for fall and APPLES are a popular choice for book read alouds.  Besides story times and field trips, we’ve also read some great books this week, including some Fall and Halloween themed books. 

First, I should mention that my favorite re-read of the week was:

Boy + Bot.  

by Ame Dyckman - Lil Guy still loves and requests this book often.  He has all of the pages memorized and his Bot voice is just so cute.

Also this week I started (finally) :

The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth

by Anita Silvey  - So far, really lovely and draws you into a surprising tale of adventure.  I’ve seen this one reviewed often and I am so far very pleased!

The Humming Room

by Ellen Potter – I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get into this book.  I didn’t honestly know it was based on The Secret Garden, but 50 pages into the book and I can hardly wait to read about (main character) Roo’s adventure.

This week I also read some books with Lil Guy, including:

Boo, Bunny!      

by Kathryn O. Galbraith 

Review coming soon

The Hallo-wiener

by Dav Pilkey

Review coming soon 

Cindy Moo

by Lori Mortensen

Review coming soon 

Boss Baby

by Marla Frazee 

5 stars on goodreads

You Are Stardust

by Elin Kelsey

4 stars ongoodreads

Also this week I posted 2 reviews:

Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat

by Susanna Reich

A picture book introduction (by way of cat) to chef and cook book author Julia Child. Reviewed here.

Who’s Who

by Ken Geist

A twin themed picture book of animals. 

Reviewed here.

This week I hope to finish The Humming Room and maybe 

find one more YA or MG book to read.  Any suggestions?   

Make sure you leave me a message in the 

comments and share what you are reading too.

  I always love suggestions!  And, If you have a list, 

I will be sure to visit to see what you've included. 

Math Literacy

Some people say that Math is a language of its own.  It has its own vocabulary, its own set of rules, and it takes a special skill set to master it.  Yet, Math isn’t always promoted like reading as a target for early literacy.  While parents are reading to tots at home and going to the library as a family fun activity, Math is often still seen as a chore.  Reading is synonymous with cuddles, read-alouds, and high-interest stories.  Math is seen as homework, boring, and difficult.  What if Math was given a make-over?  What if Math could join reading in the cuddly cozy bedtime routine?  I started reading about this phenomenon recently, and wow, it makes sense!  (See websites like Bedtime Mathfor more details.) There are a lot of simple ways to introduce Math, take away the stigma of boring, and build even the youngest children into mighty mathematicians.  And by the way, YES call your Lil One a mathematician as well as a reader.  This really does improve Math confidence. 

What is Math Literacy?  More than just reading about Math, Math Literacy is developing Math skills to be used throughout life.  Much of our early reading skills are developed before we are able to read independently, vocabulary, phonics, letter recognition, and recognition of patterns in books are all examples of early literacy skills.  What are some Math Literacy skills?  Early Math Literacy is developed much like early Reading skills.  Short songs and rhymes, Number toys and games, books, number play, and talking about Math are all important to develop Math skills.   By ages 3-5 children will already start to show emerging signs of Math literacy, such as being able to:

• Recite numbers
• Count objects
• Recognize patterns and shapes
• Compare sizes
• Use Math vocabulary

Before entering into kindergarten, most children will be able to count and recognize numbers 1 to 20.  How can we support them as parents and teachers?  How can we make Math fun and interesting?

Math vocabulary is one of the first ways that you will begin teaching Math Literacy.  Using numbers, size, and shape descriptors can be integrated before babies and toddlers even begin to talk.  Once your Lil One has started their Math vocabulary, it’s time to start practicing that vocabulary using games and number play.  We play I-Spy using shapes everywhere we go.  My Lil Guy practices looking for shapes on pretzels and tortilla chips.   You can do the same thing comparing sizes of everything from trucks and cars out the window of your car, to comparing shoes sitting in the front closet.  Remember Math is everywhere.

Counting and Simple Number Operations are easy to integrate.  Try including this in your bedtime routine: count the pieces of clothing as you take them off before your bath (1 sock, 2 sock, 3 shirt, 4 pants, 5 underwear).  You can also talk about Math as you read your before bedtime books.  Try counting on fingers for the youngest mathematicians and continue to build on this routine counting by twos, fives, or tens.  For older children, try one of those bedtime math websites, play flashcard games between bedtime reads, or challenge each other with math teasers.  Make it fun though, and talk about it together.  In our house, since dinnertime is family time we try to integrate Math during meals.  We count grapes, compare sizes and shapes of all different kinds of foods, and again we talk about it.  

More Ideas from Beth @ Library Chicken: Try cutting fractions of sandwiches, comparing 1/2 to 2/4. Also, playing games such as Pokemon cards, which are good both for letter recognition and for counting, because the card game involves counting by 10s.

I love this idea!! My Lil Guy loves games and I agree playing games is perfect for Math Literacy!  I think games such as Hi Ho Cherrio really do reinforce Math skills.  Hi Ho Cherrio is just one that we play.  It is all about subtrating and add numbers 1 to 10. Perfect for toddlers up to 1st grade!

Finally, I have to mention that many children’s books  offer fun spins on Math.  Readers of all ages can enjoy a book while sharpening their math skills:   

• For toddlers try to introduce Math and counting with these books: The Five Little Monkeys Series from Eileen Christelow, Couting Kisses  by Karen Katz, Five Green and Speckled Frogs by Constanza Basaluzzo,  and Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs by Carol Roth.
• For older Kindergarten to Elementary School aged children, try these Math themed books: Math Curse by Jon Scieszka, Zero the Hero  by Joan Holub, If you Made a Million by David M. Schwartz, and The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins.
• Update: I wanted to add this suggestion from Beth @ Library Chicken: Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, Sir Circumference and the  Dragon of Pi, both by Wayne Geehan. 

I hope this got you thinking about Math Literacy as much as it did for me.  Please share any additional ideas YOU have for ways to share Math with children in the comments.  I will add additional book suggestions, additional resources, or ways to share early Math Literacy with children into the post.

More Storytime Tales

I first started talking about storytime here on my blog, but I thought I would update, since my Lil Guy has turned 3 and we are now doing storytimes more than ever.  In our area, storytimes are usually geared for the under 3, pre-school, and then multi-aged groups.  That means that at age 3 we can attend both lapsits (where children and care-givers both sit on the floor to listen to stories) and more independent storytimes where kids sit in groups and care-givers get folding chairs in the back of the room.  The pre-school storytimes feature more and more early literacy activities.  I can see that Lil Guy is showing more interest in sitting with the big kids instead of me (gasp), participating in answering questions and repeating phrases from the reader, and recognizing connections between the books, songs, and activities.

We’ve been to story times with color themes, themes such as dogs, circus, weather, and holidays, and even one storytime that focuses on a letter of the alphabet.  The alphabet letter is previewed by showing all of the books that we will be reading and talking about 3 or 4 words that start with this letter.  There is even a alphabasket that has small pictures or items beginning with this letter. Finally, one lucky child gets to reach into a mystery box and pluck out the felt letter which remains on the felt board during storytime.  Since we are at the beginning consonant sounds phase with Lil Guy, he likes this part!  Overall, these storytimes are doing a great job of introducing early literacy activities to little listeners.  

We also attend some story times that have activities built into them.  Almost like a hybrid class to get toddlers moving, one class has the adults sweating as we do head shoulders knees and toes and other clapping, singing, dancing, and stretching moves.  I sometimes count this particular class as my exercise for the day.  I should also point out that sitting still during this class never feels like an option, since Lil Guy grabs my hand and forces me to participate, yelling my name and loudly shouting, “Come on Mommy, get up and dance!”  :)  I know these sessions help make reading an active (not passive) activity for children. 

 

Most of all, storytime seems to be just about making reading fun, making it a shared experience, and giving children a chance to explore books.  How about you?  What do you think of storytime?  What’s your best experience with your Lil One and storytime?

Big Frog Can't Fit In

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!  To celebrate all things green, I thought I would talk about a book with a little bit of green in it.  Many readers of all ages already know and love Mo Willems from his series of books about Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, and a few other animal characters. For St. Patrick’s Day we look at Willem’s book Big Frog Can't Fit In.  It’s an oversized pop-up book featuring a bigger than life frog that has the problem of being way too big to fit into the book.  Like many pop-up books, it has moveable parts that make the book interactive, but this book is masterfully crafted to not only bring the reader into the scenes of the book, but force the scenes out of the book into the reader’s world.

I found this great you-tube video preview of the book, because seeing this book in action is essential.  

As you can see, this book is a riot.  How much fun is a huge frog hopping in and out of a story?  Kids will laugh at the frog and his silly solutions for fitting into the book.  Like many books with moveable parts, this book runs the very big risk of tears and missing pieces.  This book seems especially vulnerable for being damaged, given the pulls, unfolds, and moving parts.  That being said, the book is sooooo cute!  I enjoyed it, as did my three year old Lil Guy.  It’s a perfect book to share with kids.  Read-Aloud this book to a group or just one little one.  Push and pull and pieces and parts together, but then maybe put it on a high shelf away from little hands that can get too easily frustrated. And, of course, check out the rest of Mo Willems fun and hilarious books for kids.

The Story-Time Scene

I am quite new to the StoryTime scene.  I have read stories in school to children for years, but now that my Lil Guy is ready to sit and listen to stories we have been going to bookstores and local libraries to for storytime.  I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but was happy to hear the kids sing a few songs, stand up and do motions, and some other really cute little activities.  The past few weeks I have been trying a new storytime at a new library that really hits my fancy.  At this storytime not only do we get to sing songs and hear stories but we also get play things.  I admit, before these story times I didn’t really understand the merit of felt boards (gasp!) or props that help children interact.  Now though, I am won over to the interaction with books, stories, and music that can come together during toddler storytime.

My Lil Guy is 2 and ½.  He loves books but sometimes storytime can be overwhelming with unruly tots and long stories that take too long to tell to a group since everyone really wants to see the pictures.  He also loves to sing-along (my fault, since I constantly sing at him) and is an enthusiastic singer for favorite songs like Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes or Row, Row, Row Your Boat.  All of this being said, he would still ask after each story, after each song or chant, “Are we finished yet?” Meaning he was just read to go home.  I was beginning to worry that storytime was more for me than him.

Well, a few props, felt board activities, and interactive songs later, and we both are enjoying storytime more.  Imagine a room of 10 to 15 toddlers sitting on a carpet in the library on a rainy day.  What do you think would be a great prop for them to play with?  How about umbrellas?  I wasn’t sure when they started passing out the umbrellas to the kiddos and expected them to all control themselves.  What I discovered was that every child wants to hold an umbrella, twirl it around, pop it up and down, and it is a perfect prop when tied to a song or story.  Another surprise was when our storytime leader turned off the lights and passed out flashlights to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.  Lil Guy loved this!  Egg shaped shakers, sticks to hit together in rhythm, puppets and stuffed animals, feathers, and rubber duckies in the hands of toddlers all inspire imagination and play.  

So, maybe every storytime has these creative and fun interactions, or maybe I just lucked out and found a great storytime with nice kids, fun interaction, and good stories.  How about you?  What do you think of storytime?  What’s your best experience with your Lil One and storytime?

Story Time

Today I took Lil Guy to the bookstore for story time.  It was our first outing like this going to the bookstore for a story time and this was a special story time with a guest from a story character, Biscuit.  Lil Guy was super excited when the giant Biscuit character started walking toward the crowd.  Lil Guy kept jumping up and waving at Biscuit and saying hello.  I have to admit it was super cute.  Everyone at the bookstore was super nice and most of the children were really excited to see Biscuit.  My Lil Guy had 'read' his Biscuit book all the way to the store so he was already pumped and added his 'woof, woof' as the storyteller read the books.

Biscuit books by Alyssa Satin Capucilli are an adorable set of books that I have loved both in and out of the classroom.  The earliest of readers love the predictability and sweet stories about this little pup.  My own Lil Guy loves the 'woof, woof' part the best.  I just think these books are perfect for read alouds and for Lil Ones who are just starting to explore books.  Throughout the series, Biscuit visits school, a farm, and the doctor.  He also makes friends and gets into a little mischief.  If you haven't checked these out, check for them at your local library!

While at the bookstore today, I also finally checked out It's a Little Book by Lane Smith.  I had read his original It's a Book and thought it was a hoot, so I was excited to read this one.  I had read a few other blogs about the book so I already knew it was sweet and funny, and it didn't disappoint.  The ape and donkey are cute as can be!  Lil Guy crawled up on my lap so read the book and he knew it was a 'monkey' and was excited when I told him it was a donkey friend too.  He was able to pick up on the pattern of the book answering, "No." after the first few pages.  It's a perfect book for the under 3 crowd.  I also really like the illustrations and think they would be cute for decorating a nursery.

Also at the bookstore we checked out the shelves.  It's not surprising that Lil Guy always wants a book.  What is always funny to me, is that he wants to buy books that we already own at home.  I must have said ten times, "We already have that book at home."  Finally, I convinced my Lil Guy to choose a new book for purchase.  Our book shelves are getting a little full these days.  (and by shelves I mean, bookshelves, toyboxes, baskets, piles, and hallway bookcases.)  I have been contemplating pulling out some of the simpler books and packing them away.  While sentimentally this has me feeling a little sad, I also know that these are the books that Lil Guy will soon be reading on his own.   I guess that we will keep the book shelves  stuffed a little while longer.  We also, of course will continue to visit our local bookstores, libraries, and such.  

What are your visits to the book store like?  Do you browse?  Are you the type who grabs a coffee and a magazine?  Do you only visit the store when you found a book you need ASAP?