Sharing

Today on facebook, I stumbled on two articles that I thought worth sharing.

The first is about what libraries have to offer.
"Evolving Libraries say 'Check us out now.'"


The second is about getting kids to read.
"How to get your kid to be a fantastic reader."

Enjoy.

Emily Reading

Today Emily read a book by herself!

Ok, so she didn't read it the way we would, but it was still a sweet moment.

We have small toy boxes scattered throughout the house. When I set her down next to one, she likes to explore what's inside. This morning she pulled the soft cloth book off the top and "read" it for several minutes. Instead of just feeling it and stuffing it in her mouth as usual, she set in on her lap (right side up), turned the first page, and studied it. Then she turned the next page, played with one of the flaps, and turned the next page. And so on, until she finished the book. We were amazed. It really did look like she was reading it.

While we scrabbled unsuccessfully for the camera in time, we did get this video of her later.  Isn't she cute? 

Lapsit

Today, Emily and I went to Lapsit, a storytime for babies at the Naperville Public Library. This program for the under 2 crowd is a wonderful way to engage children at this age, and the staff at Naperville always do a fantastic job. The 20 minute program consists of lots of fingerplays, songs and one or two short board books. Afterward, everyone is invited to stay in the room to read or meet other families.
While this was not Emily's first storytime, it was definitely the one she was most animated at. She squealed in delight throughout. It was hard to tell what her favorite thing was: seeing other babies, bouncing on my lap as I did silly things with my fingers, or seeing the baby doll that Miss Jill used as her prop.
One of the books was especially cute.

Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson (illustrated by Sam Williams) is a board book in rhyme that in encourages lots of kisses and hugs. It has a nice rhythm, perfect for bouncing baby while reading. I'll be looking to check this one out to read again at home next chance we get.




Does your library have a program for babies? Many do. It's a great way to bond with your child. And it's never too soon to start encouraging a love of books.

Sleepytime

Sleep has been on my mind a lot this week. I should say a lot more than usual. We have spent the week helping Emily sleep in her crib in her room instead of in the co-sleeper next to our bed. I have to say I loved having her in our room. I could watch her sleep and reach her quickly when she needed comfort or to nurse. And waking up next to her with her huge smile was absolutely wonderful. But it was time.

She handled it all fairly well, until she started teething and/or getting a cold. I am sooo tempted to bring her back to our room, but am holding firm. Instead, she gets lots of naps in my arms.

Of course, we also cuddle together with books. Here are two sleepytime books that we own and enjoy reading together over and again.

Peter Rabbit Sleepy Time
A lift-the-flap board book with soft colors and quiet words. It's fun to use the flaps to cover up the sleeping animals. Some of the flaps are doors, trees, or even Jemima Puddle-duck's wing. When Emily gets older I imagine she'll enjoy guessing who is under each flap and thinking about them enjoying their rest.

Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones by Claire Freedman; illustrated by Tina Macnaughton.
Safari animals get ready for bed after a long day of playing. A story in rhyme, the words are soothing. The illustrations are too, with soft warm sunsets moving toward dusk and a moonlit evening. The cover is even somewhat soft, so it's a great cuddle-up-and-read book. It's an oversized board book, so it's also good for a small group.

Vacation Pics

I took some pictures on vacation with my new camera. I finally learned how to get them from the camera to the computer and onto the blog. Welcome to the digital age. It's easy to take way too many pictures! Here are a few.

In the children's room...

...at the local library.

Read me a story, Papa!

I like the bird songs, Grandma.

Vacation ABC's

There is a long tradition of playing games with children on long trips. It's a fun way to keep them occupied and help pass the time. As a child we played "My father owns a grocery store, and in it he sells___" Or we looked for the alphabet on signs and license plates.

Emily is too little for any kind of meaningful game; her rings and a toy keep her content. She was more interested in the train window than anything outside of it. But I needed something to keep from getting stir crazy. So, we played a game that I plan to make a tradition~Vacation ABC's.

As she sat on my lap I went through the alphabet recalling things from our vacation. She enjoyed the sound of my voice as I reminisced about the trip. Who knows how many words she understood, but all babies are sponges when it comes to language and new experiences.

When she gets older she will be able to contribute to the game, first with naming a word that goes with the alphabet. Later she'll add her memories and talk about them in more depth. This will be a meaningful way to capture memories of the trip. She will also develop her letter knowledge and narrative skills, both key skills in early literacy.

Here is the result of our first vacation ABC's.

A-Asparagus, growing wild on the hobby farm
B-Basil, tasting it for the first time
C-Chugga, chugga, choo-choo
D- Dog, meeting Minnie the dachshund
E-Emily's first vacation
F-Flora, Miss Flora McFlimsey (by Mariana), one of Grandma's favorite books as a girl
G-Giraffe toy
H-Hummingbirds, watching grandma make sugar water
I-Ice cream at Central Dairy Creamery
J-"Jiggety-jiggety, jumping jacks..."
K-Kicking and splashing in the bath
L-Lion's Club Park
M-Missouri on vacation
N-Napping with Grandpa
O-Outside, in the garden watching Grandma, taking walks, exploring the wild flowers
P-Piano, playing with Grandma
Q-Queens, being treated like them!
R-Reading with Grandma
S-Sunday School
T-Traveling by train for the first time
U-Union Station to meet Daddy
V- Vanilla ice cream, Yum!
W-Wooden objects, watching Papa make them in his shop
X-X-tra special trip to visit the grandparents
Z-Zinnias on the table

Train Ride

I haven't blogged in a while because Emily and I have been on vacation. We had a grand adventure together--traveling by train to visit her grandparents.
It was quite the trip--three trains there and two back, but we managed fine. She is still portable and not yet crawling, so she was mostly content to explore the world from my arms.
Still, it's a long time to be in one place, even walking the cars to and fro. So, we did a lot of lap games.
Here are a few that we did together.

"This little train went up the track."
(Tickle her from toes to hip)
"It went choooo-choooo." (tickle her tummy)
"And then it went right back."
(Tickle from hip to toes.)

Bouncing her~"Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chooo-chooo!"

Clapping out the rhythm~
"Jiggety, jiggety, jumping jacks
This little train sped down the tracks
It went to Missouri, then came back.
Jiggety, jiggety, jumping jacks."

Nom Nom Nom

Like many babies, Miss E loves to put things in her mouth. It's one of her favorite ways to explore the world. She especially likes brightly colored things. The bolder they are, the better they must taste.

This strong desire to taste everything makes reading a challenge. She watches me turn the pages, fascinated. Then her excitement builds and she urgently wants to put the corner in her mouth. And then the other corner. And the next.

Should I let her or shouldn't I?

I want reading to be an enjoyable experience and right now, this is one way she enjoys it. But if I let her, the book would be a sodden pulp in record time. What might be OK with her own books, wouldn't be with library books. But I don't want to tell her "No" constantly while trying to read to her. Plus, she is quite talented in getting desired objects into her mouth, despite my best efforts to thwart her.

I've come up with a solution that works a lot of the time. Perhaps experienced parents already knew this trick, but I was quite excited when it worked. It's amazingly simple. When we sit down to read, she gets a toy.

It might be her plastic giraffe or her teething ring. Sometimes it's her red bug. Lately she always has a death grip on a plastic ring or two. She "eats" the toy and watches me turn the pages of the book. Sometimes she bangs her ring on the page to show she likes it. It still takes some coaxing sometimes, but she is less likely to drop the toy to try to eat the book.

There are other solutions too, such as reading fabric books, or indestructibles. Putting her down on the floor with her toys as I read aloud works too.

When we hit this phase, I was beginning to worry that we wouldn't be able to cuddle and read together. Now, it's a fun experience again for both of us.

Celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month!

Library's have lots of cool weeks and celebrations. September is "National Library Card Sign Up Month."

Did you know many public libraries have no age restriction on getting a child a library card? Some let you do it at birth, others when the child can sign his name. (The guidelines are different for every library.) Some even have promotional things to make it even more exciting, like getting a picture taken with a very first library card.

Why is a library card so important? Books and reading open up worlds of knowledge, information and imagination. Libraries are places to engage us, educate us and even entertain us. It really is amazing what you can find and do at the library. And sure, you can go to the library and do many of these things without a library card. But the card is a ticket to more.

The public library has countless books to choose from. Even the smallest library can get books from other libraries through inter-library loan. These books can supplement even the best stocked personal library. Providing an abundance of books for children encourages them to want to read.


Some libraries do fun things as an incentive to sign up in September. Check out your local library this month and see all the wonderful things a library card can bring you and your family.

If your library is doing somethings special this month to celebrate, please comment and add a link.

Get your library cards today!