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Showing posts with label Language Development and Literacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Language Development and Literacy. Show all posts
My daughter’s bedtime routine consists of 3 books, a short snuggle, and a back rub for three songs. Most nights, she chooses at least one or two of the same books we read the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that…you get the idea.
So, I’m always happy when she fixates on a book I enjoy, too. Our current favorite is Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy.
Amazon product description:
At the playground, Lulu asks her friend Sam if he wants to play with her. Sam likes Diggers, while Lulu thinks Monkeys is the best game. Sam suggests playing under the castle, but Lulu knows that the top is the most fun. They just can’t agree! And then Lulu asks, “Have you ever played Ladybug Girl?” As Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, Lulu and Sam save the playground from hairy monsters and big mean robots, and have their very own parade on the bouncy dinosaurs. They figure out that when they work together, they can create fun games that they both like to play.
We both love the book (and the original, Ladybug Girl) so much that her ladybug Halloween costume is just like Lulu’s!
--Commuter Mom
One of my favorite parts of the day is snuggling with my daughter on her “green” bag (it’s a green beanbag) chair and reading 3 books before bed. My current favorites are The Day the Babies Crawled Away and Violet the Pilot.
We have been reading The Day the Babies Crawled Away for a while now. After listening to this interview with Peggy Rathman I bought the book. My daughter and I have read it over and over and over and over. We’ve read it so many times that now we read it together…and my daughter knows all of the words.
For Christmas this year, my Aunt sent us Violet the Pilot. I don’t know which I like better, the story or the pictures. Violet isn’t like all of the other kids; she gets teased for building “flying machines” out of parts from her father’s junk yard. One day, she decides to enter one of her airplanes in an air show in hopes of winning a blue ribbon. But, on the way there she sees a group of Boy Scouts (including the 2 boys who teased her the most) stuck in a raging river. Rather than continuing on to the air show, she rescues the boys and delivers them safely to the hospital. Later that night, as she sits in her room, sad she missed the air show, the whole town gathers in front of her house to honor her for her good deed.
Every Monday my first-grader comes home from school with two library books from the school library. Presumably, these books are selected to be part of the library based on a rubric of suitability, literary merit, and so forth. Last week my son came home with Rudyard Kipling’s classic “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” The book, in case you don’t know (which I didn’t) is about the battle between a mongoose and a pair of deadly cobras. It is, to put it mildly, quite graphic. There’s blood, gore, and guts as the snakes fight for control of the garden and the mongoose fights to protect the family that has taken him in. As I was reading the book to my son, I was taken aback by the violence. I kept thinking that if the exact same words were written about a fight between people, there’s no way I’d want my son to read it. But why is the violence okay if it’s between animals? Violence is violence, no? I realize this will be an unpopular opinion. I visited Amazon’s listing for the book and read review after review about what a “sweet,” “endearing,” “timeless classic,” this story is. My son loved it, and I love when he loves a book. It’s just that I love it a bit more when it’s one we can both enjoy.
Green Baby had a birthday recently and on the invitations we asked for “No Gifts Please.” Part of the reason was that we just wanted our friends and family to celebrate with us without the pressure of bringing a gift. Another part was because we are careful about the kinds of toys we want Green Baby to play with. Since the holidays are almost upon us, we will have to face this struggle once again. I’m not sure how to handle receiving gifts that we feel are unsafe, not because of the age requirements, but because of what they are made out of. I know I can donate them, but I have a hard time passing on a toy that I feel is unsafe to another child. I could try and return the toys, but then I have to go through the awkward ritual of asking for the receipt from the giver and many toy stores are getting strict with their return policies. Sometimes I think I should just lighten up, but then get the nagging feeling that what I feel is right for my child’s safety isn’t something I should compromise on. What do you do with gifts that you feel are not quite right for your children?
On a related note, I’ve recently been reminded of a Netflix type of site where you can rent toys. This is a great alternative to buying all of the must-have toys then having to get rid of them when the child outgrows them.
It seems that nearly every day there’s another story in the media about the importance of the “family dinner.” We’re told that by eating together as a family, our children will perform better in school, stay off drugs, become more politically aware, get along better with their peers, and so on. Given that my family eats together at least 90 percent of the time, I’ve always thought I’ve done my duty on this front. If my children run into trouble later in life, it will not be because they ate dinner on the fly!
But lately I’m noticing that the time my kids spend at the aforementioned family dinner, is getting increasingly short. They eat much less and considerably faster than my husband and I, and they are therefore ready to be excused and go play within 10 minutes of sitting down. I’m not sure what to do about this. Do I make them stay at the table and watch them fidget and squirm, listen to them whine about being done? Or do I let them get up and go play, making good use of the short time they get to spend at home each weekday? And if the latter, will they suffer consequences later on? How long exactly does the family dinner need to take for the children to reap its benefits?
My father was an English teacher for 25 years. He raised us to be avid readers and to appreciate literature. I grew up reading whenever I could; the books varied — sometimes they were serious works, other times they were just fun, mindless “summer” reads.
My father started a tradition right around when I started middle school. He would take us to the bookstore the first Sunday of every month. We went other days for other reasons, but this was a special day. That day we got our monthly book allowance. With our allowance, my brother and I were allowed to buy any books we wanted (granted, that was when you could get books for less than $10). If we spent more, we had to use our regular allowance — if we spent less, Dad got to keep the change. We were allowed to get one cartoon book (my brother was partial to Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes), but the other books had to have more words than pictures. It was so exciting to get a new book that we picked out. It wasn’t something we had to read for school. It wasn’t chosen by Mom, Dad, or Aunt Sue. It was our choice…our adventure or story to get drawn into.
I don’t have many of my books from when I was little, but I do have Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, James and the Giant Peach, and The Lorax. Commuter Girl has a recent fascination with The Lorax, and it has been really fun to read my old faded copy with her. As soon as I think she’ll sit still long enough for a full chapter, we are definitely going to start Charlotte’s Web. And I can’t wait to begin the tradition of a monthly book allowance.
Ever day now, NewGirl insists on visiting the “shshs,” you know, the “fishes,” before we leave the center. I always comply, after all, it’s one of the very first desires she’s been able to clearly, unequivocally, and repeatedly communicate to me with language. The problem is, despite the fact that there are only two “shshs” still alive in the tank, visiting them is easily a 15 minute endeavor, minimum. That was fine in the winter, but now that the weather is gorgeous, that’s 15 precious minutes of time she could be spending outside, taking a walk with mommy and daddy before dinner or bed.
It’s 15 minutes that she’d also enjoy on her trike or playing in the grass. The problem is that she doesn’t know it’s a trade off. She can’t yet make that choice. So what’s a mom to do? I’ve tried edging her very early 7:00 bedtime just a little bit later, but without much success. Those 15 minutes are the difference between a peaceful evening’s sleep and a major meltdown, which invariably turns into an unpleasantly early wake-up the next day. What do others do? How do you adjust to take advantage of the great weather and evening light without disrupting your children? Or do you?
A study was released stating that children 8 – 16 months who watch videos such as “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” have a smaller vocabulary. 6 – 8 fewer words than children who don’t. I thought CommuterGirl was doing really well with her vocabulary. Have I stunted her development by turning on PBS for 20 minutes in the mornings while we lounge in bed in the mornings? (By they way, don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t have a lot of time to lounge…CommuterGirl wakes up really early!) We don’t use a lot of videos -- we haven’t bought them. I find it’s easier to just turn on public television. But sometimes I do need the help entertaining my toddler. I don’t plop her in front of the TV for hours, and I’m usually watching shows with her. So, why do I still feel like I need to make excuses?
CommuterGirl’s vocabulary is growing every day…but it isn’t all English. I think she has picked up a combination of Pig Latin, Spanish, French, and Parseltongue.
She’s 18 months, and like any toddler, knows what she wants, when she wants it, but not always how to ask for it. This morning she had a minor meltdown because we couldn’t understand that she was asking for a waffle. “Wa wa.” I should have known! Her grandfather is Gramps…but somehow for CommuterGirl he is called Pete. (His real name isn’t anything close!)
I am so glad that we do a lot of sign language at home and at school. I can’t imagine raising a toddler without it. CommuterGirl can sign for water, milk, cookies (her favorite), eat, drink, more, and even say please and thank you. She has between 15 – 20 signs in her vocabulary. It has saved us when she is looking for the butterfly toy…it sounds a lot like she is saying “bye bye.”
A lot of people have asked us if we think her language has been delayed because of the signing…I think it has helped by limiting her frustration related to communicating with us as she learns more words. And, she is learning the words as she learns the signs. Are any of you using signs with your children?
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