I sometimes forget how young Isaac is. I know that sounds silly, but we tend to read books and watch movies with him that are geared toward older children, so when he latches on to a "babyish" book I am pulled back to the reality that he is still very much a pre-schooler. And that is fine with me. As much as I look forward to being able to put the money that goes to daycare each month into our savings account or toward a new car payment, I really am not wishing the time away. I enjoy the nights when bedtime stories range from The Avengers to Goodnight Gorilla and I will miss reading Where's Spot when he no longer pulls it from the shelf.
On our last trip to the library we brought home some books that reminded me of Isaac's pre-schooler tastes. One in particular is Who is Driving? by Leo Timmers. Each spread features four animals in varying outfits and a vehicle. One of the characters is dressed so that the children can pick out who goes with the vehicle. The text simply asks, "Who is driving . . . ?" The reader has to predict who will be driving the fire truck or the convertible or the race car on the next page. I was actually pretty impressed that Isaac was able to figure out that the stork in the bomber jacket and leather helmet is supposed to fly the WWI era plane, not the polar bear dressed as a modern day pilot.
This book appeals to boys' fascination with all things wheeled. Add in the animals and it is a sure fire hit with pre-school males. The illustrations are simple, brightly colored acrylic pictures that are not overwhelmed with detail that is lost on a four-year-old. The text is concise and after a couple of readings, Isaac was "reading" it to me.
I think I enjoy reading books like this more than Matt does, partly because I know the day will come soon enough that Isaac no longer wants to read "baby" books. And I will miss them because it will mean he is not my baby anymore. For now, though, pair this with a Hulk comic and everybody is happy.
08 October 2009
25 September 2009
Up, Down and All Around
Isaac and I visited our local library branch Sunday afternoon to pick up some books and take a walk. The library is situated in a park, with nature trails connected to its grounds. After choosing our books, and finally getting Isaac a library card, we took a walk around the park. Isaac led the way, like a little explorer, protecting me from bears, stopping to listen occasionally to make sure we were safe, and searching the ground for animals. It was one of the best hours I have spent in a long time.
We checked out a bag of books that afternoon and have been reading a few each night. One that has caught Isaac's interest is Up Above & Down Below by Sue Redding. Each spread pictures a scene which is split horizontally on the page and the text contrasts what is happening above to what is happening below. Some of the pages picture nature scenes, such as the rain forest where "furry and feathered friends play up in the leaves, creepy crawlies rule the ground under the trees." Other pages feature absurd scenes, such as the one where golfers play up top while rodents down below rig an elaborate machine out of golf balls and tees which they have taken from the unsuspecting golfers.
Isaac will sit and "read" this book to himself, which is unusual for a book that he likes. Typically, when he likes a book he wants it read to him over and over. This shift is in part, I think, due to his increasing independence. But I also believe that this book lends itself to being perused by children. The pictures are detailed and there is a lot for him to look at. The text is simple and after one or two readings he knows the story well enough to narrate it himself.
The other morning, after I had left for work, Matt awoke to find Isaac in bed with him, with my booklight on, quietly looking through this book. How cute is that? I think the best recommendation a children's book can have is that kids go back to it over and over. I have a feeling we will read this one a few more times before it goes back to the library.
We checked out a bag of books that afternoon and have been reading a few each night. One that has caught Isaac's interest is Up Above & Down Below by Sue Redding. Each spread pictures a scene which is split horizontally on the page and the text contrasts what is happening above to what is happening below. Some of the pages picture nature scenes, such as the rain forest where "furry and feathered friends play up in the leaves, creepy crawlies rule the ground under the trees." Other pages feature absurd scenes, such as the one where golfers play up top while rodents down below rig an elaborate machine out of golf balls and tees which they have taken from the unsuspecting golfers.
Isaac will sit and "read" this book to himself, which is unusual for a book that he likes. Typically, when he likes a book he wants it read to him over and over. This shift is in part, I think, due to his increasing independence. But I also believe that this book lends itself to being perused by children. The pictures are detailed and there is a lot for him to look at. The text is simple and after one or two readings he knows the story well enough to narrate it himself.
The other morning, after I had left for work, Matt awoke to find Isaac in bed with him, with my booklight on, quietly looking through this book. How cute is that? I think the best recommendation a children's book can have is that kids go back to it over and over. I have a feeling we will read this one a few more times before it goes back to the library.
24 September 2009
Look Out!
Isaac received some books in the mail from his Gammy a few weeks ago (actually more like months -- I'm a little behind in my blogging) that make him laugh out loud. Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame (which I refuse to read despite the popularity with my students) has also written and illustrated a few other books that have nothing to do with a character's undergarments.
Kat Kong and Dogzilla are Pilkey's interpretation of the classic "horror" flicks King Kong and Godzilla. They feature his own animals in the title roles and mice as the frantic citizens trying to save their towns. They also contain groan inducing puns and wordplay.
The illustrations are collages which use manipulated photographs and painting. The cat and the dog loom threateningly over the mice in both stories, but the mice prevail in the end. The wordplay is mostly well beyond Isaac's understanding, but he finds the pictures of the animals hilarious, and he does get some of the jokes.
We have fun reading these books to him. He giggles merrily as we read, and though we cringe at some of the silly puns, we smile at his sheer enjoyment of the story.
Dav Pilkey knows what boys like, whether it is a super-hero in underpants or a dog terrorizing a city full of mice. And as his website warns, "some material may be too goofy for grown-ups."
Kat Kong and Dogzilla are Pilkey's interpretation of the classic "horror" flicks King Kong and Godzilla. They feature his own animals in the title roles and mice as the frantic citizens trying to save their towns. They also contain groan inducing puns and wordplay.
The illustrations are collages which use manipulated photographs and painting. The cat and the dog loom threateningly over the mice in both stories, but the mice prevail in the end. The wordplay is mostly well beyond Isaac's understanding, but he finds the pictures of the animals hilarious, and he does get some of the jokes.
We have fun reading these books to him. He giggles merrily as we read, and though we cringe at some of the silly puns, we smile at his sheer enjoyment of the story.
Dav Pilkey knows what boys like, whether it is a super-hero in underpants or a dog terrorizing a city full of mice. And as his website warns, "some material may be too goofy for grown-ups."
18 August 2009
Into the Woods
Shortly after Isaac was born I read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. If you are not familiar with this book, in it Louv proposes that our children suffer from "nature deficit disorder." He believes that they lack the connection with nature that previous generations have had and this "deficit" is detrimental to their health and well-being, as well as having a negative affect on our society as a whole. Last Child in the Woods has become one of my parenting handbooks. I want Isaac to feel connected with nature and to have the freedom to explore and discover the natural world.
Last year I attended a workshop based on Michael Gurian's book Minds of Boys which examined how boys learn and how best to teach them. Boys need a different classroom structure than girls. They need freedom to move around to stimulate their brains and they need to be able to express themselves verbally. Louv would add that boys, in fact all children, need time outside to help them focus. He believes that nature has a calming affect and goes so far as to assert that the rise in diagnoses of ADD/ADHD in children is linked to the disassociation with the natural world.
I have taken the messages in these two books to heart in my parenting and in my teaching. Boys are surrounded by women during their childhoods. Their moms are often the most important person in their lives and their formative years are mostly spent in school being taught mostly by women. And, though many women don't want this getting out, we don't really understand what makes men (boys) tick. I can't teach boys the same way that I remember being taught. It won't work for them. So I need to learn how to teach them in a way that will meet their needs. And I can't parent Isaac the way I was parented. I need to understand his motivations and needs in order to help guide him through his childhood into adulthood.
I have found that it is easier for me to adjust my classroom techniques than it is to change the way I approach exposing Isaac to the natural world. I enjoy being outside and appreciate nature, but I prefer to experience it from beneath a tree with a book rather than down in the woods behind our house digging in the mud and getting eaten by bugs. But down in the woods with the dirt and the bugs is where Isaac will get the most out of being outside. There he can touch and hear and see and smell, though preferably not taste, the world around him. Isaac is content to sit by a stream for half an hour stirring the water with a stick making "soup" and studying how the dirt moves and I am ready to move on after five minutes. Matt is a better nature guide than I am, but I am trying.
In my quest to make playing outside less of an effort for me, I attended a workshop this past weekend at the North Carolina Zoo on working with children in outdoor environments. The day was spent learning how children play and how playing outside contributes to learning. I learned a lot and left the workshop energized and excited. As the school year begins I hope that I can hold on to that excitement and channel it into my teaching, finding ways to bring nature and playing into my classroom. But, more importantly, I hope that Isaac will benefit from what I learned as we play together. I am ready to go exploring, stick in hand, sneakers on. Bring on the dirt! But no spiders please.
Last year I attended a workshop based on Michael Gurian's book Minds of Boys which examined how boys learn and how best to teach them. Boys need a different classroom structure than girls. They need freedom to move around to stimulate their brains and they need to be able to express themselves verbally. Louv would add that boys, in fact all children, need time outside to help them focus. He believes that nature has a calming affect and goes so far as to assert that the rise in diagnoses of ADD/ADHD in children is linked to the disassociation with the natural world.
I have taken the messages in these two books to heart in my parenting and in my teaching. Boys are surrounded by women during their childhoods. Their moms are often the most important person in their lives and their formative years are mostly spent in school being taught mostly by women. And, though many women don't want this getting out, we don't really understand what makes men (boys) tick. I can't teach boys the same way that I remember being taught. It won't work for them. So I need to learn how to teach them in a way that will meet their needs. And I can't parent Isaac the way I was parented. I need to understand his motivations and needs in order to help guide him through his childhood into adulthood.
I have found that it is easier for me to adjust my classroom techniques than it is to change the way I approach exposing Isaac to the natural world. I enjoy being outside and appreciate nature, but I prefer to experience it from beneath a tree with a book rather than down in the woods behind our house digging in the mud and getting eaten by bugs. But down in the woods with the dirt and the bugs is where Isaac will get the most out of being outside. There he can touch and hear and see and smell, though preferably not taste, the world around him. Isaac is content to sit by a stream for half an hour stirring the water with a stick making "soup" and studying how the dirt moves and I am ready to move on after five minutes. Matt is a better nature guide than I am, but I am trying.
In my quest to make playing outside less of an effort for me, I attended a workshop this past weekend at the North Carolina Zoo on working with children in outdoor environments. The day was spent learning how children play and how playing outside contributes to learning. I learned a lot and left the workshop energized and excited. As the school year begins I hope that I can hold on to that excitement and channel it into my teaching, finding ways to bring nature and playing into my classroom. But, more importantly, I hope that Isaac will benefit from what I learned as we play together. I am ready to go exploring, stick in hand, sneakers on. Bring on the dirt! But no spiders please.
13 August 2009
Curiosity Killed the Ape
We have probably read every Curious George book at least once at our house. Some nights all we read before bed time is Curious George. But, while Isaac loves all of them, he does have particular favorites which are pulled off the shelf over and over again. Curious George and the Chocolate Factory is one of them.
How could anyone not love this book? The idea of going to a chocolate store, sneaking into the behind-the-scenes tour and helping himself to as many sweets as he can eat is probably every child's dream, as well as some adults. Well, it's mine anyway. Of course, George gets into mischief but manages to save the day in the end.
The books are formulaic, and boy do they get repetitive to read (Isaac can recite the first line of every book -- This is George. George was a good little monkey and always very curious). But the familiar pattern is part of the appeal for children. They know what to expect and they know that everything will turn out all right in the end. It is comforting for them to know that, even though George causes trouble, The Man With The Yellow Hat still loves him and accepts him. My boy appeciates this message, as I am sure do many others.
Matt and I do have one BIG pet peeve with the book, though. You might have noticed that George is an APE, not a monkey. Monkeys have tails. George does not have a tail. Isaac gets annoyed when we change the words while reading it to reflect the appropriate species. He'll live, and he will know the difference when he gets older.
How could anyone not love this book? The idea of going to a chocolate store, sneaking into the behind-the-scenes tour and helping himself to as many sweets as he can eat is probably every child's dream, as well as some adults. Well, it's mine anyway. Of course, George gets into mischief but manages to save the day in the end.
The books are formulaic, and boy do they get repetitive to read (Isaac can recite the first line of every book -- This is George. George was a good little monkey and always very curious). But the familiar pattern is part of the appeal for children. They know what to expect and they know that everything will turn out all right in the end. It is comforting for them to know that, even though George causes trouble, The Man With The Yellow Hat still loves him and accepts him. My boy appeciates this message, as I am sure do many others.
Matt and I do have one BIG pet peeve with the book, though. You might have noticed that George is an APE, not a monkey. Monkeys have tails. George does not have a tail. Isaac gets annoyed when we change the words while reading it to reflect the appropriate species. He'll live, and he will know the difference when he gets older.
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