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We love our Advent Calendar activities and by now you are probably well into your activities too!
We like to get a Christmas book each year to add to our collection . As they get older the books change. The story is the same or is it? We all celebrate Christmas the same and differently. My children can’t imagine a Christmas when it’s not snow or cold.
Here are some books I would recommend to share with your family about Christmas traditions around the world. Christmas Around the World
We love picture books here and I can’t imagine forgoing picture books and substituting them with chapter books.
I wonder if though if it’s something to do with who chooses the books that the children read. When I go to the library to get books I’m drawn to the picture book section. There are many ways that we choose our books. Sometimes I choose them all while they are at school but more often they come with me and we choose together. I love to find books with an aim and purpose in mind. It’s not often that I go to the library or bookshop with a totally open mind.
Recently I have been on a quest to find books where my boys will see themselves represented as brown-skinned boys in a positive light. During the summer I was looking for books based on stories from around the world. Next month I want to find some art books.
However when my husband goes to the bookshop or library he is drawn to the cartoon section, authors that I don’t know, chapter books and magazines. We have widely differing tastes in books. Luckily for the children they get to experience both our styles. If I or my husband solely choose the books I know the kids would have had a strong leaning to a type of book. We can’t help that. I don’t think that’s uncommon an approach.
Now we have the book shops layout themselves. I’ve always been disappointed with the shelf space devoted to hardback picture books in the two book shops that were local to me in the States; Barnes and Noble and Borders. Both seemed to have lots of space devoted to hardbacks that make us parents weep. Not just the cost but the dust jacket is easy to rip with little fingers. Hardback books just don’t stand up to the hardcore love that preschoolers inflict. Well certainly not in our home. I really didn’t want the books to be so special that they can’t be handled but the kids did need to treat them well. Skating on them was really a no-no activity even though they make excellent skis.
I preferred paperback or board book picture books. I can buy another copy. We’re on our third copy of The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The kids can handle them without the spine popping or pages coming adrift. At least that has been our experience. A well handled book is a well loved book.
So here is the dilemma!
There are hardly any paperback books on the shelf for me to browse and buy but there are heaps of hardbacks. I’ll walk by these then. I happily support my local library where they have many paperbacks and covered in plastic. It works for us. I have noticed in Waterstones that there are more paperbacks to view than I was used to in the States but these are just based on three local shops and not really representative of the countries . How is it where you live?
If you’re a family on a budget. You’re offered more hardbacks than paperbacks, a lot more in a book store. You’re hearing from school that they need to be reading more or more fluent it might be easier to take a stroll over to the chapter books.
I don’t know the solution. I know we love our picture books and will continue to buy both paperback and the occasional hardback book. We listen to stories as well via the computer or an audio CD, more so recently. We have chapter books but are mindful that the chapter book doesn’t become the be all and end all of reading. We have a lot of discussion around picture books and that skill I would not give up for all the chapter books in the world.
How do you choose your books? Do you have a preference about picture books vs Chapter books?
This is a guest post by Zoe Toft. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.
How do you come up with play ideas for your kids? And, perhaps even more importantly, how do your kids come up with play ideas for themselves?
During holiday periods I, like many parents, plan ahead for games and activities we will get up to – using blogs I love (perhaps ones I’ve recently discovered via the Raising Playful Tots Index) but I also want to give my kids the tools to plan and create for themselves, and a rich vein of inspiration for my two kids comes in the form of picture books I read to them. Although it doesn’t always happen (and even when it does, it can be weeks after we’ve read the book) often my kids will create their own games and activities inspired by what they’ve read and listened to.
Three great books we’ve recently enjoyed (with my hope that they’ll sow the seed of inspiration when the time comes) are all about what can be done when it seems like there’s nothing to do.
Perfect for toddlers, this simply illustrated book is full of the adventures a baby bear gets up to having bounced on his dad complaining that there’s nothing to do until Dad finally gives in. Using a twig to draw, baby bear and his dad create places to explore, with no set agenda, just following the lines they make with their sticks.
Stunningly illustrated with immense detail this book is a delight for slightly older children. Nothing to Do celebrates how wonderful it can be to actually have nothing to do; instead of needing to rush to this activity or onto another class, instead of always being timetabled, days where there is nothing to do are actually something to be relished. Such days are full of endless, exciting possibilities – as you and your kids pour over the glorious illustrations you’ll all come up with ideas of your own, from making toy ships to watching clouds, from making paper airplanes to re-reading your favourite books.
A great all-rounder this book will have everyone in the family laughing! Two young boys have done everything they can think of doing and all that is left to try now is – quite literally – doing nothing. It turns out, however, that doing nothing is much harder than anyone had realised! The comic strip style illustrations are full of energy and there are jokes for the adults as well as the kids in this pacey debut from one of the animators behind Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
One of my stock go-to activities if we seem to have run out of anything to do is to put on some music and just dance with the kids. Here are some great songs that go wonderfully with these three fantastic books about doing nothing:
And if you do want to prepare some activities for your kids taking your cue from these books, here are some I think would work brilliantly alongside reading these stories:
Play sleeping lions with your kids – see how long they can do nothing for!
Zoe Toft is a mum of two young girls and they really love words and they really love to make stuff.
Sometimes they make or do something and they want a good book (or poem / song / audiobook) that continues the game, that captures some of the magic we’ve enjoyed. Sometimes it’s the other way round and they read a great book which inspires them to get the glue and glitter out.
Either way, they’ve always got plenty of books around the house, boxes of “crafty stuff” and a desire to have fun. However, her memory is /terrible/ So Playing by the book is Zoe’s way of celebrating and reminding herself of many of the things they get up to as a family, of the books they’ve read and loved and that you might just fall in love with too.
By seeking out information as I would for anything I’m learning.
As usual I’ve been sidetracked and have read lots of others things but I will get back to my list.
Since I read a lot of books for pure pleasure and escapism and the non fiction usually has an immediate purpose or need. I was happy to see a book that was written to inspire me.
First of all, I love books written by teachers. I feel like I’m in the classroom with them and so much of what they write I feel empathy towards. Rafe is an elementary school teacher. I have a son that is in elementary school. Also I felt that whatever he had to say could relate to the rest of the family. I wasn’t wrong.
The book was split up into innings. The game metaphor goes throughout the book which for me was tough going as I am not into this particular sport. However, it didn’t spoil the reading of the book and I got the gist of what was being said even if I didn’t quite understand the play by play. Rafe has a easy reading style that mixes common sense parenting with real examples and ideas of how he’s seen it work.
As with all inspirational work. There was a lot of head nodding with agreement and “Yep. Done that.” But the difference in this book wasn’t that he was trying to teach some secret formula to happiness but instead, I feel, he was reminding us the secret is in what we give to our children. The gifts of things that can’t be bought but nevertheless need to be taught or is that caught.
The typical layout of the book is a story about the game the students are watching or what happens while they are in the stadium. He points out some elements of the story and how he would deal with it to illustrate his point. The final section of the chapter are ways that we as parents can work on these points with our children.
Some of the many points he hits on that had meaning for me
Using weekends to teach time management.
Punctuality and its ramifications in life.
Time and history
The intellectual backpack
Paying attention and working to focus
Throughout the book , Rafe illustrates his points with movie and book titles and examples to direct you towards making this happen in your family. He does make it look easy but he’s had plenty of time to develop this style. However the points hit home and the ideas are possible. He’s not an extremist but does have some firm views on television, reading, Shakespeare and a few other things that may surprise. Fortunately these are ideas not a method that you must follow to the letter so it’s easy to dip and choose what will work well for your family without feeling that you’ve taken all the fun things out of life. He offers lots of fun ideas but they do require a willingness to change your world view.
As with all inspirational books or how to books. If you’re reading it is because you need it, usually, and where you’re at now and where the book is leading maybe poles apart and seem unrealistic or even unobtainable. However, this book mustn’t be overlooked because of it’s commonsense notions. The story give you a chance to substitute your family and see how it would work for you. Slow implementation is one thing I got from this book as well as be intentional about what you want your children to be.
The opportunities they have later are reduced by the choices we give them now. That’s not always about money. There are plenty of things we can work on with our children that have nothing to do with money.
I read the hardback version and with 195 pages is a quick read. I read small sections at a time and took my time with the book making notes and really thinking about how I would apply this to my family. It would have made a good non fiction book club book to share with other parents. Especially for the opportunity to share resources and experiences. This is what I enjoyed the most about this book was talking to others, mostly my husband. It gave us a chance to put into words what we thought we both knew about raising our children. Namely that we want them to be “..extraordinary in a mixed up muddled up shook up world” and the way to do this is have a plan, a path, and a direction that we both agree on- said out loud.
I’ve read before some book and movie reviews and people are disappointed if they are not wowed by the entire book. I guess I’m easily satisfied because I’m happier to have a few take away points from the books I read. This book wasn’t an electrifying read. I did learn a lot of things and it made self reflective and talk more. He talks a walk I’m familiar with so there were a lot of head bobbing moments. I’m all for having more ideas and examples up my sleeve. Raising children……… I’ll take everything I can get.
It’s a book I would recommend to parents anytime up to before their children go to elementary school. It gives you a school overview and perspective namely that parents and teachers must work in partnership and not us and them. If that is a radical concept then this book will knock your socks off. For those almost there or there then this book will show you concrete ways to inspire your children to be less mediocre and more extraordinary. Extraordinary in an age appropriate way.
Contest winner & comment:
Larry H. (cakeblast)
cakeblast.comThe best parenting book I have ever read is “To Train Up A Child” By Michael and Debi Pearl.
Larry H. (cakeblast)´s last blog ..Funny Foto Friday XXl My ComLuv Profile
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