October 15th, 2010 Picture books are here to stay Posted by Melitsa in book review, Education, Media, play activities, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

Well at least I believe so!

photo credit: Pinkpollyanna

I was surprised to see the link in the NYTimes over the weekend Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children

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?

October 5th, 2010 Preschool art appreciation with Mondrian Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Homemade, Media, play activities, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

We had many opportunities to visit the Art Museum and now the big art museum is a few hours away we’ve really noticed how much we miss seeing the gallery. Not being on the doorstep of a major art gallery will not dampen our enthusiasm for all things art based. Although we will have to be more deliberate.

The boys are really into straight lines and bold colours at the moment, so it wasn’t difficult to choose Piet Mondrian as our artist.

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Technorati Tags: Piet Mondrian

September 24th, 2010 Play newsletters you should know Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Media, play activities, Roundups

Last time I talked about the reasons why you should subscribe to play newsletters. I’d like to share 6  play newsletters you should know. I wouldn’t suggest subscribing to them all. Each newsletter should have an unsubscribe link. If you like them don’t forget to tell your friends and feel free to email the writers.

1. Kids craft weekly

Amber writes about ..”new craft ideas that are cheap, educational, child-friendly and fun.” Amber has crafted up amazing newsletters for many years now and archives them on her site as well.
2.    Play activities

Here you’ll find open-ended play activities for the under 5s. Many of the ideas are starting points allowing everyone to take the activity in their own direction. I also add in reader submitted activities.

3.   Productive parenting

Productive Parenting provides one new activity suggestion each day based on your child’s birth date! These activities are all about fun, creativity and bonding.

4.   Refresh

Stef produces a fortnightly or biweekly ezine of encouragement and simple solutions for busy parents. Each issue has a resources or link section and a great story.

5.                 Kaboose Weekly Newsletter

Kaboose produce a range of newsletters. I subscribed to the Kids’ Crafts & Activities Newsletter. I found the activities interesting but highly polished. So it was good for specific projects but I didn’t find it easy to use them as a springboard.

6.                  Family Crafts Guide

About.com have a few newsletters. I enjoyed the family crafts guide. The ideas were varied , entertaining and engaging. The activities are great for multi aged families.

August 20th, 2010 Quick and easy pretend play and toddler activity Posted by Melitsa in Media, play activities, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

“Don’t touch that!”
“It’s hot!”
“Mine!”We’re all familiar with these phrases as they relate to toddler behavior. Toddlers are naturally curious to touch and examine objects.

They don’t have any of the skills yet to hold back and decide whether it’s the right or safe thing to do. They just reach out and act.

There will be plenty of times when our little ones will hear variations of “Don’t touch!” But we can also encourage their curiosity and imagination by giving them opportunities to experience new things with our support.

Going on………………… to read more about my monthly toddler  post , visit Steady Mom

Pretend play is always a big hit with children. Look no further than your kitchen for inspiration!  Most everyone has a wooden spoon, but if not? Improvise! Wooden Spoon Puppets……. to read more about my monthly kids craft post, visit Blissfully Domestic

July 7th, 2010 Winners of the Outdoor products Posted by Melitsa in Media, play activities

Congratulations to the 4 winners of the Outdoor products for the summer contest!

1. Katrina

2.  Angela

3. Janis

4. Dani