Reading = Connecting

Connecting with Auntie Becky

As I was looking through pictures the other day, I realized that whenever we have people visit, Beansprout almost immediately wants to read with them.  Anyone who is game for a story will soon find my little guy on their lap or leaning on their shoulder with a good book.  We often have to limit the number of books he hopes to have read to him, reminding him that our guests are visiting the whole family :)  It occurred to me when I saw this photo, that this is his way of making a connection with people.  He gets to show them what he knows (he has read all of these books a zillion times!) and he gets to be close to them without the pressure of being too close to people.  He's connecting.

He also wants to connect with Matt and me. There are days when life gets hectic - we may have a lot to do, or we may be pre-occupied with the stresses of the week; and on these days Beansprout doesn't get the attention he's used to.  As I reflect, I realize Beansprout is a pretty smart little guy; many times he just finds a book and asks for us to read to him.  We can't refuse, of course.  We sit down, open the book, and viola! - we're connected.  It's so simple and yet so powerful.  Just the act of slowing down our adult-world brains and focusing on the story helps bring us back to our usual attunement to him.  Some days it's easier than others, that's for sure.  Yet the realization that this is what is going on, that Beansprout is trying to make a connection with us, is empowering - to know that he's reaching out makes it even more important to me that we meet him halfway.

I've also found that this works both ways.  When Beansprout is acting out, or not really with the program, it is easy to get him back on track by sitting down and reading a book with him.  He's able to focus his attention and suddenly the moment is transformed.  A whiney or out-of-control three-year-old is back to himself.  The trick is to remember this in the moment, of course.

Do you have any reading connections you use with your children?  I have focused on reading with kids, but there are so many other ways to make connections with reading!  What tricks do you have?  Also, I'm writing about BOOKS all month!  If you haven't already, check out my other posts: For-Kids Magazines,  Wordless Picture Books, and We Love Books, and thanks for reading!

Wordless Picture Books

Wave by Suzy Lee

I don't remember how we started with the wordless picture books, but they have been one of my favorite parts of reading to Beansprout the last few years.  I love all they have to offer in terms of noticing and of being aware.  It's amazing how much of story can be told in pictures, and it's something I sometimes lose sight of when I'm reading other children's books.  There is so much meaning behind the way the illustrator chooses to portray the scene, the characters, and the background; sadly, I sometimes miss these subtleties because I'm focusing on the language and the telling.  Using wordless picture books has allowed us to slow down a little and concentrate on some serious reading strategies.  We talk about where things are happening, about who and what are in the picture and predict why they are there.  One of my favorite scenes is from the book Wave, by Suzy Lee. Toward the end of the story, the little girl who has been playing in the water is excited to show her mom the sea treasure she has found on the beach.  What I love about the scene is that you don't actually see her mother until the next page, but you can infer who she is talking to because of a small part of her mother's umbrella that hangs just at the end of the page.  I'm thrilled that we have the opportunity to help build such an important skill with Beansprout at such a young age.  

Wave is a book I highly recommend, if you're interested in trying out wordless picture books!  The illustrations are stunning and it's amazing the way she uses color to give life to the ocean.  We also love the escapades of the ever-alluding walrus in Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage.  Flotsam by David Wiesner and The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman are both big hits, because of their mystery and introduction to concepts of time and time travel.  We recently acquired The Chicken Thief and it's companion, Fox and Hen Together, by Beatrice Rodriguez, based on online recommendations. 

Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez

Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage

Flotsam by David Wiesner

 

Wordless picture books make building reading skills effortless.  I also believe they really grow with the child, because after hearing you tell the story different times and different ways, the child begins to see his own way of telling the story.  There's nothing I love more than to see Beansprout standing at his play table flipping through a picture book and telling the story to himself!  I can't wait to see how these books can also serve as storytelling and writing prompts in the future. 

Are you familiar with wordless picture books?  Do you remember creating your own stories based on those you read as a child?  I would love to hear if you have wordless picture books you think everyone should have in their library!

We Love Books!

Trucking Books May 2011

Some days I feel we have truck loads of children's books.  They seem to be everywhere in our home!  They're on every floor of the house, they've taken over the living room book shelves, are tucked under beds, fill baskets, and are even tucked in dresser drawers.  As I think about it, I realize it's pretty funny that they aren't in the bathroom - I guess we haven't gotten to that stage yet :)  I'm thrilled that it's a problem that we have too many and that I can't seem to part with any of them, even the ones that are far too babyish for Beansprout.

Realizing we are bursting at the seams with books, I've been thinking about doing a post to talk about our favorite books and to show where we keep them.  The thing is, I've dragged my feet for who-knows-how-long and have yet to take the pictures.  So, I decided I need some motivation!  In October last year, I took part in a 31 day challenge and talked all month about PLAY.  It was so much fun and really kept me on top of photos and blogging because I had a goal I wanted to achieve.  That's why I've decided to make June all about books.  30 days of BOOKS!  I plan to talk about book storage, book favorites, library books, kids magazines, and I even have my best friend lined up to do a couple of guest posts!  I'm really excited and hope you'll read along with me!

To get things started, I'd love to hear what your childhood favorites were!  I remember loving The Monster at the End of this Book and Corduroy.

P.S.  Don't you love the Tow Truck Book Shelf!?!  It was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa last year - bought it at Superstore, but I think they've discontinued the line.  Boo.

Happy Spring!

Boots ready for the trails.

We try to get Beansprout out of the house at least once a day, and by that I mean, OUTSIDE!  This usually involves going for a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood.  However, since we didn't make any big Spring Break plans, we decided to change things up on the first day of Spring and really get outside! 

 One of the things I definitely love about where we live is the accessibility to great walks and hikes.  In about 15 minutes we found ourselves in the middle of the forest breathing in the fresh, clean air.  Last summer we were thrilled to realize Beansprout really likes hiking, and made a concerted effort to get out to different trails in the area.  In our years hiking with a dog, some trails were off limits to us, so it was even more refreshing to get out for a hike on a new trail!  I'm still amazed at how great Beansprout does on the trails.  Hand-in-hand we walked the Red Trail at Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, and he didn't ask for a shoulder ride until we were more than half-way through.  Little trooper.

My favorite part of the trail - I love the way the trees are covered in lichen and how there is almost a uniformity to the way their branches turn toward the sky.

Ever since a trip to Alaska many years ago, Matt and I are always on the look-out for lichen hanging like hair on the trees.  It signals that the air quality is excellent, as the lichen are so sensitive to air pollution that the will only grow millimeters in polluted areas.

We saw a few trees that had been uprooted by the winds, but the wall that this particular tree created is unreal.

I only had my iPhone along, but found myself snapping away (read: photo overload!) because it was so interesting to see how the trees changed as you walked along the trail!  We even found the perfect spot to return to with a picnic when it warms up just a bit.

Though Beansprout enjoyed the hike, the dump truck and the two logging trucks coming off the mountain were the big highlights for him!

I would love to hear how you get yourselves outside.  Have you taken on any new trails lately?  Any new adventures in the great outdoors?
 

Thoughtful Thursday

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."

                                                                                                                                                  -- e.e. cummings

Month in Photos - February 2012

February Favorites

Practice using scissors

Playing guitar with Daddy

Biking to the river

Seed butter and Banana Lunch

Valentine's Day Playdate

Hail Storm

Mural Painting at Art Class

1st Lollipop!

It's wonderful that there are still so many 1st experiences to encounter with Beansprout.  We tend to keep him away from sugar as much as we can, so he was pretty pleased to have his first lollipop given to him by a friend in his art class!  We both marvelled at the crazy hail storm later in the month.  The hail looked like dot ice cream and lasted for quite awhile.  Beansprout and I had fun building mini snowmen on top of his sandbox.  Notice the crocuses!?!  I'm thrilled to see signs of Spring turning up everywhere.  It's so nice to be able to get outside more!