Thoughtful Thursday

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.  Love of books is the best of all."

                                                                      -- Jacqueline Kennedy

Make-Your-Own Books Part 1

I have really enjoyed taking photos and trying to improve my photography skills the last few years.  I couldn't think of a better way to combine reading and photography, as to create my own little books for Beansprout.  There are a ton of different photo book publishers out there and if you pay attention you can get some really good deals, too!

Summer Vacation 2011 Book

Summer Vacation 2011 Book

Summer Vacation 2011 Book

This is the first book I created for Beansprout.  I took our vacation photos and put them into a book with simple words to describe what Beansprout did on his adventures.  It was definitely a big hit in our home!  Beansprout gets to see pictures of himself and re-live all the fun we had at the Sunshine Coast last summer.  I used MyPublisher, which makes it very easy to upload photos and they have a lot of great templates.  This book a softback, which I was concerned about at first, but it is still in pretty good shape almost a year later.  I will post more ideas over the weekend for creating your own books and stories for your children.

Would you take your family photos and make a story?  Any publishers you especially love?

Beyond Books - Telling Stories

A slight veer from books specifically, I would love to talk about telling stories.  We have been telling "Beansprout Stories" for well over a year now and it is the highlight of bedtime.  (This is his actual request, "Beanspoutstories" which comes out as one word and makes me giggle because he's onto his alias.)  It's amazing how much kids feed off of hearing stories about themselves and their lives!  We started by simply re-telling Beansprout his adventures from the day, as I had read and heard a few times that it helps children process their day if you go through the details.  As he has gotten older, Beansprout now chimes in with things that he specifically recalls and often times he re-tells certain parts of the day a few times.  I'm thrilled that we've established such a wonderful routine with him, as I think it helps him move on from events that may have bothered him or that he was curious about.

Lunchtime Stories with Beansprout

Since starting "Beansprout Stories" at bedtime, we've moved to using Beansprout stories to talk about bigger events as well.  He LOVES hearing about his birth story and thinks it's just as funny as I do that he relieved himself on one of the doctors when he was born.  He also likes hearing about how brave he was at the dentist and how he fell asleep on the ferry ride we spent so much time preparing him for.  After reading a great post from Royan Lee about "Mike-Stories", we even took some time to record a few of our favorites, with Beansprout chiming in on the good parts.

One other form of storytelling that has been a huge help for us, is re-telling events that scared or hurt our little guy.  Even when he was quite young, he really enjoyed going over how he fell down or how he bumped into something for the hundredth time.  As well, the book The Whole Brain Child helped us support him in overcoming his fear of the stairs.  He had fallen on the stairs one day and spent a month or more not wanting to go down without one of us holding his hand.  When I re-told him the story of what happened a few times, that he wasn't being careful and he hadn't been holding on to the railing, it took no time before he was going down the stairs again on his own.  Amazing.  Even the other day, when he had his first big wipe-out on his bike, telling the story a few times empowered him to get right back on.

My next goal is to try using make-believe storytelling more, using the world around us to create stories!

Do you remember creating stories when you were a kid?  Did you have any favorites that your parents told you?

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!

For-Kids Magazines

National Wildlife Federation Publications for Kids

I distinctly remember going to allergy appointments with my friend as a kid and reading Highlights Magazine in the waiting area - I loved it!  I always wanted to do the puzzles and was just intrigued by the fact that it was a magazine for kids.  This must have been the start of my problem.  I've mentioned it before, I have a magazine obsession!  So it comes as no surprise in our house that I'm just as excited as Beansprout when his Wild Animal Baby Magazine appears in the mailbox each month!  Wild Animal Baby Magazine is produced by the National Wildlife Federation.  Beansprout loves it - we have collected them all (save for the few that he tore apart when he was younger!).  He now gets Your Big Backyard from the same company and in the next month or so will also get the National Geographic Little Kids.  We're so thankful to the grandparents for these gifts!  Better than a toy that loses its novelty, these subscriptions are one of those gifts that keeps on giving.

Olive the Owl Feature Story

It's fun to see Beansprout learning so much from these little magazines!  We count animals, read a story about a specific baby animal, and learn what kinds of things animals do.  His latest phrase prompted by reading the most recent issue is, "Momma, a jackal is a kind of dog."  Followed by practicing the way a jackal talks of course -- which by the way, is slightly different from a wolf -- "ee-oo-oww-rrr."

Ricky and Pals Story

We recently switched to Your Big Backyard only because the stories seemed a little more advanced - I noticed that based on other books we've been reading together, the stories in Wild Animal Baby were feeling too simplified.  That being said, he can read these magazines again and again and he DOES!  We have a basket that is full of them and Beansprout often brings a pile of them over for us to read through with him.








What are your thoughts on exposing kids to a magazine-style book?  Do you remember Highlights Magazine?  I know there are other made-for-kids magazines out there - are there any you'd recommend?  I'd love to hear from you!

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.

Month in Photos - May 2012

May Favorites

Tractor fun at Maplewood Farm.

Bubble machine!

Sharing birthday cake with E.

First milkshake mustache.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

New tool box from Grammy and Papa.

Building blocks with Papa.

Helping Grammy celebrate her birthday.

Month in Photos - April 2012

April Favorites

Visit on the deck with Auntie Tracy

First official check-up at the dentist.

Meeting Huckle Cat.

Bunny graham giggles with Daddy.

Climbing like a monkey!

New activity at our favorite park - hanging!

Checking out the dug-outs.

Chillin' on the coach, watching Cat in the Hat.

Hunting for Eggs

Though there are many things about our home that drive me CRaZY, I'm trying really hard to embrace and love it and one of the easily loveable parts is our garden.  I think the original owners had a great vision for the property and were able to create a lovely rhododendron garden with paths, a pond, and a bridge.  It's the most perfect place to have an egg hunt.  Last year we were lucky to have great weather and this year it was even better.

Hunting with baskets

Preparing for the party was more fun this year because Beansprout understood the plan: his friends were coming over, and they were going to find eggs, put them in their baskets, then go inside and see what they got.  We had 8 children and 16 adults here, so I was did the usual fretting over whether we had enough food (and eggs,) but thankfully, once everyone arrived and things were in full swing I was able to relax, snap some photos, and enjoy the gorgeous day!  I think everyone had a really nice time -- the kids enjoyed themselves in the playroom before the egg hunt, everyone seemed to have a great time soaking up the sunshine while searching for eggs, and the adults  kids even had time for an Easter craft.

Fun with bubbles!

"Let me see here . . . "

"Look what I got!"

Popping bubbles was a huge hit and I think the kids may have been more excited about finding out what was in their eggs than looking for them this year.  I'm calling it a success!

I clearly remember looking for eggs in our house as a kid, but don't remember ever going to an official egg hunt - did you?  And, did you see this!?!  Jordan, from Oh Happy Day, planned an egg hunt for her family (including her sister, Design Mom) at the Eiffel Tower!  What an incredible experience!

Party Preparations

Hanging poufs.

We have had a gorgeous Easter weekend!  I was thrilled to hear that the forecast for our egg hunt party was sunshine, and felt pretty lucky that it actually held true.  The kiddos had a great time and were pretty darn cute searching for all of the eggs and I had fun getting ready for the party and seeing everything come together.  However, this post is not about the egg hunt.  Last night was Matt's turn to put Beansprout to bed; and while I should have been organizing the photos and writing our Easter post, I chose to spend the time finishing a party decoration I never got to for Saturday's party.  Before you think I've lost my mind, I should mention that my home is the venue for a friend's baby shower in a few weeks, so I knew I wasn't wasting this precious time.  I pulled out the tissue paper, the scissors, some fishing line, and floral wire and got to work. You may have already noticed that I have had a slight love affair with banners for awhile, but they may have to move over for my new crush - the tissue POUF!  Why haven't I tried these before!?!  They're super easy to make, add such a great pop of color, and they hang.  It's love.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!  How did you spend your time? Stay tuned for more on our Easter Egg Hunt Party. Thanks for reading!

Month in Photos - March 2012

March Favorites

Capilano Suspension Bridge by day.

Aqua Bus Ride in False Creek

Playing with Duplos in the play room.

Tiny boy - Giant tree.

Granville Island docks.

Parking Garage play - can't believe he's so LONG!

Logging trucks at the Research Forest.

Thoughtful Thursday

Cliff Walk at Capilano Suspension Bridge

"Life is uncharted territory.  It reveals its story one moment at a time"

                                                           -- Leo Buscaglia

Marvelling this week at Beansprout's leap in communication, I realized how amazing it is that I am a mom now.  As a young person, I always wanted to be a mother, but there were many years as an adult when I just wasn't sure I was cut out for it or that I wanted to take on the enormity of motherhood.  Now I can't imagine my life any other way.  These moments help me remember that our paths are ever changing and therein lies the beauty in life -  in the fact that our stories are forming along the way.  

Happy Weekend!  Thanks for reading!

5-Year Plans

Hmmm . . . 

I’m starting to feel worried that I don’t have a solid 5-year plan.  I can hear myself saying to Matt everyone once-in-awhile, “Hey, we should really sit down and hash out a 5-year plan.”  The thing is, it never works.  The conversation usually ends before it begins with us telling ourselves that it’s too hard to plan that far ahead, as things will change anyway.  We seem to think in smaller chunks, usually working toward goals on a one-to-two year range.  Besides, as I mentioned before, four is apparently our number.  I’m coming to realize that the real reason I keep bringing it up is because of the pressure!  You hear it all the time – have a five-year plan.  What’s your five-year plan?  Pressure.  Pressure.  Pressure.  I was thrilled to find I’m not alone when a good friend told me she thinks 5-year plans are just conversation filler.  On the dating scene, she gets asked this question quite a bit when there’s not much else to talk about.  She was downright harassed by one date who felt that, “she must have a 5-year plan, doesn’t she have any GOALS?!?”  This, at a time when she had just returned from spending a year abroad, a life-time goal of hers. 

So I feel better that I’m not alone, but have to confess that I could barely admit it in writing when I started this post.  I have to learn to accept that it is something that is important for many people, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a must for me.   As we head into Beansprout’s preschool years, I see us forming some longer-term plans, goals that will have to be flexible.  Life has a way of surprising us sometimes.

What’s your take on the 5-year plan?  What works best for you?  Are there other things you feel like you should be doing in life but aren’t, you know, because of the pressure?

Thoughtful Thursday

Bellingham Daffodils

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.

                                                                                     --Mark Twain

As family and friends back home celebrate unseasonably warm weather, I have been holding on to the fact that the crocuses are blooming and that the daffodils and tulips aren't far behind.  The weather has been insane here lately!  Beansprout had never even heard the word "hail" before (ok, except when I have to break out into song while reading his University of Michigan book!) and this week we've had brief hail episodes almost every day.  Hail, followed by sunshine, followed by rain, followed by . . . you get the idea.  Insane.  I will look on the bright side and embrace the fact that Spring is unpredictable - a quality I usually appreciate, as it reminds me that I really do love the change in the seasons.

Are you celebrating the latest season?  Do you, too, find yourself complaining about the weather out of habit?  Sigh.

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

Every Four Years

Every Four Years

It’s occurred to me recently that Matt and I have had significant changes happen every four years since we first met.  I don’t remember what triggered this thought in the first place, but it strikes me as rather strange. We dated for four years before getting married, moved to British Columbia four years later, and four years after that we had Beansprout.  Since coming to this realization, I just keep wondering what it all means.  Is there some significance to the number four?  What does this four-year trend mean for the future -- will the pattern continue?  And, if there is a continued pattern, what change is on the horizon for us?  I'm so intrigued. (And nervous!)

Am I the only one to think of such odd things?  Have you found any sort of pattern to events in your life?  Any other number patterns in your life?  

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!

Thoughtful Thursday

Today is the day, your mountain is waiting.  So . . . get on your way!

                                                                                    -Dr. Seuss

(Almost) Daily Walk to View of Fraser River with Mt. Baker