Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Early Reading Skills

For a while now, M memorizes the words of a given book after only one or two read-throughs.  It has often amazed me with how much accuracy she can recite a book page-for-page.  This evening was no exception.  We checked out Smile, Princepessa! from the library last week, and M adores it.  Great book:  attractive illustrations, captivating words, and a theme any three-year-old can relate to.

This evening, when we got to this page, M pointed to each of the words and stated "snap, snap, snap".  There are lots of other words on the two-page spread, so it impressed me that she was able to pinpoint the correct words!  Very cool early reading going on over at our house!










~

Oops!

"Mommy, HELP!" M cried from her bedroom.  I came running down the hall.  I found a comical scene: M had inadvertently put her arms in the leg holes of her pajama pants, and was upset that she couldn't get her head through!

"Oops!" I said, quoting one of our favorite books, Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton. Silly turkey, what a goof.

~

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Books We Could Do Without

I'm sure every family with small children can understand this one!  We have several books we wish M would just forget existed.  We've tried tucking them away on the bookshelf, or even hiding them, but they always seem to wind up back in the rotation eventually.  You'd think with the thousands of books we own (thanks to my godfather who previously owned and operated a preschool!), that it would be easy for them to disappear into the collection - but it just doesn't happen!  Of course, when the kids bring them to us, we smile and read them anyway.

And so, the Bad Book List begins:
  1. Top of the list - the Sesame Street Library Collection - very poorly written, and terribly monotonous.
  2. There's a Hole in the Bucket - After the first three verses, I just want to rip my hair out.
  3. Any of the Super Why books.  The show does such a better job of engaging kids.
  4. The Learn Your Numbers Sparkle Book. Rubs me the wrong way.
  5. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.  Too many words, too little action
  6. Barney Is It Time Yet?  *shudder*
  7. Also, I'm not terribly enamored with Beatrix Potter books - Peter Rabbit, etc.  Too British or something.
My husband has his own list going, most of which I enjoy:
  1. Any book that involves singing, including:
    • Raffi books: Down By the Bay, One Light One Sun, Baby Baluga
    • Miss Mary Mack
    • The Lady with the Alligator Purse
    • Mary had a Little Lamb
    • There's a Hole in the Bucket
    • Five Little Ducklings
    1. Fox In Socks - this surprised me, because he loves to read her Green Eggs and Ham.  Maybe shares the same feelings as Mr. Knox: 
    "Please, sir. I don't
    like this trick, sir.
    My tongue isn't
    quick or slick, sir.
    I get all those
    ticks and clocks, sir,
    mixed up with the
    chicks and tocks, sir.
    I can't do it, Mr. Fox, sir."


    Personally, I really enjoy the singing books, so Dad calls those Mama books.  And I also have no issues with Fox In Socks.

    Luckily, our list of favorite books is much longer than our bad book list.  But that's for another post.

    Do you have any books you'd like to go "poof"?

    ~