It may be the last day of of our month long celebration of poetry, but I want to encourage you to read and listen to poetry all year long. 
As I made the list of books for 2 years olds- I realized I have a bunch of friends this spring who have babies are turning one! Let me just suggest a few winners that my dear little man, my nephew loved on his first birthday.
Busy Doggies. It is actually a whole series of books, A Busy Book Series, that talks about busy animals. Busy Chickens, Busy Horsies, Busy Barnyard Animals.
Off We Go by Jane Yolen, is a beautiful, sing-song book of animals going to grandma's house. Very sweet, very fun.
Choo Choo Cickety Clack By Margaret Mayo, is a fun rhythmic text about trains. Big winner with the train obsessed nephew!
Celebrate Earth Day.
Facebook is literacy too. So the other night, Auntie CC, her three nieces, AB and I snuggled up on the sofa. We got ready to watch a movie and eat popcorn all night! Cozy and comfy in our jamas, we all started to get settled into our evening's plan. Pre-Teenager A grabbed Auntie CC’s computer, as the rest of us were gathering up pillows to watch our film. Needless to say, in trying to orchestrate all of our needs, it took a bit of time. PTA didn’t want to waste her time- she was ready. She clicked on to Facebook in a heartbeat and narrated the rest of the evening online with 20 of her closest friends. Creating and reading status updates, IM-ing and sending emails are all part of a teenager's literacy life. Not only did PTA type the entire movie and then some, I think she was literally on FB for a four hours straight last night!
Facebook is literacy. There is a ton of literary potential inside of the social networking. Literacy is all about networking in social circles. You read and write with friends. At one point PTA asked, “What should I write about now on FB? What should we talk about?” What an opportunity not to be missed. Don't worry, I suggested a few topics for her and her friends!
Don’t be afraid of Facebook- engage with it, embrace it! Get to know it yourself so that when you talk to your pre-teens and teens you are “in” on the conversation!
Enjoy the text, enjoy the read.
Books help to shape how you see yourself and others in the world. To many of us, reading books about kids and people from diverse backgrounds is important. We both want to create positive self images and to understand and grow positive images of others. Reading about families that look and sound like yours, help you to see yourself in the world. Reading about families that are different then your own, helps you to understand others in your communities!
My nephew, ever since he was a baby, has loved loved Shades of Black! It is not a story, rather a list and beautiful set of photos of kids. He loves listening to the lyrical language and reading about kids! This was one of the first books he memorized!
Look for books that reflect your family’s heritage, family structure and values! Look for books that introduce your kids to other backgrounds, family structures and values! Open your lives to celebrating families of all kinds and you will open the world to your kids!
are Photographs/Films
Auntie CC and I were having a great couple of days with the nieces and god kids! Before we went out on our next excursion, we had some time to kill. While Auntie CC and Teenager A were getting ready (Oh, how aunties love Spring Break) Little A and Little K were hanging out with AB and I.
Little K drew a portrait. I asked her, "Is that Auntie CC?" It was a portrait of a girl with long hair in a cute little red dress with heels. Little K said, “No. I don’t know who it is.”
I suggested to Little K, "You could make her a character! You could write a book or better yet a comic strip!" She loved the idea, but with trepidation. How was she going to write a comic strip? She never had done one before. "Isn’t that too hard?" she said me. Many 7 year olds would love the opportunity to write their own fiction. All they need is a little structure and some quick encouragement. I showed Little K how she could fold her pages, number her boxes, and where to draw and write her tale of the Lady in Red! She took off and began to write.
Little A, 3 years younger, in pre K, also wanted to make her stories. She quickly ran over to me and showed me her story, “The Vampire Girl and the Vampire Dog”.
“Wonderful!” I noted, “Now what about the words? How will we remember that is what it is?” Little A said that she would just tell everyone! I smiled. “I think you should write the words in case someone wants to read it and you are not here! Or you could give it to Auntie CC as a gift!”
“I want to give it to Auntie CC!”
“So, let’s write her some words,” I suggested.
She looked at me and said, “But I don’t know how to write it. Can you write it?”
I told her that she could and that Auntie CC would looooove it!”
I helped LA stretch out the first word. I said the word super slow so she could hear each sound and then she recorded the letter. LA has great letter/sound knowledge but lacks the confidence to do it on her own. For her second word she looked at me to do the same. This time I had her say each sound slowly. With hesitation she said the word slowly and then looked up at me and say, "G?" I confirmed with a slight nod and smile. She continued through and when she got to the end of the word, I gave her a high five and showed her how she did both on her own! Then she went on!
She made three stories before Auntie CC and PTA came back ready for our next trip. Little A and Little K showed their auntie their "hard" yet "fun" work they did on their own!
Writing is fun! We just need to encourage and remember that making books is just as fun as reading them! Have fun writing some books together!
For AB's thirteenth birthday this year, the two of us decided to fly across the country, to Seattle, to travel, site see, and read and write together! We started working on our itinerary in the airport so that we would know what we could expect to do each day- almost like a little list of hopeful accomplishments!
The day I left for Montreal, to go to my nephew’s birthday weekend extravaganza, I was talking with my friend- Auntie KB- about all the ways we were going to celebrate his birthday. “What an aunt you are! I need some suggestions for my 2 year old nephew!” Did I have some suggestions for her!
My nephew absolutely fell in love the Van Fleet Books. Dogs was his favorite but he had, Cats, Tails, Alphabet and The Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings! They have been a big hit with my nephew ever since he was a baby.
We also loved to capitalize on his love for the ABC's by getting many ABC books! One that we all especially love is, Creature ABC. Not only did it help to develop his letter recognition, phonemic awareness, but it also contributed to his knowledge of animal vocabulary.
There is this adorable interactive series called, Little Drivers. Both my nephew and Baby C have loved these books to death! Literally! They feature kids, of different ethnicity, driving the different kinds of vehicles. You can actually "put the driver" into the truck or airplane as you read! Different books feature different themes such as: emergency vehicles or transportation in cities.
Finally my last suggestions for toddlers is my nephew's latest favorite, Lost and Found by Olivers Jeffers. My friend, The Rocky Mountain Mama, introduced me to this series. Her two boys LOVE this author and have enjoy reading his different books. This has been my nephew's latest "go to" book to read on his own.
Hope this helps the gift giving and reading process! Happy reading to you all!
