Birdsong

I've done it. I feel extremely lame. I'm on Twitter. This is sort of how I felt when I finally opened a Facebook account. Only even lamer since I don't have email on my phone. I mean, who does Twitter if you don't have a smart phone? Also, do I really need another time suck?

I don't suppose this is quite the way I should be introducing my new venture. How about this:

I'm on TWITTER!!! AWESOME!!! Fly with me and change the world!!!!!

Ok, maybe something in between?

If you like getting blog updates on twitter or want to know fun links I come across, and maybe a random thought or two I have during nap time or in the early morning when I get up before everyone, you can follow me on Twitter. There was actually a follower as soon as I set up the account, someone enthusiastically waiting for me, I presume. I'm such a rock star.

Do you have Twitter? Do you like it? Is it lame? Should I follow you, too? Leave me a comment with a link to your account if you want me to follow you.

Now get on with your day.

Um.... Okay.

Times Square. It never gets boring. Here is the latest pop-up store Kiddo and I walked by on our way to the theater:

The second time we walked by there was a woman dressed up as a toilet. That's right. A toilet. A TOILET! And she was acting really excited. Not embarrassed at all. At all. I'm sorry I didn't have enough time to snap a photo of her. It's worth it to click on the photo to enlarge and read the quotes.

Would this actually make you switch your toilet paper?

New York City: we have it all here, folks.

Friday Do-Over: Handmade Dreidel

Thanksgiving is over, Hanukkah is almost here!!! Make your own dreidel craft. Don't forget the Fair Trade Chocolate Coins!!! First published: 12/10/09

My husband tells me that the Dreidel Song is the most annoying song in the world and it is always the non-Jews (like me) who sing it as soon as Hanukkah is mentioned. Well, what can you expect? It's catchy."Make Dreidels" was our advent activity in preparation for the holiday.

All you need is a 3 inch square of thin cardboard (reusing a food box is perfect). Divide into triangles, print the Hebrew letters and poke a short pencil through the middle.They worked great!Second, we made a pre-fab version. In general I am not a fan of pre-fab projects, but Kiddo received this one as a gift and it has been lurking in the holiday box for 3 years. I guess its time had come. The prefab didn't work as well and I had to do most of the work, so the cardboard version was the winner. Now we just need some chocolate coins and we're ready to play!

"...and when it's dry and ready, then Dreidel I will play...." I just can't help it!

Required Reading: Runaway Dreidel!
Where is Baby's Dreidel?

Thanksgiving Reservations

So are you ready? Your bird is prepped? Your veggies are chopped? Your crust is rolled? Your house is clean?

I'm ready too.

Our reservations are for 4:30.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Reading to Differently Aged Children at the Same Time

Unless you have twins or children quite close in age, you might find it difficult to read to both of them at the same time. My boys are four years apart (Kiddo is almost 6 and New Kid is almost 2) and they are on very different reading levels, not to mention their ability to sit still!

Books gracing our dining table.

If your youngest is a baby, it's easy to sit the baby on your lap, give him something to chew on, or as I used to do, nurse him, while you read to your oldest child. But as that baby becomes a toddler, things get a wee more difficult (to put it mildly).

New Kid is very demanding of attention, it is impossible to sit down and read with Kiddo if there is not another parent in the apartment to keep him busy. Plus Kiddo is not appreciative of having his reading time interrupted by his brother's demands for me to read the same page over and over again (one of New Kid's most delightful qualities). If I limited my reading time with Kiddo to his brother's naptime or bedtime our time would be limited indeed.

To spend more time reading with both boys I have developed a couple of strategies:

1. Read during mealtimes. That's right. You may not like this idea if you have family dinners every night. However, my husband always gets home on weekdays after dinner, so it is just me and the boys at the table five nights a week. But if your children are home with you during the day, how about lunchtime?  I let the boys take turns choosing picture books and I read them while they eat. New Kid doesn't mind that Kiddo's books are over his head, he is just enjoying the company and his dinner. If he gets bored, he just throws his food around. I can handle that.  When do I eat? Hmmm, maybe I should market this as a diet strategy.

2. Always ask the older child to join you and the younger child. I always, always invite Kiddo to join us on the couch when I am reading to New Kid. He doesn't always want to but more often than not he comes over. I am sure to sit them on either side of me or there is a lot of shoving, pushing and complaining. But he joins us because... kids love picture books, even books that are supposedly "too young for them." Don't underestimate the power of an excellent picture book. Last night, I was reading Donald Crews' brilliant School Bus, a book with simple graphics and an even simpler text and Kiddo liked it just as much as his younger brother.

3. Let the older child choose books for the younger child. New Kid gets to choose books all day long while his brother is at school, but if Kiddo wants to join us on the couch (see #2) I let him pick out the "baby" books, as he calls them. Although, clearly, they are not just for babies.  It's hard for older kids when many activities must conform to the needs of the youngest. This way Kiddo can take more ownership in an activity involving his brother. He also knows which "older kid" picture books his brother will tolerate, which brings me to strategy #4...

4. Make sure to have lots of picture books on a mutually loved topic. In our case it is transportation: trucks, trains, cars, boats. You get the idea. Although Gail Gibbons' Trains is slightly advanced for New Kid's comprehension and Kiddo can take on more advanced books, they both still love it. The same is true for the marvelous Subway, and many similar books. This strategy may result in fights over who gets the book once you are done reading, so be prepared.

Let's be honest, not everything works all the time. Kids are fickle, one days they love peanut butter, the next day it is the grossest thing in the world. These reading strategies don't work every single time, but they help. In the end, ensuring your kids see that you value family reading by making an effort to read to them to together will always pay off.

What strategies for family reading do you have?

Giveaway

Well, I learned my lesson last time about not announcing the giveaway properly. So if you are interested in a giveaway, please visit Storied Cities. Even if you aren't interested in the giveaway, I hope you visit to find some good books.

It's still a bit lonely over there.

Eight is Enough

Image courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Well, actually eight is never enough when it comes to books. I was in the bookstore scouting out a few books from Kiddo's favorite new series (curious? I'm going to post about it later....) when I realized that Hanukkah begins on December 1st this year. The first! That is two weeks from today. Gah! [If you live in NY, you need to check out A Child Grows' Hanukkah Events in New York 2010.]

We are not "load 'em down with gifts" parents and I don't want my kids to come to expect and associate the holidays with lots of presents. But I still thought, wouldn't it be fun to give him a new book in a series each night? After all, they are books! BOOKS! I would be encouraging reading, supporting my independent bookstore and hard-working authors. Plus, I would be saying to my son: "I love our read aloud time!" How could it not be a great idea?  OK, new books can be expensive if you buy eight at a time, but try used bookstores, they are often teeming with popular series books. Often, if you buy the series as a boxed set, it is cheaper over all.

If you can't resist the lure of eight new books for your child this Hanukkah, here are a few good series which have at least eight books in them.

Easy Readers:
Henry and Mudge
Mr Putter and Tabby
High Rise Private Eyes
Elephant and Piggie (So funny!)

Chapter books for Early Readers and/or Read Alouds:
Captain Underpants (there are exactly eight!)
Ricky Ricotta (there are 7, plus Ricky Ricotta's Astro Activity Book of Fun)
Katie Kazoo Switcheroo
Magic Treehouse
Roscoe Riley Rules (ok, there are only 7 here, but too good not to include)
Stink (there are 5 Stink books, 2 Stink-O-pedias and 2 Judy and Stink combo books)
Judy Moody (Stink's sister)
Flat Stanley
Roald Dahl (OK, not a series, but sooo good!)
The Wizard of Oz (like the movie? The books are better)
Betsy-Tacy
Harry Potter (again, only 7, but so much other paraphernalia to choose from for the 8th gift)
Ramona Quimby (you could also mix and match this with Henry Huggins books, which feature Beezus and Ramona)

Picture Books:
The Stella and Sam Books
Toot and Puddle
Sandra Boynton (New Kid loves The Going to Bed Book!)
Curious George


Science Book Series:
A True Book series
Let's Read and Find Out (There are different levels, depending on your child's age)
Math Start (also different age levels)

Their are, of course, many others! Got any good series to recommend for eight-in-a-row gift giving?

Spontaneous Carnival Game

There is just way too much ball play in our home for normal people. To try and direct it away from my authentic Tiffany lamp ikea street finds I took one of the huge boxes that Kiddo will not let me get rid of and fashioned it into a carnival game.

It's also good for math practice and buses.

I've linked this up to Play Academy.

Read All About It

Long time readers will know that I like to share Urban Picture Books: children's picture and chapter books  set in the city. These reviews don't seem to fit with this blog anymore, so.....

I hope you will come over and visit me at my new home: Storied Cities. I've removed the Urban Picture/Chapter Books from this blog. I've been revising my reviews and re-reading the books to my boys, so I can record their pithy comments for your enjoyment.  I've already backdated some of my past reviews, but I have a new one up and many more new ones to come.

I will also be bribing luring enticing you celebrating by announcing a giveaway very shortly. Should I have shouted GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at the beginning of the post?

Also, if you like what you see, I'd love it if you would let your fellow readers know about Storied Cities and add a link on your page. And don't forget to leave me some comments. Mmmmm, I love comments.

I hope to see you over there and that you stick around over here.

Friday To-Do List

Play:     Cereal Box Marble Run
Visit:     Attend Brooklyn Museum's Book Fair
Cook:    Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin
Read:    Henry and Beezus
Action: Pack a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child

What's on your To-Do List?

A Handmade Education

Playdough = Complete Education

Witness:

Cooking and Measuring (Practical Life)

Dividing Dough into Fourths (Math and Fractions)

Color Mixing (Science)

Kneading (Motor Skills and Exercise)

Playing and Shaping (Creative Thinking)

Voilà!