Well, we are winding up a month of celebrating poetry and I have enjoyed every bit of it! Clever poems teach the rhythm of language, rhyme, humor and condensing ideas into clever language.
I wanted to share some of my favorites for kids:
Dirt on my Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy with illustrations by Steve Bjorkman. Designed for kids from 4-7, this collection of poems gets the younger set giggling. “Dirt on My Shirt,” the poem for which the book is named shows a boy delighting in a shower or mud—just what one would expect from a boy. Using themes that kids can relate to, “Are We There Yet?” “Staring Contest,” “Hide and Seek,” or “Bubbles,” this collection of poems finds the funny in everyday but keeps it simple enough for preschoolers. A special treat is the two-page spread, “What Do You See?” where the listener is invited to find 33 animals in Bjorkman’s lively illustration of life at the lake.
My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson. Kids can’t get enough of Jack Prelutsky’s poems and his newest collection will continue the hilarious fun. His twist of words and imaginative subjects fall into perfect rhyme and cadence while leaving us laughing at his silliness. Some of my favorites are “The Underwater Marching Band,” “never having played a single sound on land.” Who are “disinclined to fret” yet “perennially wet.” I can’t do justice to the genius that Prelutsky employs with words. Manipulating them like a wizard, he makes language fun!
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and illustrated by Lydia Monks.A twist on the old fairy tale, this story is a laugh in rhyme. Each time the prince asks Rapunzel to throw down her “hair” or “curly locks,” she sends down her “underwear” or “dirty socks.” He’s a little too far away for her to pick up what he’s saying but she manages to extrapolate a rhyming word that sets the story on a hilarious path.
Dinothesaurus written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. Just out, this collection combines witty poems about a kids’ top topic with clever collages. Florian’s playfulness with words encourages children to attempt poetry with zest. Modern touches on an ancient subject bring these poems alive: “Gigantosaurus…when it was hungry or got into fights, It opened its jaws and took giga-bites.” Meanwhile, the water colored Gigantosaurus is taking bites of cutout images of cellphones and computers!
What are your favorite children’s poetry books? Share them in the comments below.
Finally,we have a fun way to provide the sensory input that some children need to calm their systems while promoting creative play. Funandfunction.com, provides resources for therapeutic play and education, Children three years old and up can dress up as a fairy princess, ballerina, fireman or policeman in a vest or costume designed with inner pockets to hold optional bean bag weights.
In my many years working as a speech language therapist in the schools, I was often in meetings where weighted vests were recommended for children with sensory issues. Parents were very reluctant to agree to using a garment on their children that would point them out as “different.” I don’t blame them. I knew the benefits a weighted vest could afford but couldn’t push something that the parents were uncomfortable with.
These costumes and vests offer a wonderful inclusive alternative that hopefully all of the kids will get in line to use!
NPR ran an article about a new DVD produced in Britain called “The Transporters,” designed to teach children with autism to look at faces (like the happy baby face) and recognize emotions. With funding from the government, a team of researchers produced a series of five-minute stories about a gang of vehicles. Each vehicle has a human face, expressing an emotion–sad, angry, or afraid–portrayed by an actor. Since children on the autism spectrum are often fascinated with vehicles, the creators of this DVD took advantage of that interest and added large human faces that can’t be missed. Cable Car Sally or Charlie the Tram each match their facial expressions to what is happening in the story, and named by the narrator.
According to the article, “ A study found that children who watched the DVD for at least 15 minutes a day for a month became much more adept at recognizing facial expressions and the emotions behind them.” The DVD includes quizzes to test your child’s ability to read faces and emotions after viewing the episodes.
Check out the article, DVD Helps Kids With Autism Read Faces, Emotions by Jon Hamilton on NPR. You can click on a short video clip of one of the episodes. To find out more about the DVD’s visit the Transporters website.
I just had to share my buddy, Oreo, with you. He’s not my dog but I grew up with Boston Terriers so he just makes me laugh. He’s a really good sport and half human so a Halloween costume is no big deal to him!
Here’s another book to share related to Halloween about bats.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon is the endearing story of a baby bat, separated from her mother after an owl attack, landing in a nest of birds. As their friendship grew, each tried to be like the other—Stellaluna, eating bugs from mama bird and the baby birds trying to hang by their feet. Finally, discovered by her bat friends, Stellaluna learned of her differences—her ability to see and fly in the darkness, eat a mango or hang by her feet. Anxious to share these abilities with her friends, she soon discovers the differences but realizes that being so different is okay because really they are so much alike!
This book gives you the opportunity to talk about differences. Differences between animals or people or things. Do comparisons, pick two animals or objects and list the similarities or differences back and forth with your child. This builds language skills as your child analyzes differences in looks, form and function. Talk about how friends are different. Quinn is a fast runner, Brooke is a good drawer, Ryan is fun or Will is patient. Talk about how each friend has special qualities to appreciate.
Around 2 years of age, your child is transitioning from using gestures, grunts, crying and whining to get what he wants. Now that he is 2, he should have around 50 words and be putting 2 words together like “me go” or “more doh.” Somehow one and two-word sentences don’t feel like enough to him and the whining starts. I work with a little boy who had become accustomed to yelling “Ma ma ma”whenever he wanted something. After several sessions and modeling for mom, he knows that I won’t respond to that kind of talk and that he has to talk quietly and use his words to let me in on what he wants. Here are some tips to curb whining and yelling and encourage using language to make his needs known:
- Model quiet, calm talking to your child and label it as using a “good talking” or “using your words.” Try to be positive and not focus on “Stop whining” but rather “I like it when you use your words.”
- Play a game taking turns, whether it is adding to a play-doh creation , painting or turning the pages in a book. As you take your turn or make your requests, you model the right way to ask for something.
- Ignore the whining or yelling. This is hard but if you are consistent your child will get the message that he won’t get the Popsicle, mom’s attention, or someone to go outside with him if he whines.
- When he whines, calmly model an appropriate way to say it such as “More paint” and continue modeling it until he imitates you. Then reward him with the paint.
It is hard work to be consistent but you will be rewarded with less whining and more communication.
Babies need tummy time to build their upper body strength but it isn’t always their favorite activity. So start early and give them something to talk about!
I set 3 week-old Caroline on her tummy and put the Taggies Crib bumper in her line of sight. She was delighted to look at the black, white and red zebra and penguin as I narrated what she was looking at. Check out the moving parts, wiggle the zebra’s head or the penguin’s taggies, talking about movement, color and textures. Your continuous description keeps her engaged and stimulates her language development.
Prop up a bright, colorful book like Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do You See? and read it to her as she watches. Accordian books, like Baby Einstein’s World Around Me Oceans, are great for tummy time too because they can wrap around your baby and give her a panorama of pictures to investigate and for you to talk about.
When I was at the International Toy Fair in New York City in February, I stopped in at Dolphin Books and was introduced to their new book on baby signs, A First Guide to Baby Signing. I was impressed because it was authored by a professional who actually works with sign language, Katie Mayne, a teacher of the deaf.
Parents are increasingly interested in teaching sign language to their babies. Sign language provides babies with a way to communicate with hand movements long before their vocal mechanism is ready to say words. Allowing babies and toddlers to express their needs and wants earlier, relieves frustration and hopefully reduces temper outbursts.
The author’s expertise accounts for the simple but accurate information and inclusion of important tips such as making sure family members and care givers can recognize and use signs too since the purpose is to provide a means for your child to communicate. Her tip to keep background noise to a minimum correlates with research that says babies learn language better in a quiet environment, since they have a harder time distinguishing foreground and background sounds.
The yummy colors and kid-friendly graphics surround captivating pictures of babies and moms signing 44 basic words divided into ten categories from “starter signs” relating to your child’s basic needs of hunger and thirst, to “indoor”, “outdoor” and “evening” signs. The step-by-step photographs make learning easy and fun.
This is a good, basic manual for starting the signing process with your child. Try it.
You don’t always need toys:
Okay it is embarrassing to admit this as a toy expert, but I was reminded of how little kids need to have fun. Our assignment after Ben was born, was to occupy Will, 18 months, each morning so mom could get some rest. After assembling all the needed items for a jaunt to the beach—snack, extra clothes, diapers, wipes, books, etc—we proudly took off, later to realize that we had forgotten the bag of beach toys. No problem. Luckily I had brought my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee so we had a cup as well as shells to scoop the sand and make castles.
Stop to examine the beautiful things in life:
On our trip through the Airlie Gardens today with azaleas and spring flowers in full bloom, Will moved at a slow pace to examine petals, pine cones, butterflies, mulch, moss, rocks and swans. Nothing was too unimportant for examination and enjoyment. Everything was an opportunity for learning. If we could only slow down and appreciate like this as adults.
Find books that YOU like and enjoy!:
I am constantly amazed at the books that kids like at every age. There is no formula. That’s why it’s best to expose them to a variety of books and see what they like. Will has a stack of books to chose from before nap and bedtime. I offered him a choice of some standbys like Corduroy and Bunny Cakes which he likes. He invariably picked A Gaggle of Geese and a Clutter of Cats. Now this would not have been a book that I would recommend or choose for an 18 month-old because it is all about the goofy names given to groups of animals like a school of fish or a gaggle of geese. When I mentioned his preference for this unusual book to his dad, the mystery was solved. Peter said Will likes it so much because of how he reads it to him–he says it like a rap and dances to it! No wonder Will chooses that book. He gets a story as well as a show by his dad.
