Assemble your tic-tac-toe grid and off you go with a chance to place three of your gobblers in a row to win. With each turn, players can add a new gobbler to the board or move one that is already in place. Two options–to find an empty space or “gobble up” an existing smaller piece–make this game a multi-leveled game of strategy and memory. Go ahead and move your piece already on the board but don’t forget who was under him, because the littler guy will be left behind in that space and might set up a play for your opponent. Requiring visual-spacial memory and the ability to weigh different strategic options and outcomes, “Gobblet Gobblers” stretches young minds and gets them giggling as they surprise even themselves as opportunities open up to win!
Age: 5 and up
Chicks have come to roost on their favorite perch, performing a balancing act on thick bales of hay and slim wagon wheels. Plump Mom and baby chickys peer out their adorable eyes, beckoning players to take turns, skillfully plucking pieces off the teetering perch without toppling the brood. Players remove birds and their accessories, hoping to keep the remaining pieces in place. Each piece has its own point value from one to three, so after the perch is dumped, collect your pieces, add up your score and declare the winner.
A game of fine motor skill and balance, “ChickyBoom” requires slow, precise movements so as not to disturb the roosting chicks. Strategy comes into play as risk takers remove a piece of higher value that might start the gang wobbling but adds value to their winnings. Get some math practice as you add up the numbers on your pieces to reach the highest score and win the game.
Strap on your boots and rain gear to venture through the entangled layers of the rain forest–discovering their inhabitants, habitat and prey, feeling the sheer immensity of the jungle. Clearly dividing the forest layers from the river, forest floor, understory, and canopy to the emergents, this book draws the reader up through the levels of foliage with just enough facts and lush illustrations.
In an age where books compete with fast-paced technology for a child’s attention, “Rain Forest” reinforces the power of an engaging, interactive book. Kids explore the layers of the rain forest in five pop-up panoramas, including the transparent, three dimensional layered view of the Amazon River. Scout an animal in its natural habitat, and then check the 3-D key below to gather facts about your creature. Children I read this to were so excited by the Circle of Life that they asked to hear about the “secondary customers” (consumers) again! The grand recycling food chain gave them order in this complicated ecosystem.
With a new emphasis on encouraging elementary school children to read non-fiction, “Rain Forest” is a captivating addition to a child’s library, capturing the enormity of the jungle’s influence in intricate detail–providing a home for more than half of known animal species and stretching for over 1,400 miles on either side of the equator. This book can be read by a child to discover and learn or used by educators to encourage children to collect facts, write paragraphs, explain the interdependence of forest layers, food chains and ecosystems or answer inferential questions about what species survive where and why.
So set aside Sponge Bob and the Super Heroes for a moment and immerse a child in the teeming forest of learning about our world.
Born with eyes that look opposite ways, Jenny Sue is out of the ordinary, but thank heavens for her mom who loves her child and turns different into “creative!” Exploring the difficulties of a disability–kids laughing, calling names, and pointing, getting into trouble and enduring doctor’s appointments–first time author Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw adds a clever spin to the dilemma of living with misaligned eyes called “strabismus.”
Her travelin’ eye takes her to new places, navigating through adventures of numbers and colors. Think of what elements she would miss, had she not had a travelin’ eye to remind her to “smell the flowers, kiss the butterflies, and read the clouds.” With much apprehension, Jenny Sue visits the opthamologist, Dr.Dave, who declares her eye lazy and in need of waking up! He sent her home with big, thick glasses and a patch to cover her strong eye so the lazy one would strengthen. The author-illustrator takes us on a visual tour of what it is like to see through one weak eye. Floating letters on the blackboard set against blurry backgrounds make navigating Jenny Sue’s world challenging. After this brave little girl confides in her mom about her dilemma, her creative mom gets busy making “fashion patches,” a new one for each day. Debuted to a classroom of peers, the patches are a hit. No sooner has she become a “patch” star, then Jenny Sue gets the news that her lazy eye has woken up. No need for patches, now she just sports one-of-a-kind glasses.
The real Jenny Sue, author and illustrator Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, has written this endearing autobiographical story from a child’s perspective. Maybe that is why she doesn’t miss a step–what it feels and looks like to have a disability, how people react, what the steps are to get help from the doctor, and how to cleverly face being different to become included. Her punchy illustrations in collage bring a cheerful element to a challenging situation.
I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers and therapists to talk about being different, feelings, reactions, and including others. Use the story to encourage text to self and text to life comparisons. Have you ever been made fun of or been called a name because of being different? How did it feel? How should we treat kids that are different? Were you ever afraid to go to the doctor? How can we celebrate differences? Whenever you talk about the book in addition to reading it, you are building a child’s language skills as well as social skills as you model talking through situations for positive, creative solutions.
Waddle on down to the South Pole and start gathering these adorable penguins for a hot game of Pengoloo. Kids love the element of surprise as they roll the two-colored dice and peek under two penguins per turn to reveal their brightly colored eggs. Get a match and declare they’re yours, placing them in order, 1-6, on your patch of ice. Keep it simple for a 4 year-old or step up the strategy and “steal” a penguin from your opponent’s iceberg to make your match. Blue Orange’s signature bright, bold graphics and tactiley pleasing wooden pieces attract kids and adults immediately. A full iceberg declares a winner who has reinforced color and number concepts and built visual memory skills.
Being grumpy is a lot of work. Mr. Fish can’t seem to be cheered up by his convincing pals, Ms Clam, Mr. Jelly (Fish), Mrs. Squid or Mr. Eight (legged octopus). In spite of the efforts by his best-intended buddies, this dreary, sulking fish is convinced he is doomed to a life of mope. An unexpected visitor appears to plant a kiss on our prince to get this grump out of his slump. This charming tale, The Pout-Pout Fish, is filled with strong vocabulary, rhythm and rhyme with stanzas to be sung with your little one.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
Model putting words to your emotions throughout your daily experiences. “I’m frustrated, I can’t get this lid open” or “I’m tired and grumpy. I need a nap.” “Please be patient, I can’t help you right now.” Identify and name emotions in stories that you read aloud to your child. “The little girl is selfish—always wanting her own way” or “Grandma is disappointed in her behavior.” Brainstorm words that describe the main character and see how many you can list. After reading a story to a first grade class, I collected fourteen words to describe the “bossy, impolite, ungrateful” little girl. Our little pout pout fish is “glum,” “mopey,” “dreary,” with an “unattractive trait.”
Point out repeated words that are isolated in the text, “Blub, Bluuuub, and Bluuuuub!” Your child will begin to associate the sound with the letter as you stretch out the word and even “read” the word next time you encounter that page.
Violet, the dog, innocently drops her tennis ball down a prairie dog’s tunnel, setting off the “fuzz frenzy.” “Boink, thump, rumble, and plunk” is just the beginning of this delightful journey of a fuzzy ball through the land of prairie dogs, filling your child with rich vocabulary and delightful drawings. Bossy Big Bark is the control freak who wants everyone to stay away from the questionable object while Pip Squeak ventures forth for a look. The new found fuzz is stretched, tugged, spiked and twirled into creative hats, belts, rabbit ears and Indian headdresses. Children learn that language is fun when combined in tangles like “fuzz fiesta,” and “fuzz fandangle.” Naturally there is competition over who will get this new green fuzzy treasure and Pip Squeak is mortified that he had started a battle over the fuzz. Big Bark returns, having stolen all the fuzz, only to be plucked up by an eagle in need of a meal. The prairie dogs rally to save one of their own and Big Bark returns in his protective role over the pack.
Children like to match the drawings with the descriptions: “top dog, corny dog and frilly dog.” Take some time to make a list of your child’s descriptive words for Big Bark (bossy, ornery, inconsiderate, impatient) and Pip Squeak (inquisitive, kind, leader). Building good descriptive words will prepare your child for writing interesting stories. Do they have a friend like Big Bark? Or is their friend more like Pip Squeak? One little girl that I read this book to was having a little trouble with a bossy friend. What an opportunity to work through issues with peers.
Before turning the page of The Great Fuzz Frenzy, make a prediction about what is going to happen. Parents try it too and see what a variety of options you come up with. One little boy saw the sky go black and predicted a storm was coming. All guesses are good and encouraged. This helps your child think creatively, expand on stories, and strengthen his language skills.
