This was the view for me at 3:00 pm. I spent some time today introducing Ben and Joey to my favorite children's poet, Shel Silverstein. While I had to memorize "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout" in the 4th grade, I didn't start reading his books until at least jr. high. While in college I noticed in Sam's Club's Christmas catalog that they were selling a boxed set of 3 of Shel's books, so I asked for them thinking that I could one day share them with my kids. I've sat down two times with Ben today and we're more than halfway through the book. Some of the poems are a bit over his head, but he likes the rhyming and silly pictures!
We spent our day in pj's and/or other comfy-type clothes. It's rainy and cold. There was no place we had to be today, so we just stayed in. The boys started off on the wrong foot with whining (Ben) and getting into everything (Joey), and I've learned that only happens when I"m not paying enough attention. We got out the play-dough and spent some time doing that.
We spent our day in pj's and/or other comfy-type clothes. It's rainy and cold. There was no place we had to be today, so we just stayed in. The boys started off on the wrong foot with whining (Ben) and getting into everything (Joey), and I've learned that only happens when I"m not paying enough attention. We got out the play-dough and spent some time doing that.
We played upstairs, we played downstairs. Then I decided I wanted a shower. I put a tv show on for the boys and Joey requested some Goldfish crackers for a snack. I came out of the shower and Joey pointed to his nose and said "Godlfish. Yucky." Sure enough, he shoved part of a goldfish up his nose. I tried many things to get it out, but it was so saturated with snot that it couldn't move stubborn. Long story short, I plugged up his clear nostril and tried to get him to blow the fishy out. The second blow was hard enough, and the entire back half of the cracker came out. It was huge. Oh my word.
I've been doing a lot more reading with Ben lately. I checked out the book The Read Aloud Handbook from the library and learned a lot. The main point the author makes is that while children may not be the most efficient readers for themselves, they've been listening since birth and thus have much more experience. Therefore, while Cat in the Hat is appropriate for a beginner reader to read to himself, it isn't the best read-aloud choice because the child's listening comprehension is capable of harder literature. And the more aural exposure anyone has to any subject area, the easier it will be to read those words when that subject comes up in print. The book, and his website (linked above) has a great list of age-appropriate read alouds and I will be working through those. Andrew's mom is a 2nd grade teacher and has hundreds of books in her personal collection. Grandma retires this year and is anxious to pass on these books, so I gave her the read aloud list and she has many of the titles listed. I'm excited to have those in our home and to really establish good book time with the boys.
I've been doing a lot more reading with Ben lately. I checked out the book The Read Aloud Handbook from the library and learned a lot. The main point the author makes is that while children may not be the most efficient readers for themselves, they've been listening since birth and thus have much more experience. Therefore, while Cat in the Hat is appropriate for a beginner reader to read to himself, it isn't the best read-aloud choice because the child's listening comprehension is capable of harder literature. And the more aural exposure anyone has to any subject area, the easier it will be to read those words when that subject comes up in print. The book, and his website (linked above) has a great list of age-appropriate read alouds and I will be working through those. Andrew's mom is a 2nd grade teacher and has hundreds of books in her personal collection. Grandma retires this year and is anxious to pass on these books, so I gave her the read aloud list and she has many of the titles listed. I'm excited to have those in our home and to really establish good book time with the boys.
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