Today is Earth Day 2008. Go here for some ideas of recycled and animal/nature crafts to try with your kids and for other kid-friendly earth day activities.
Will brought a nature-filled show-and-tell bag to school today with a Happy Earth Day sign he colored and some pine cones, rocks and leaves he's collected to pass around.
Other than that, we're keeping it simple and just talking about Earth Day and why we celebrate it with Will. I think I’ll take him and Owen on a neighborhood nature/clean-up hike this afternoon. We’ll bring a trash bag and gardening gloves and go litter hunting – and at the same time scout for animals and plants in our neighborhood. And once Rob's home, we'll probably have to have a little living room family dance session, pass around our globe, and sing along to Raffi's rendition of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
These little holidays that sometimes feel like tokenism to adults are a fun excuse to celebrate with kids.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
We sing for kids
It was concert time at Will’s preschool this morning -- to launch the school’s celebration of the Week of the Young Child . The highlight of the show was the youngest toddler group, which showcased one twirling, dancing, gleeful boy and an entourage of other bewildered kids who all stood stock still through their performance. They were too awed by the crowd to move or sing.
In many ways, Will still belongs in their ranks. I found myself getting slightly nervous as the three-year-olds’ performance approached. Would Will bolt the stage or scowl at the crowd? (Scowling is one of his most recent “I’m feeling shy” defense mechanisms – not a very endearing one of course.)
But Will chose to be politely shy. While most of the kids around him sang and did accompanying motions with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Will seemed to barely mumble the words for the first part of one song and then mostly look around. At one point he shut his eyes as if to block out the crowd. By the second song, he was trying to get comfortable and I watched as he’d almost imperceptibly do hints of the dance motions. A tiny, slow motion tilting of the head instead of the fast-paced head bobbing of his classmates, for example.
So I settled into it and enjoyed watching my little shy guy try to make the best of his stage fright.
Back at home, I asked him if he’d enjoyed the concert.
“Yeah,” he said, then quickly added: “Mom, when I’m singing to a lot of people I just sing a little
bit and then I stop. Because I’m scared of singing to a lot of people. I just like singing to two adults and a lot of kids."
Fair enough, I thought, since I prefer singing to no adults and two kids.
In many ways, Will still belongs in their ranks. I found myself getting slightly nervous as the three-year-olds’ performance approached. Would Will bolt the stage or scowl at the crowd? (Scowling is one of his most recent “I’m feeling shy” defense mechanisms – not a very endearing one of course.)
But Will chose to be politely shy. While most of the kids around him sang and did accompanying motions with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Will seemed to barely mumble the words for the first part of one song and then mostly look around. At one point he shut his eyes as if to block out the crowd. By the second song, he was trying to get comfortable and I watched as he’d almost imperceptibly do hints of the dance motions. A tiny, slow motion tilting of the head instead of the fast-paced head bobbing of his classmates, for example.
So I settled into it and enjoyed watching my little shy guy try to make the best of his stage fright.
Back at home, I asked him if he’d enjoyed the concert.
“Yeah,” he said, then quickly added: “Mom, when I’m singing to a lot of people I just sing a little
bit and then I stop. Because I’m scared of singing to a lot of people. I just like singing to two adults and a lot of kids."
Fair enough, I thought, since I prefer singing to no adults and two kids.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Diaper escape
Owen has hit that critical moment in his diaper-changing journey when he has recognized the exhilarating possibility of escaping from the changing table. Gone are the days when Owen would merely cry if he was in no mood for a diaper change. Now, regardless of whether he is feeling cheerful or funky, his first reaction upon being laid on his back for a diaper change is to immediately flip himself over and attempt to crawl away. So now, for safety reasons, I wind up doing some of his especially squirrely diaper changes on a changing pad on the floor. I come armed with an assortment of toys and I do obnoxious songs and dances directly overhead in a desperate attempt to keep the squirmy guy on his back. I call in back up – and Will does his own songs and dances, reads board books, offers still more toys. And 75 percent of the time none of it works. So I change Owen’s diaper as he struggles on his tummy to crawl away. This would all be manageable if it weren’t for the fact that I’m still using cloth diapers on Owen during the day – the old school Chinese prefold kind, with old-fashioned safety pins for securing the things. And I can’t get comfortable pinning diapers on a crawling baby. So fifty percent of the time I’ve been throwing in the towel and reaching for disposable.
Back when I was diaper waffling in October, I predicted I would abandon cloth once Owen got squirmy, stinky and belligerent on me. But I really hate to start using nothing but disposables now that I’ve settled into the fairly simple process of storing and laundering cloth diapers. It’s cheap and, since I hang-dry the things, I’m pretty sure it’s better for the environment.
How do you restrain, subdue, hypnotize or otherwise manipulate your kids to keep them still for diaper changes or other obligatory tasks?
Back when I was diaper waffling in October, I predicted I would abandon cloth once Owen got squirmy, stinky and belligerent on me. But I really hate to start using nothing but disposables now that I’ve settled into the fairly simple process of storing and laundering cloth diapers. It’s cheap and, since I hang-dry the things, I’m pretty sure it’s better for the environment.
So I decided to do one of those ridiculously specific Google searches: “getting baby still to change diaper.” And I landed at this web site, where I quickly ticked off all the advice in my mind. Done that. Tried it. Worked once but never again…. And then I hit the gold mine: Offer something ordinarily forbidden like a cell phone, a television remote or masking tape…. So this morning I gave Owen a TV remote and he marveled at it, still on his back for an entire diaper change. Next diaper change I tried it again and before I had so much as pulled his pants down, Owen immediately flipped himself over to explore the remote like so.
So out came the masking tape, which worked for one diaper change but was old news by the time
Owen was due for another change. This time I was prepared with a back-up novel item – a piece of thick string, and again this worked for just one diaper change. So next time we moved on to one of Will’s sippy cups (which Owen covets more than any of his toys) and then a spool of thread. If Owen’s squirminess forces me to present him with new items to explore, I guess that’s just the innate learner in him, demanding that he be taught with fresh materials – so I don’t mind obliging him. As long as I can keep coming up with novel ideas – or perhaps a rotation of about 30 of them??
By the end of the day, though, I was ready to let Rob have a hand at the diaper changing. Surely he could handle just one disposable after Owen’s bath?
“Okay, you’re up,” Rob calls to me from the bedroom, as if to suggest that he’d diapered the boy and it’s time for me to take over the bedtime routine.
So I walk in and, behold, there is naked Owen crawling on the floor toward nowhere, with his Pampers lying open a couple feet behind him. So there we were again: me and Squirmy and a spool of thread. (It took the thread PLUS a gleeful verse of Little Bunny Foo Foo to get that simple disposable on Owen, and he still flipped on me before I finished the job.)
How do you restrain, subdue, hypnotize or otherwise manipulate your kids to keep them still for diaper changes or other obligatory tasks?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Interpreting babble
In our quest to understand Owen’s babble, we can’t help but think that he’s saying words with deliberate discrimination. Just this week he has become a proficient and impassioned pointer, and as he points at various objects in the room and says, “guh” part of me wants to jump to the assumption that he’s saying “get” – just because get happens to start with g and I know he’d like to “get” everything. Of course, I know he doesn’t “get” the word “get.” “Guh,” accompanied by a pointing finger probably means something more like: “Wow, look at that. I’d like to call that something but I don’t how to talk so I’ll just say ‘ga.’”
But I do feel pretty certain that when Owen says “mamamamama” from his crib he’s asking for me. And every time we see a cat, especially our own cat Frances, we say “cat” several times to Owen while doing the ASL sign for cat, and he generally produces a “ca” for us. So “ca=cat” made it into the baby book list of first word accomplishments. Somehow, though, Owen’s skipped the “da” sound until this week. So when he woke up cheerfully from a nap yesterday, looked up at me and said, “dada,” I got excited and ran him over to the wedding picture in our bedroom, where I pointed to Rob and said “dada” several times over. Owen kicked his legs and grinned in excitement, but failed to repeat the elusive “dada.”
Today, though, when Owen said “dada” while Rob was in the kitchen we both decided it was official: Owen’s new word is “dada” and it means “dad.” Even if he doesn’t say it for another month, and then only while looking at me or the cat or some other non-paternal object, we’ll certify dad as a 9-month word. We aren’t doing objective science here; we’re just a couple parents happy to pretend we’re having two-way conversations with a babbling baby.
(In case you're interpreting babble in your own house, here's a parenting.com article overviewing what to expect at different ages. And an old 1999 review of an article in "Psychological Science" that pegs the origin of language at 6 months.)
But I do feel pretty certain that when Owen says “mamamamama” from his crib he’s asking for me. And every time we see a cat, especially our own cat Frances, we say “cat” several times to Owen while doing the ASL sign for cat, and he generally produces a “ca” for us. So “ca=cat” made it into the baby book list of first word accomplishments. Somehow, though, Owen’s skipped the “da” sound until this week. So when he woke up cheerfully from a nap yesterday, looked up at me and said, “dada,” I got excited and ran him over to the wedding picture in our bedroom, where I pointed to Rob and said “dada” several times over. Owen kicked his legs and grinned in excitement, but failed to repeat the elusive “dada.”
Today, though, when Owen said “dada” while Rob was in the kitchen we both decided it was official: Owen’s new word is “dada” and it means “dad.” Even if he doesn’t say it for another month, and then only while looking at me or the cat or some other non-paternal object, we’ll certify dad as a 9-month word. We aren’t doing objective science here; we’re just a couple parents happy to pretend we’re having two-way conversations with a babbling baby.
(In case you're interpreting babble in your own house, here's a parenting.com article overviewing what to expect at different ages. And an old 1999 review of an article in "Psychological Science" that pegs the origin of language at 6 months.)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The scruff
Quote of the week: “Daddy, did it hurt when they put all those prickly things on your face?”
(As context for the picture: Lately Will and Rob have been taking a few minutes each evening to work on a puzzle together as a wind-down activity between Will’s shared bath with Owen and bedtime stories with dad. It brings Will great joy.)
(As context for the picture: Lately Will and Rob have been taking a few minutes each evening to work on a puzzle together as a wind-down activity between Will’s shared bath with Owen and bedtime stories with dad. It brings Will great joy.)
Monday, April 14, 2008
William's trail
Yesterday we explored a little section of Bartram’s Trail in Alabama’s Tuskegee National Forest. Will was excited to find his name on this sign at the trailhead. (William Bartram earned the title of Am
erica’s first native born naturalist/artist. He traveled through eight southeastern states in the 1770s documenting local flora and fauna – and now many sections of his journey have been made into hiking trails.)
erica’s first native born naturalist/artist. He traveled through eight southeastern states in the 1770s documenting local flora and fauna – and now many sections of his journey have been made into hiking trails.)
Later we went to a picnic-baby shower for some friends who live south of Auburn and are expecting their first baby in June. It was the perfect kind of shower – a casual outdoor potluck, with chicken viewing for the kids. Guests were asked to shower the couple with good wishes -- and, for those choosing to bring a gift, all-in-one cloth diapers on amazon.com substituted for a registry.
And I’m sneaking in this photo from our Saturday hike around Cooper Creek lake – just because it’s hard to beat an image of a kid running through a field of grass.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Our tour through kids' music
My article in today’s Ledger-Enquirer takes a tour through some of our family’s favorite kids’ music – including some longtime favorites of Will’s and some new discoveries Will and I made in the course of writing the article (granted he didn’t write it, but he did all the grunt work as my music-listening guinea pig).
The best thing that came out of the whole process is that we made a wonderful mix CD for Will that includes favorites off of about 15 different albums. I don’t necessarily recommend buying all 15 albums, but a good mix tape with your kids’ personal favorites is a pretty great thing to keep in the car.
I believe in catering to children’s requests for repetition when it comes to both books and songs. They love to learn the language of songs and stories and they thrive on music they can sing and books they can recite by memory. As Will sometimes says when we’re playing a selection off the new mix CD, “Mom, did you know? -- I’m starting to learn this song.”
So Will’s singing along with music more than ever. And now I no longer have to hunt for the tracks he loves although we do tend to play each song twice as we make our way through the CD.
So here it is: Will’s Kids’ Hits Mix (listed by song: artist/album -- with links to a few of the albums that feature multiple favorites for us).
1. Wild Wild Party in the Loquat Tree: Indigo Girls/Mary Had a Little Amp
2. La La La La Lemon: Bare Naked Ladies/For the Kids
3. This-a-way That-a-way: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
4. Hop Along Peter: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman/Not For Kids Only
5. Baby Beluga: Raffi/Baby Beluga
6. Oh Susanna!: Children’s Favorite Songs (Walt Disney Records)
7. C is for Conifer: They Might Be Giants/Here Come the ABCs
8. Froggy Went A Courtin: Doc Watson/Doc Watson Sings Songs for Little Pickers
9. I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly: More Silly Songs (Walt Disney Records)
10. Shake My Sillies Out: Lari White/ Country Goes Raffi
11. All Around The Kitchen: Pete Seeger/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
12. The Three Little Kittens: Nursery Songs Sing-Along (Peter Pan Records)
13. He’s Got the Whole World: Raffi/Rise And Shine
14. Dulce Dulce: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
15. Dinosaur, Dinosaur…& 16. Jump Rope Jive: Philadelphia Chickens (written by Sandra
Boynton)
17. Riding in My Car: Woodie Guthrie/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
18. Alabama Chicken: Sean Hayes/Alabama Chicken (this one's not a kid's album but Will loves it anyway)
19. Ha-Ha This-a-Way: Lead Belly/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
20. Little Bunny Foo Foo: Nursery Songs Sing-Along (Peter Pan Records)
21. Go for G!: They Might Be Giants/Here Come the ABCs
22. Harmonica for Hannukah: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
23. Apples and Bananas: Keith Urban/ Country Goes Raffi
24. Magalina Hagalina: Pete Buchwald/ Get On the Bus with Mr. Pete
25. The World is Big: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
26. Yellow Submarine: The Beatles
27. Down By The Bay: Eric Heatherly/Country Goes Raffi
What songs or albums are hits with your kids?
The best thing that came out of the whole process is that we made a wonderful mix CD for Will that includes favorites off of about 15 different albums. I don’t necessarily recommend buying all 15 albums, but a good mix tape with your kids’ personal favorites is a pretty great thing to keep in the car.
I believe in catering to children’s requests for repetition when it comes to both books and songs. They love to learn the language of songs and stories and they thrive on music they can sing and books they can recite by memory. As Will sometimes says when we’re playing a selection off the new mix CD, “Mom, did you know? -- I’m starting to learn this song.”
So Will’s singing along with music more than ever. And now I no longer have to hunt for the tracks he loves although we do tend to play each song twice as we make our way through the CD.
So here it is: Will’s Kids’ Hits Mix (listed by song: artist/album -- with links to a few of the albums that feature multiple favorites for us).
1. Wild Wild Party in the Loquat Tree: Indigo Girls/Mary Had a Little Amp
2. La La La La Lemon: Bare Naked Ladies/For the Kids
3. This-a-way That-a-way: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
4. Hop Along Peter: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman/Not For Kids Only
5. Baby Beluga: Raffi/Baby Beluga
6. Oh Susanna!: Children’s Favorite Songs (Walt Disney Records)
7. C is for Conifer: They Might Be Giants/Here Come the ABCs
8. Froggy Went A Courtin: Doc Watson/Doc Watson Sings Songs for Little Pickers
9. I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly: More Silly Songs (Walt Disney Records)
10. Shake My Sillies Out: Lari White/ Country Goes Raffi
11. All Around The Kitchen: Pete Seeger/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
12. The Three Little Kittens: Nursery Songs Sing-Along (Peter Pan Records)
13. He’s Got the Whole World: Raffi/Rise And Shine
14. Dulce Dulce: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
15. Dinosaur, Dinosaur…& 16. Jump Rope Jive: Philadelphia Chickens (written by Sandra
Boynton)
17. Riding in My Car: Woodie Guthrie/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
18. Alabama Chicken: Sean Hayes/Alabama Chicken (this one's not a kid's album but Will loves it anyway)
19. Ha-Ha This-a-Way: Lead Belly/ Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Music Collection
20. Little Bunny Foo Foo: Nursery Songs Sing-Along (Peter Pan Records)
21. Go for G!: They Might Be Giants/Here Come the ABCs
22. Harmonica for Hannukah: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
23. Apples and Bananas: Keith Urban/ Country Goes Raffi
24. Magalina Hagalina: Pete Buchwald/ Get On the Bus with Mr. Pete
25. The World is Big: Ella Jenkins/Songs Children Love to Sing
26. Yellow Submarine: The Beatles
27. Down By The Bay: Eric Heatherly/Country Goes Raffi
What songs or albums are hits with your kids?
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