Pigeon... Duck... Pigeon... Duck...

Recently I received a poll in my inbox asking the number of words my toddler recognizes - the choices were None, 1-5, 5-10, & More the 10. As I mentally began to list all the words she recognizes I was amazed at how vast her vocabulary has become. She use 2 and 3 word sentences with ease and seems to have little difficulty with comprehension. If you ask her to do something she responds, "I did."

Vocabulary size aside, the battle of words (better yet - wills) continues on when defining Ava's feathered friend. Pigeon has become a new favorite. We work very hard at giving her the words to define the world around her but she is stuck on the word duck. If you were to stumble on a typical conversation between mother and daughter, this is what you will undoubtedly hear:

"Duck?"

"Pigeon."

"Duck."

"Pigeon."

"Duck."

"Pigeon."

And on and on and on until one or the other finally gives up (truth be told it is usually me). If after all this banter I ask Ava to kiss the pigeon, she immediately gives Pigeon a kiss - complete with sound effects. I am comforted in her ability to associate the word to the object regardless of her unwillingness to cease with the word duck. Until then we will continue giving her the words to help build her skills as a pre-reader.

Our favorite Mo Willems Pigeon books include: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!, and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!

Baby Laptime - SPLASH!

Since I had to work all weekend I wanted to have some special time with my little monkey this morning. So we made the trip to Main Library for Baby Laptime. The theme for today's storytime was SPLASH! and prominantly featured... you guessed it... DUCKS! Talk about creating experiences for your child! As soon as the duck puppet came out Ava started yelling "Duck!" She was in baby story heaven.

She of course loved the duck story and puppet but she relished in the chance to play and explore with the other babies at the end. I am always the proud mama when my child is interacting with others. Ava is such a happy child and it comes through with everything so does. She shares, doesn't throw tantrums, and takes back what is stolen from her.

We will be building our narrative skills as we repeat the fun duck fingerplay that we learned this morning!

Books we added to our duck collection: It's Quacking Time! by Martin Waddell, Do Like a Duck Does by Judy Hindley, and Ducks Like to Swim by Agnes Verboven.

Beach Baby Books

Recently we vacationed to the beach with all the babies - 12 month old Ava and her 9 month old cousins, Nora & Emilia. Along with our sand toys and swimsuits, we took along some of our favorite beach books!

The Smithsonian has recently published My Shell Book and My Beach Book by Ellen Kirk. These books have excellent photographs from the beach and help build Vocabulary skills. Ava was able to see the images in the books and make physical connections to words while we played in the sand and surf.

We also enjoyed Beach Babies Wear Shades by Michelle Sinclair Colman. Another addition to the Urban Babies series that shows the babies loving some beach experiences.

My beach baby refused to wear shades or a hat but she had a great time!

Begin Smart

Begin Smart is an excellent new series of board books amid at our youngest readers (you can find an extensive list at amazon.com - search Keyword: Begin Smart). This series has many great features; the books are compact and easy for the child to handle, they have bold, bright colors, and feature a Ready to Read component. Each book has a note to parents and extension activities that fit perfectly with the 6 Ready to Read skills!

We have been enjoying this series at home and many of my colleagues have started using these books in their storytime line-ups! Our three favorites are Look at Me!, All Gone, and What Does Baby Do?

*Warning: while we encourage babies to chew on books these books tend to damage easily! They are very soft and not as sturdy as traditional board books. In a 10 minute car ride my little monkey ate all the way through to the spine! Her new favorite book, Look at Me!, will now be a permanent part of our at home collection!

Happy Father's Day!

Even before our little monkey was born she was hearing stories daily. It was not our practice to read to my growing belly but being a librarian who shares stories with children of all ages throughout the day, Ava had the benefit of hearing lots of different books before her birth.

This photograph of a 2 day old Ava being read to by her daddy is one of my favorites. We have been committed to reading to Ava every day. She has been able to associate the love of reading with cuddles and hugs. Books are all around and Ava always has access to her favorites.

In celebration of Father's Day we will be sharing some books about Daddies at our house, including, My Daddy and Me by Tina Macnaughten, Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz, Daddy Kisses by Anne Gutman, When Daddy's Truck Picks Me Up by Jana Novotny Hunter, and Spot Loves His Daddy by Eric Hill.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy Monkey!

Curious Little Monkey

Our little monkey will be turning 1 in a couple weeks and it is hard to tell where the time has gone! Every day I am amazed by all the new things she learns and absorbs.

Ava has lots of favorite books but she is most taken with Curious George. Probably because we have completely surrounded her with his image. The nursery is lovingly decorated with paintings created by my mom of scenes from the classic H.A. Rey stories. When we are picking out books at the library she instantly becomes animated when she sees that happy little monkey.

We are currently enjoying 2 of the newer board books that feature the "movie" George, as my husband likes to call him. This is also the same upadated image that is featured on the PBS cartoon. Ava loves the Curious George Good night Book. There is a wonderful little poem/song at the end that I like to say to her at night - "Hush, hush, little monkeys must close their eyes so they can grow up to be curious and wise."

We are also having fun with Curious George at the Zoo: a touch and feel book. Ava loves looking at the animals and repeating their sounds. Sharing animal sounds is an excellent Ready to Read activity to share with your little one. Hearing and manipulating sounds helps them to develop Phonological Awareness - getting your child one step closer to being Ready to Read.