"'If you go flying on a flying trapeze', said his mother, 'I will be a tightrope walker, and I will cross the air to you.'" Little T works on her balance while pretending to be a tight rope walker and a trapeze artist. Fun, fun, fun! The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown is about a little bunny who wanted to run away, and imagined himself to be different things … [Read more...]
Plum Tree Cottage: Life Lessons from Dolls
I love playing with Little T. That’s when I see her up close thinking, learning, and being. Nothing beats watching her face light up when she is struck with a realization or when she accomplishes something. And nothing is sweeter than seeing her beam when she realizes that I noticed. I was reminded of this last week when we read and based our activities on Plum Tree Cottage: … [Read more...]
Prayer for a Child: Appreciating Poetry in Prayer
Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field is a beautiful prayer asking God to bless all the familiar people and things in a child’s life; it is wonderfully illustrated. Being a prayer, nothing “happens” in the book. Little T did not appreciate it at first and kept asking for another book to read. Fortunately, Before Five in a Row (BFIAR) has engaging ideas that I again tweaked to make … [Read more...]
Ang Pambihirang Sombrero: Neighborhood, Hats, and Art
I have almost given up on finding a Filipino children’s book appropriate for a three-year old when I found Ang Pambihirang Sombrero (The Strange-Looking Hat) by Jose Miguel Tejido at National Bookstore. With fantastic illustration, this story of a hat that can hold so many things on top is just silly and magical. In a week’s time, our copy is dog-eared and wrinkled – signs of a … [Read more...]
Caps for Sale: Monkeys, Peddlers, and Caps
Children have loved Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina since its publication in 1938. Little T from the 21st century loves this story of a cap peddler and several monkeys who got into a row over the peddler’s wares. Let’s dig in on some of the exciting things we learned from this wonderful book that I also greatly enjoyed! MONKEYS We started this book about monkeys … [Read more...]