Goldfish Car Wash Commercial, Imagination and Early Literacy in the Media

I was so impressed when I first saw this commercial. If you don't know already, imagination is a MAJOR tool in encouraging early literacy, and this commercial is the epitome of how we should all be fueling our children's imagination.

But don't take my word for it! Watch!

Fingerplay Fridays-Autumn

Image Courtesy of WriteAWriting.com

Autumn
In autumn when the trees are brown 
(ASL sign for tree)
The little leaves come tumbling down 
(Make falling motion with your hands, like ASL snow)
They do not make the slightest sound 
(Make "shhhh" motion with index finger to lips)
But lie so quietly on the ground 
(Spread hands out to illustrate "ground", a flat surface)
Until the wind comes puffing by 
(Blow into cupped hands)
And blows them off towards the sky 
(Make explosive motion toward the sky)

Wordless Wednesday-Halloween 2011

2011 marks Lil' Man's second Halloween. Sadly, I think last year was more fun for him. Why? This year, I spent Halloween laid up with the worst sore throat that I've ever had in my LIFE, while Lil' Man had Halloween at Grandpa's...

The *HOT* new Elmo this holiday season-- Elmo Mows The Lawn :)

There was a greater interest in lawn mowing than in Trick-or-Treating

Even the dog wanted in on the action!

Examining his haul

This year Lil' Man's pumpkin was MUCH more simple, i.e. We couldn't find the carving kit, and I refused to buy a new one. :)

 **All Photos Are Copyright EarlyLiteracyMama.blogspot.com**

Wordless Wednesday Link-Up: 5 Minutes for Mom, The Paper Mama, Jenni from the blog, And then, she snapped, Live and Love Outloud

Dropping the ball, being sick, and Chicago Tourism.

Blair and I at "Cloud Gate"
Image copyright EarlyLiteracyMama.blogspot.com

So I kinda dropped the ball on the three days of Halloween finger plays. I ended up being incredibly sick by Halloween, so little man practically missed out. Thankfully, he has a wonderful Grandpa who made sure that he didn't miss out on the Trick or Treating fun. I will make it up to you though, I'm going to start posting "Finger play Fridays" so there will be a new one to enjoy each week.

During "sick-week", my friend from Australia came to visit. I haven't seen her in 9 years, so she got my undivided attention. Thankfully, I was able to get some antibiotics and join her on a girl's weekend away in Chicago. I had a blast, but it was hard to be away from little man for the first time.

So this week, I thought I'd focus on the excellent early literacy initiatives that I saw while I was in the city.

My foot compared to Apatosaurus
Image copyright
EarlyLiteracyMama.blogspot.com

One of our first stops was The Field Museum. Though we only saw the Dinosaurs and Native Americans (we had five different attractions to visit with our CityPass), the exhibits were nothing short of AMAZING. There were many hands on activities, one of my favorites was comparing your foot to an Apatosaurus. This particular activity provides and excellent opportunity to talk about big and small with your child, and or heavy and light. You could also spend time talking about the opposites between humans and dinosaurs. The possibilities are endless.

The next of our stops was The Shedd Aquarium. Shedd is by far my favorite attraction in the city. I went once four years ago, and this year I noticed some major revisions to the exhibits that focused on early literacy. That, or I just didn't pay that much attention the last time I was there. :)

Shedd Aquatic Show
Image Copyright EarlyLiteracyMama.blogspot.com

One of the best early literacy attractions at Shedd is located in the "basement" of the building, underneath the Aquatic show tank. When you descend underneath the aquatics tank, you see a whole new world with dolphins, belugas, and penguins. There is also a hands on exploration table about tide pool animals and organisms.  It is the perfect opportunity to talk about textures--what appears rough or smooth, and to to talk about sizes, what is big and small.

Kids will have the most fun in the interactive penguin exhibit where a they can climb around and act like penguins, they can even slide down a pretend ice slide on their bellies, just like penguins do.

One Book, One Chicago Initiative
Image Copyright EarlyLiteracyMama.blogspot.com

The one thing that I noticed about the city of Chicago itself is that they care about their libraries and literacy. Every where I went, I saw signs promoting reading. It intrigued me so much, that I just had to get a picture next to one. :)

When it comes to libraries and literacy, Chicago gets 5 out of 5 stars from me!

Three Days of Halloween Fingerplays! - Day One

Image from Life123.com

Dress Up

A pretty princess wears a crown (form circle above head)

Bunny's ears flop up and down (place hands above head and move up & down)

A beautiful ballerina dances to and fro(dance)

A funny clown laughs "Ho, ho, ho"

2 green eyes shine from a cat(circle eyes)

A scary witch wears a pointy hat (form point with arms above head)

Jack-O-Lanterns shine so bright (form circle with arms)

Happy children on Halloween night!



Cute Flannel Board from Preschool In Bloom



Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate (hold up fingers for pumpkins)

The first one said "Oh my! It's getting late" (wiggle thumb)

The second one said, "There are witches in the air" (wiggle pointer)

The third one said "But we don't care" (wiggle middle)

The fourth one said "Let's run and run and run" (wiggle ring)

The fifth one said "It's Halloween fun"  (wiggle pinky)

Ooooooh went the wind

And out when the lights (clap hands to the word "out")

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight (roll arms)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday--Lil' Man Is Sick. :(

Our pediatrician is making bu-koo bank off Little Man lately. We have been to see her once a week for the past 3 weeks. Today, I think I heard my wallet sigh when we went to check out. Here's the rundown:

Week One: Sinus infection
Week Two: 18 month check-up (With 2 shots)
Week Three (Today): Sinus infection AND ear infection

And though I'm being driven utterly insane by all of the whining, meals that go uneaten, and sleepless nights, I still flash back to my precious little baby when he falls asleep on me--boogers and all.

Little Man and Buddha Belly at two weeks old
Image copyright EarlyLitMama.blogspot.com

Little Man at 18 months (sick the first time--note the unhappy face)
Image copyright EarlyLitMama.blogspot.com

{Wordless Wednesday Link-Up: 5 mins for mom, Resourceful Mommy, jenni from the blog,  The Paper Mama, And then she snapped, Slice O Heaven and Live and Love Outloud Whew! I'm pooped!}

Early Literacy "handouts" - ZerotoThree.org

Image courtesy of zerotothree.org



I'm in a blogging funk. I've been searching the web for a particular video to share with you, and can't find it to save my life. Rar. So in an effort to keep you abreast of all things Early Literacy. I decided to give you a little reading homework, or at least some reference sheets. :)

I came across ZerotoThree.org today. And found this "handout" on ways to support your child's every day learning and thought I'd share it. There are some great ideas, and it's in both English and Espanol.

There is also another "handout" that explicitly discusses Early Literacy; what it is, what kids can do, and how to choose books to create interest in reading. Check it out here. This one, unfortunately, is only in English.

ZerotoThree.org is a national non-profit that focuses on children's growth, health, and development from ages zero to three. Their website contains a vast variety of resources for parents and caregivers to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.