Wordy Wednesday- Play by Ann Morris

          Have you heard about the author, Ann Morris? If not, please check her out! I used her books all the time in my kindergarten classroom because she has several awesome simple nonfiction single concept books. I also love her books because they contain multicultural photographs.
         One such "single concept" book is Play. In this story, each page has one simple sentence about how children play around the world. For beginning readers it's awesome because the sentences are really simple yet not generic or silly (like I find so many easy readers to be). Big Boy loves looking at the photographs of the different children in this book and commenting on what they are doing. The pages are great vocabulary builders for preschoolers. In addition, there is a section at the back of the book that identifies the country in which each photo was taken and includes a brief explanation of the activity portrayed. 
       If you are looking for some quality and simple nonfiction for your child, Ann Morris is a great place to start! ENJOY :)

Wordy Wednesday- ISH by Peter H. Reynolds

"One spring morning,

Ramon had a wonderful feeling.

It was a feeling that even ish words

and ish drawings could not capture.

He decided NOT to capture it.

Instead, he simply savored it..."

OK. Not going to lie here, this "children's book" is just as much for us adults- if not more so, than our children and that's why it is so very important!

Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds is the beautiful story of Ramon- a child that overcomes his insecurities to live "ishfully ever after." There's something so amazing and pure about children- they are naturally confident and risk-takers, but it seems that our society jades them all to early pushing them to focus on what is the "right" way to do something rather than encouraging their age-appropriate approximations.

Ramon thought of himself as an artist until his older brother saw one of his paintings and burst out laughing, "What is that?" From that day on Ramon started focusing on getting it "right" rather than enjoying his art. Eventually he ends up giving up on drawing altogether until he visits his little sister's room to find that she has turned all of Ramon's trash "wrong" drawings into a crumpled art gallery on her walls. "That was suppose to be a vase of flowers," Ramon said, "but it doesn't look like one." "Well it looks vase-ISH! " she exclaimed.

So it's true that your preschooler may not "get it" the first time you read it, but you sure will! I remember reading it to my kindergartners for the first time a few years back and tearing up at the end. One of my students consoled me by saying, "It's ok Mrs. Sayers. You can make a vase-ish flower too!" Aw, the innocence and loveliness of childhood!

Why not sit down with your little loved one and do some ish work? Big Boy and I sat down today to do some painting with water color. I've never thought of myself as an artist, but with the ish mindset you can let go of your insecurities about making something that is "good" and/or "right" and embrace the beauty of discovery and trial.

At the top of this post you will see Big Boy paining his "Bus-ISH" art and the finished product. Please excuse the facial expression- we'll just say he's being 3 :) And below his art is a little something that I call "Flower-ISH." By no means perfect or right, but I sure had a blast paining it with my son :) I think all of us adults could use a good dose of ish in our lives!

Wordy Wednesday- NOT A BOX

For those of you that don't know, I have a background in early childhood education and taught kindergarten for five years. Because of this, I have a passion for children's literature. In an attempt to share my adoration with the world, I will be hosting "Wordy Wednesday" in which I share a beloved book and ideas on how you can use that book with your child. The first book that I want to share with you is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.

In this book, the author appeals to, "Children everywhere siting in cardboard boxes." The main (and only character), a rabbit, shares with the readers all of the different possibilities that his imagination can come up with for his cardboard box.

Big Boy absolutely LOVES this book! The first time I read it to him he giggled at all of the illustrations and couldn't wait to get a box of his own. Here are some ideas on how to use this book with your preschooler:

1.) As you read the book with your child, ask him or her to point out the different ideas that rabbit comes up with.

2.) Once your child gets a feel for the rhythm of the book, let him or her help "read" the repeating line, "It's not a box!"

3. ) Give your child a box and watch his imagination flourish :)

PS- If you love this book as much as we do, you are also going to want to check out

Not a Stick :)