Moms Don't Get Sick Days...

This cartoon has been hanging on a bulletin in my parent’s house for as long as I can remember and I never really understood it until I became I mother myself (sorry mom!). Unless you are fortunate to have 24/7 help, chances are if you are a mother and you’ve ever gotten that terrible cold or flu, morning sickness when you also have to take care of other children, a migraine or just “coming down with something” then you KNOW that as sad as it is, the last thing you want to do is cook, bathe, change and worst of all - play with your children.

During the winter months when it is too cold to go to the playground after school, I try very hard to show my children attention during that time until I have to start preparing dinner and do whatever they want, which is usually painting, playing with play-doh, cutting with scissors,baking, or anything else they can think of that will make a huge mess and big clean up job for me and I am okay with this because otherwise they would sit in front of the tv or their iPads from the time they come home from school until they go to bed. However, when I get sick, (which thank Gd isn’t very often, but when it hits it is the WORST), I cannot bring myself to do any extra clean up, sometimes I do not even want to get off the couch. On those days I do turn on the tv and hand each child an iPad but it is always with extreme guilt and sometimes the worst happens – my kids still want to have an after school activity even though Blaze and The Monster Machines is on! This made me evaluate my children’s capabilities and toys to come up with a list of after-school fun that does not require mommy to be a participant (unless she is feeling better). I am sharing this list with you – maybe you have some go-to ideas that work for you, or maybe you have a basement or designated play area so this doesn’t even apply to you because the play table isn't also the dinner table or the mess just isn't as "in your face", but I have found that my kids would sometimes rather me be their audience anyway than fellow participant.

I hate reading to my children when I have a sore throat or am so tired that I can barely see straight, so if they request story time after school I tell them to save the books for bedtime when Daddy comes home or look at the book yourself (which often translates to: this is no longer book time) and that is okay. I often offer coloring books or blank paper and crayons and tell them to color pictures since they clean up the crayons when they are done and I am happy to display their artwork on the wall. If I am really lucky I can get a full fifteen minute coloring session. If it isn’t a headache I am suffering from, I encourage my children to take out their instruments and sing me songs. Band time is the best – they play (bang) their pianos, guitars, drums and recorder and I sit on the couch with my feet up enjoying the ridiculous verses my creative children come up with. I always suggest playing with Legos or puzzles but sometimes a full clean up job doesn’t happen on its own (especially when 1000 Legos are involved). There is nothing like having an apartment full of toys and your children telling you they have “nothing to play with”. I like to use my “sick days” to remind my children of their train sets, doll houses, pretend food and kitchen and when they are bored of all of these ideas, I simply tell them “Mommy is sick and needs a checkup”. Nothing heals you faster than a Fisher-Price Band-Aid from a two year old doctor.

Hang in there moms – spring is almost here and that lingering cough will disappear and our kids will stop bringing home ear infections. Until then, do what it takes to get through those hard weeknights, whether it is extra TV or iPad time, coloring, building or singing. (And if you are ever offered an extra set of hands – TAKE THE HELP!! You are already your child’s hero – take that nap if Grandma is offering babysitting time!) One more thing, if you do know a fellow mom suffering from a winter cold, you can surprise her and send her a free tissue box from Kleenex.com. 

 

And if you’ve never seen the amazing : "Moms don't take sick days" DayQuil commercial. 

Music and Early Literacy

 

While I think it is great to take time to read with your child everyday, I very much understand the reality of life with babies and toddlers and sometimes you just do not want to pick up a book. That's okay! (We've all been there!) However, there are many other ways to promote early literacy without actually reading and music or singing songs throughout the day can actually do wonders for your child. Here are some tips on how to include music into your daily routine.

Phonological Awareness

In song, each syllable of the word has its own note. This helps children hear the

smaller sounds that make up words. When picking music to help with Phonological

Awareness, try songs that are slightly slower so your child can sing and hear every

note. Also, songs that include animal noises or other sound effects are great for this

skill. Some great songs for Phonological Awareness include nursery rhymes and

popular children’s songs such as Old MacDonald and If You’re Happy and You

Know It. If you can’t understand every word perfectly, pick a different song.

Vocabulary

For younger children, any kind of “naming song” where you are singing a long list of animals, foods, or any other objects will work. For older children, provide pictures

and text that go along with the unfamiliar words in a song.

Narrative Skills

Repeat, repeat, repeat. That’s the key to a song that strengthens Narrative Skills. Makeup songs that go through a sequence of events (This is the way we brush our teeth, wash our face, comb our hair, before we go to bed.)

Letter Knowledge

Be very careful how you select alphabet songs. Most recorded songs blur L, M, N, O,

and P. Try slower versions, or songs that highlight one letter at a time. Have your

child listen for one particular letter (start with the first letter of their name). When

they hear it, have them wave their hands up or down.

Print Awareness and Print Motivation

Pick music that goes with a book. Read it and then sing it! Nursery rhymes are great

for this, or adapted songs like “The Wheels on the Bus.” You can also sing the song

and then read something like The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort. You can sing

along to I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont and then play “It Ain’t

Gonna Rain No More.” Some books even contain parts of songs within the text, like

Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka or the Pete the Cat books by Eric Litwin. Even non-readers can learn sight words as you point to words in books and sing together.

Adapted from www.ohreadytoread.org/music_in_early_lit_storytime.pdf