FINGER PUPPETS!

I love Finger Puppets. They are the easiest way to engage the youngest audience. They are extremely easy to make or if you are not very creative, they are extremely easy to find. The picture above is the "Little Scholastic Old MacDonald" that I got as a baby gift when my son was born and has become a staple in my children's singing routine.

From all my years doing Mother Goose Time at the library, I always made sure to have finger plays and finger puppets dispersed throughout the half hour to keep the children engaged. Babies can stare at fingers for hours and it is so easy to sing along to a hand gesture. Some of my go-tos include "Open, Shut Them", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Where Is Thumbkin?" and "Mr. Sun". For those who are a little more self-conscious, bring on the hand puppet! While babies and toddlers don't really care what your voice (or the caregiver's voice) sounds like, if you feel like it matters then this is the perfect way to have the little ones focus on something else. Puppets are brightly colored and can guide you while you sing (ex: each animal on your fingers), so you can get as expressive as you want. 

If you are arts-and-craftsy, you can make your own puppets for so many rhymes and songs. I personally used the same glove and made adhesive "Green and Speckled Frogs" (five with a speckled log in the middle) , "Five Little Monkeys" (with a mother and and a doctor in the middle) and "This Little Piggy" for each of the fingers. It was easy to do three back-to-back "puppet shows" or just one or two depending on the time and audience. 

Using your fingers and puppets to engage babies and toddlers is a great way to enhance their early literacy skills. Get your hands moving and get singing! 

"Hey Mommy, Pick A Book!"

This is the phrase I look forward to hearing everyday around 2 pm. That is the time I shut off all the technology devices (TV, IPad and my cell phone) and we have reading/play with your toys time. This lasts until 3:30 when Little Einsteins starts on the Disney channel. I know I haven't posted in a while, but I had a second child in June, and then I became a stay at home mom. The world forgot to tell me that everything I do for myself (including blogging), would have to take a back seat for a while and that's okay.

Being home with my 6 month old and my 28 month old has been quite a challenge for me. As one who loves to be in fancy clothes and high heels all day, that has all been traded in for comfy shirts and skirts due to so much time spent at the playground or at home (especially now with the cold weather upon us)! So followers, it's not that I haven't been reading, I just haven't been telling you about it lately.

I believe the time has come to remix this blog. Reviews are great, but as a children's librarian and as a mother the time has come for me to share with you the importance of Early Literacy. Not just because I took a continuing education class on it last month and not because I need to increase my numbers at "baby storytime", but because school is getting harder for our children, and we need to take back their childhood while preparing them for the real world. I am ready to help each and every one of you have your child knowing the ABCs and their Numbers by 2. (Sorry, my book is not yet published). The best part? You don't have to do much - except spend some time with your baby/toddler! You already do that? AWESOME! You are a hard working full time Mama? Excellent - here are some tips for your caregiver. Your caregiver doesn't speak English? Jackpot! She can sing and dance in whatever language she knows best - your baby will LOVE it!!!

I will try to post these helpful tips as often as possible, but I cannot promise daily due to my crazy work schedule. In any case here is an overview of how to get started:

We are parents in 2013. Our children need to be all kinds of literate. They need to know about reading in addition to technology and the world around them - trees, dirt, snow, food, clothing etc. I know there are many studies out there that say "no screens for anyone under 2 years old". I don't think anyone who wrote that had an 18 month old at home who also needed to cook dinner and get the laundry out of the washing machine and into the dryer. Spoiler alert: My 18 month watched television. However, I was the one in charge of the remote, which is why he spent a lot of nights watching "Wheel Of Fortune" which led to his knowledge of the letters in the alphabet. My advice (and I will definitely discuss this at length in another post) is to allow your child screen time if you need to, both a television and an IPad, within moderation, and make it a bonding time for you and your child. That way, there is still family time and the child learns these items are part of the world, not rewards.

As for those under two years of age, welcome to the world of giggles and bouncing and preparing your child for everything there is that needs to be learned! All babies need to be read and sung to, in any language. Board books are great (I will post my top picks for books at every age and stage). A lot of my personal favorites can be found at www.downtownbookworks.com, and singing to your baby is an absolute must, even if it is just your schedule of the day. Babies love rhyme time, so get that baby on your lap and sing "Open Shut Them". I promise you that if you sing that every day for a week, by day 8 your child will anticipate when to open up their little mouths (and that's a really big deal in the literacy world!)

The time has come to prepare our youngest children to live in a world that is filled with a lot of things that did not exist when we were young. We have to make sure they use their imaginations when they build with their blocks, and still want to dress up in tiaras and cowboy hats. But, there is no harm in having your two year old be able to recognize the letters in his name!