Childhood101

Journey Through a Pregnancy: Week 27

February 10, 2012

Many people were surprised that we didn’t tell Immy I was pregnant until I was 20 weeks. Given our recent history, we wanted to be as sure as we could be that this baby was going to be okay before we shared the news with her (don’t get me wrong, I know there are no guarantees at any stage). At the time friends asked, “Hasn’t she notice you are getting…rounder?” I can’t explain why she didn’t say anything about that, except that she hasn’t spent a lot of time with other pregnant people, and that the members of our own extended family and friends group all come in different shapes and sizes!

When it did come time to tell her, we used picture books to help share the news (yep, just like I did for starting school). Some of the titles mentioned below I knew from my teaching days and others were recommended to me by two blogging friends, Kate of Picklebums and Nicole of Planning With Kids. Some of these I purchased and others we have borrowed from the library;

There’s A House Inside My Mummy by Giles Andreae. The Watts Publishing Group, 2002.

“There’s a house inside my Mummy
Where my little brother grows,
Or maybe it’s my little sister
No one really knows.”

I love how There’s A House Inside My Mummy explores everything from pregnancy cravings and mummy’s tiredness, to talking to baby in utero and feeling baby kick, positively and in simple but engaging rhyme. I first discovered this book when I was teaching and it was the first book I thought of when we were preparing to share our news with Immy.

Hey Hippopotamus, Do Babies Eat Cake Too? by Hazel Edwards. Puffin, 2007.
Immy has enjoyed a number of Hazel Edwards’ other hippopotamus stories and this title follows a similar format with a style that will be instantly familiar with fans of Hazel’s hippo

“I’ve got a daddy and a big brother, but we haven’t had a baby before.
So I told my hippopotamus who lives on the roof and eats cake.
He knows everything about babies.”

It’s Quacking Time! by Martin Waddell. Walker Books, 2005.
I love Martin Waddell books and this one was on Immy’s favourite library book list long before another baby was even a possibility in our lives   At that time I wrote;

“Duckling is surprised to learn that their is a baby inside the egg which his mother has just laid and that he himself came out of an egg!  The endearing interactions with other family members about this new baby make this a lovely story of its own and would also make a very nice way of talking to your child when expecting a new sibling.”

We’ve borrowed it from the library again and it is still a hit. It really is a lovely, positive story about being excited about a new family member.

Za-Za’s Baby Brother by Lucy Cousins. Candlewick Press, 1997.
Za-Za faces a lot of changes in his home and family when his baby brother is born. His mama is tired, everyone is busy and their visitors are all enamored by the new baby. This book explores many of the common challenges facing families with a new baby and can be used as a starting point for discussing, especially with preschoolers, that sometimes it might take a little longer for everyone’s needs to be met with a new baby in the house.

The Family Book by Todd Parr. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Although not specifically a new baby book, The Family Book has been good for talking to Immy as a preschooler about the upcoming change to our family. It celebrates the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that every family is unique and special, with simple text and bright colourful illustrations of both human and animal families.

As for some of the other titles that my friends suggested…Kate’s list also included;

• Hello Baby! by Jenni Overend. Francis Lincoln Children’s Books, 2008.
• My Brother Jimi Jazz by Chrissy Butler.

And Nicole’s list also included;

• Brand New Baby by Bob Graham. Walker Books, 2008.
• I Want a Sister by Tony Ross. Anderson Press, 2010.

Do you have any picture book recommendations for sharing with siblings that a new baby is on the way?

Catch up on our journey so far;

• Our Pregnancy Journey: Week 26, Week 25, Week 24, Week 23, Week 22, Week 21, Weeks 18-20
• Our pregnancy announcement

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Our Everyday Play: Loose Parts for Creative & Imaginative Play

February 9, 2012

Matchsticks and story stones

I am a big fan of open ended toys, toys that allow a child to respond in a myriad of spontaneous, unstructured ways. Fortunately these resources don’t have to be expensive. In fact, a collection of everyday bits and bobs can provide preschoolers with hours of creative and imaginative play.

A Fairy Birthday Party ~ Part 1

And I guarantee you, a child who has free and regular access to these types of ‘toys’ will adapt them within their play in ways your adult mind would never imagine.

A Fairy Birthday Party ~ Part 2

Can you spot the sparkly party decorations hanging in the party above? They are sticky tape and large sequins which Immy needed a little help to assemble but it was all her idea.

Taking it outdoors. An invitation to the fairies to come and play in our garden.

Creative and divergent thinking and problem solving are important skills of the future and ‘teaching’ children these skills can easily begin with the ‘lesson’ that it is okay to use materials in new ways and in different spaces . It frustrates me, especially in educational settings, when children are denied the opportunity to play with resources in new ways just because. “No Tom, we do not take the blocks into the home corner.” If Tom is playing purposefully with the blocks, why should he not use them in the home corner? Especially if he has been made aware of the expectation that when he is finished he will put the blocks back so that the other members of his class know where to find them to use in their own play.

Stepping stones, a feather maze and a shell jumping game all feature in this arrangement

Supplies

Our collection of bits and bobs varies over time, depending upon what I may have found in the discount stores and what we may have recently recruited for art projects.

You might like to try;

• Sparkly things – large sequins, shiny fairy stones, large beads
• Buttons
• Popsticks and matchsticks
• Pretend flowers and leaves
• Stones
• Shells
• Feathers
• Small tiles
• Cotton reels
• Pipe cleaners
• Old CDs
• Small sticks
• Gum nuts or seed pods
• Coloured lids
• Dolly pegs

By keeping our supplies in clear, plastic containers, it is easy for Immy to find what she needs and to pack them away when finished so they can be used over and over again. Keep as few or as many containers of bits out as you feel your child (and your sanity) can manage. It can be a good idea to just start with one or two components, adding to them over time as your child becomes familiar with packing them away.

Storage

We keep most of our bits and bobs with the collage materials in the drawers of our art space. Immy brings out containers as she needs them and uses them on the mat area in front the shelves that house her imaginary play resources.

With her tree house, wooden blocks, tree blocks, figurines (animals, dinosaurs, fairies and princesses) and coloured scarves also in the space, creative and imaginary play are never far away!

Do you encourage your children to use materials in new and different ways?

Related Posts

• Early Learning: Following a Child’s Lead
• Let Go and Let Them Learn
• Managing Play With Children of Different Ages

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