It is a well-known fact that I am a bibliophile - as I have mentioned in a previous blog, in fact. I own hundreds of books - literally - and consider them to be my most prized possession. Inevitably, I am hoping that my child will follow in my footsteps so that one day we may share the pain-in-the-arse task of having to pack up our books to move houses together. Oh,and to be able to enjoy reading and discussing books and to go to book fairs and bookshops and libraries together, of course.
I have already filled in a shelf with baby books - mostly thanks to my dear friends who gave a few books as gifts. There were a few books from my childhood which I managed to part ways with and place them officially in Creature's collection. I know though, that I will be needing a second copy of some of the books. The ones I am unable to part ways with are mainly my battered copies of the Magic Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton, my Roald Dahl Books,and my Neil Gaiman books. Having said that, I can't wait til I get to read The Dangerous Alphabet to Creature, or Blueberry Girl - or even The BFG, The Witches and Matilda!
As newborns, children don't really understand words, so vibrant pictures tend to be as important as the silly voices you make when reading out a story to them. In spite of not understand the meaning behind the words immediately, books that have a rich,varied vocabulary are of great benefit as it will enable the child[ren] in question to better grasp the concept of language when the time is right.
A lot of my American friends speak highly of Dr Seuss's books, which I understand are deemed to be modern-day classics. In all honesty, I have never read any of them myself as I grew up reading different classics - of a more British variety, in way. Having said that, I have every intention of popping my Dr Seuss Cherry soon enough, meaning there is no need to disown me as a friend [which I have been threatened by not too long ago by a good friend of mine].
Nursery Rhymes are also an important aspect of childhood reading. I highly recommend getting a couple of books which have a mixture of stories and nursery rhymes in them - such as this book, or this one.
One piece of advice- if you manage to find the time, try to read a sample of the book you intend to buy. It will help you make sure that the content is something you are happy to have your child exposed to. This book is a prime example of why it is always best to check the content. I myself own this book - I purchased it from a local shop, where it was shelved in the Children's Books section - in spite of having written on the back cover that it is not suitable for young readers. Due to the staff running the shop assuming that it is in fact a children's book, I'm sure quite a few parents have been asked by their child[ren] what rape means. I would have loved to witness such an event play out and watch a furious parent confronting the shop's staff, to be honest.
The Internet is an awesome source for stories - a simply Google search will provide you with tons of free stuff you can print out for your child, if a book is not something you can afford for the time being.
For further reading about the mentioned books and/or authors:
Roald Dahl's books
Neil Gaiman's Children's books
Showing posts with label rhymes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rhymes. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Monday, 2 January 2012
What's this? What's this? There's colour everywhere!
Them little sprogs are expensive. That is a known fact. So, why not spare yourself unnecessary expenses whilst you still can?
Toys are a necessity for Baby's learning process - however in this day and age where technology rules, even a simple newborn-friendly toy can cost an arm and a leg. We're all so focused on being up-to-date with the latest gadgets that we forget our childhood favourites were probably the most inexpensive toys of them all.
I've been looking up fun stuff to do, and inexpensive toys to acquire, whilst I still can. Here's a list of fun ideas for Baby and you!
Anything
Seriously. Look around you and choose a few items, then show them to Baby. Take your time and allow Baby to observe them properly, whilst you explain what the item is. Repetition at this stage is important, not boring. So don't despair if you don't really have a lot of Baby-safe things.
Baby him/herself
Having a sister 9 years younger than me means I've had daily exposure to a Baby already. One of my favourite memories from both my childhood and from interacting with my sister back then was simply playing tickling games, or pointing out different body parts, or peek-a-boo.
My mum still recalls quite fondly the hours we used to spend playing peek-a-boo back in the day. Only in my case, the words to accompany the game were "Open" and "Closed".
Songs and handplay are fun and will last for a good number of years, especially once Baby knows what the words mean.
Paper
It isn't just Micah who is featured in the above video that finds tearing up paper amusing. It seems to give babies a sense of satisfaction to create permanent change in such a simple manner.
This means one thing - keep all important paperwork out of Baby's reach.
Torches
Besides from being a convenient tool to have lying around, a torch can provide various sources of amusement. Babies can find it fascinating just to see the light going on and off, to begin with. Followed by chasing the light, and later on, playing with creating shadow puppets.
Boogie!
This is probably one of the cheapest source of amusement of them all Crank up the volume to your - that's yours and Baby's - favourite tunes and dance all over the place with Baby in your arms. As s/he grows older, the dancing will evolve in something s/he'll be able to do unassisted.
Travels
Most babies tend to like the whole travelling experience - so if you drive, sometimes all it takes to amuse your wee one is to go for a ride. If you, like me, don't drive, you can either ask someone to be the chauffeur or hop on a bus and make sure Baby can watch the changing scenery.
Also, a trip to the airport to watch planes take off and land can be quite amusing!
Boxes & Wrapping Paper
Sometimes people end up being disappointed when they give some expensive toy to Baby and s/he seems to be more interested in the wrapping paper and/or box it came in than the toy itself.
Wrapping paper is all colourful and provides different textures for Baby to be fascinated with. If you give a gift to a baby, make sure it is wrapped - that is probably the only time in a person's life where they'll truly appreciate the wrapping paper.
Boxes, or the other hand, are marvellous. They can provide endless hours of fun for children up until their late childhood years. After all, a box is rarely ever a box. It can be a hide-out, a ship, a car, a plane, a train, a house, a workshop bench, a shop counter and a million other fun things!
Canned Foods
To tie in with the above-mentioned boxes, once your child is older, they may enjoy playing Make Believe and pretend to be a shop keeper. I know it used to be one of my childhood favourites, much to my mum's desperation at seeing the larder being emptied, only to have to reshelve everything all over again once play-times were over and done with.
Building a fort
Be it a pillow fort, or a makeshift tent, this tends to be a childhood favourite with young children. I must admit I still love the idea myself up to this very day and age!
There are a lot more games that are inexpensive and fun - all you have to do is let your imagination run wild. If your imagination isn't as fertile, or you get stumped, a quick Google search will provide you with several ideas. In the meanwhile, you can clicky here for a never-ending list of ideas.
Enjoy playtimes! I know I will!
Toys are a necessity for Baby's learning process - however in this day and age where technology rules, even a simple newborn-friendly toy can cost an arm and a leg. We're all so focused on being up-to-date with the latest gadgets that we forget our childhood favourites were probably the most inexpensive toys of them all.
I've been looking up fun stuff to do, and inexpensive toys to acquire, whilst I still can. Here's a list of fun ideas for Baby and you!
Anything
Seriously. Look around you and choose a few items, then show them to Baby. Take your time and allow Baby to observe them properly, whilst you explain what the item is. Repetition at this stage is important, not boring. So don't despair if you don't really have a lot of Baby-safe things.
Baby him/herself
Having a sister 9 years younger than me means I've had daily exposure to a Baby already. One of my favourite memories from both my childhood and from interacting with my sister back then was simply playing tickling games, or pointing out different body parts, or peek-a-boo.
My mum still recalls quite fondly the hours we used to spend playing peek-a-boo back in the day. Only in my case, the words to accompany the game were "Open" and "Closed".
Songs and handplay are fun and will last for a good number of years, especially once Baby knows what the words mean.
Paper
It isn't just Micah who is featured in the above video that finds tearing up paper amusing. It seems to give babies a sense of satisfaction to create permanent change in such a simple manner.
This means one thing - keep all important paperwork out of Baby's reach.
Torches
Besides from being a convenient tool to have lying around, a torch can provide various sources of amusement. Babies can find it fascinating just to see the light going on and off, to begin with. Followed by chasing the light, and later on, playing with creating shadow puppets.
Boogie!
This is probably one of the cheapest source of amusement of them all Crank up the volume to your - that's yours and Baby's - favourite tunes and dance all over the place with Baby in your arms. As s/he grows older, the dancing will evolve in something s/he'll be able to do unassisted.
Travels
Most babies tend to like the whole travelling experience - so if you drive, sometimes all it takes to amuse your wee one is to go for a ride. If you, like me, don't drive, you can either ask someone to be the chauffeur or hop on a bus and make sure Baby can watch the changing scenery.
Also, a trip to the airport to watch planes take off and land can be quite amusing!
Boxes & Wrapping Paper
Sometimes people end up being disappointed when they give some expensive toy to Baby and s/he seems to be more interested in the wrapping paper and/or box it came in than the toy itself.
Wrapping paper is all colourful and provides different textures for Baby to be fascinated with. If you give a gift to a baby, make sure it is wrapped - that is probably the only time in a person's life where they'll truly appreciate the wrapping paper.
Boxes, or the other hand, are marvellous. They can provide endless hours of fun for children up until their late childhood years. After all, a box is rarely ever a box. It can be a hide-out, a ship, a car, a plane, a train, a house, a workshop bench, a shop counter and a million other fun things!
Canned Foods
To tie in with the above-mentioned boxes, once your child is older, they may enjoy playing Make Believe and pretend to be a shop keeper. I know it used to be one of my childhood favourites, much to my mum's desperation at seeing the larder being emptied, only to have to reshelve everything all over again once play-times were over and done with.
Building a fort
Be it a pillow fort, or a makeshift tent, this tends to be a childhood favourite with young children. I must admit I still love the idea myself up to this very day and age!
There are a lot more games that are inexpensive and fun - all you have to do is let your imagination run wild. If your imagination isn't as fertile, or you get stumped, a quick Google search will provide you with several ideas. In the meanwhile, you can clicky here for a never-ending list of ideas.
Enjoy playtimes! I know I will!
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