What E's Learning

E's interest in the alphabet has made me think more about what she can learn. I don't formally school E, but i definitely focus on teaching her certain things throughout our day.

Some things I focus on are...

• upper & lower case letters




• numbers




• colors




• shapes




• animals & animal sounds




• food




• identifying the words: yes, no and me

All pretty standard stuff. Eliza knows the entire upper case alphabet. However, depending on her mood she may pretend she doesn't know any letters. hee hee I have been reading her Chicka Chicka ABC and she seems to be picking up the lowercase letters. Other than that I point them out at the store, on boxes, in books and magazines and clothing etc. I use what she is interested in and go from there.

I know a lot of people like to do a letter of the week with their little ones- and this is often done in many schools. I NEVER did this when I taught Kindergarten because I think it is an ineffective and unnatural way to learn letters . Much research supports my conclusion. I never saw the point in spending an entire week around a letter. It bored me to tears! I will say people come up with many creative activities to go with letters but it just isn't for me- and I think the activities would be better served if used during a theme. I base what I teach E around what interests her at the moment. In K I taught one kid the alphabet using super heroes. That is what he loved and it worked. Another student, who started out with no knowledge of the alphabet- not even his own name- quickly moved to the top of the class after we started learning about sharks and the ocean! You have to use what kids love if you want them to learn.

One of my favorite teaching resources is a book called Words Their Way.


and here is what E is reading these days...

Eliza's Book Club

It has been a while since I posted about E's favorite books. That is because once she has a favorite it is a good while before she finds a new one. This is her one morning last week. She could care less about mommy, she was in her own little world.

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

~ Joseph Brodsky ~


Book Club Pics

That's Not My Pirate

Eliza loves to feel all the fun textures in this adorable touchy-feely book. She now moves my hand (or Pete's hand) to make sure we feel them too!





Peek-A-Who

This is MY favorite too! When we get to the Peek-A-Boo page I yell boo and Eliza puts her hands to her face ala Home Alone! It is really too funny. She also likes to do the choo choo train motion for Peek-a- Choo Choo.





Dear Zoo

Lift the flap books always seem to be a hit around here. Combine lift the flap with animals and you get an instant hit. She especially likes the snake and the dog!

Eliza's Book Club- June

Reading is VERY important to me. It is a huge part of my life and I want it to be the same with Eliza. As a child my father would read his grown-up books to me and I remember just sitting there and listening endlessly. I think he read me David Copperfield when I was about five. It didn't matter that what he was saying made no sense to me, it was the experience, the shared time together that made it so special. My father took me to the library to pick out books and then each night we would have reading time in our rooms. I was reading before I entered Kindergarten and I haven't stopped since.

We started reading to Eliza when she was in my belly. Pete would read her Curious George Goes to the Firehouse. It was adorable! After she was born we tried to read to her but she was a TAD squirmy and not very cuddly. Now, we usually try to read one or two books before nap time and three before bed time. We also read books throughout the day because we have them everywhere! Unfortunately, she is still not really the hang out and chill on laps kinda kid so sometimes story time is more like Ultimate Fighting. If she is really disinterested we usually switch books. It seems that at 9 months old she has book preferences which I think is hysterical. It NEVER occurred to me that she would or wouldn't like certain stories at such a young age. However, if she does not like a book she will not sit still.

So I am introducing Eliza's Book Club where I will highlight her favorite reads each month. Watch out Oprah! I am sure all of the titles will soar to the top of the NYT best seller's list.

Her number one pick is Mama Loves You by Caroline Stutson, John Segal . My mom bought this one and it is a tired and true favorite. Pete reads it to her most nights.

The number two pick is Where is Baby's Belly Button by Karen Katz. I am not sure where this one came from but she just loves to tear off pick up the flaps.

My little reader in action!

The number three pick is First 100 Words created by Staff of Priddy Books This was a gift from Dana's mom and Eliza just adores the brightly colored photographs. Her Nana and Pop read it to her daily.

Mommy's pick hasn't really caught on just yet. I fell in love with Eco Babies Wear Green by Michelle Sinclair Colman, Michelle Sinclair Colman. Here is Eliza checking it out. She isn't sure if it will reach book club accolades just yet.

What are your little ones favorite reads? I am always looking for new books for little E!