got some books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0689860099/ref=sib_dp_pop_sup?ie=UTF8&p=random#reader-link 

For thos who may not know I work with autistic children and have been for over six years, I have been involved with several programs and some school system ideas on how best to help a child with this ordeal.  I can say that while the need to look for the cause is an issue I push to see happen it is the cure that we do not spend enough time talking about.  There is a program out there for every child and adult with autism and though it may seem like an endless maze of confussion, it takes the work of many caring individuals to find the right one or ones. 

This post though is about some books that I have had the chance to introduce to a child I currently work with and I have foundthem to be enjoyable to myself and him.  I have picked up Mr. lictenheld's books on many occassions and watched a childs eyes become glued to the flow of the words in a story talking about the mess in a room, to take his words and present them in a fun and articulate way as to touch a childs curiosity is the sign of how a book can truely do worderous work.  At the other end of his books he spends time talking about cars and pirates in a fun and informative way that a child both young and young at heart would find must enjoyable. 

These books have been a source to the start of conversation and enlightenment for myself and my child, one that at times may have been at a wall in which I would look at books and wonder how I could get him to enjoy a book that was different from those that he seemed drawn to.  Fellow readers of this post I am here to illustrate that reading is fundamental to all children no matter what their background is.  We often hear people talking about the correlation of literacy and ending up in jail, but I am here to tell you that there just might be a correlation in a child seeing the world and autism(just a theory). 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B0031MA8MY/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
One more great book that I have had some great success while working with my child is this one by Tony Fucile.  It offers a child to interact with a book in a simple way that can be transformed into much bigger illustrations that you as the adult must use your imagination to expand a young childs interest from simple actions such as pretending to be a statue or a tree that does nothing.  So check these out for your own children or for someone who you know could use a great pick up and enjoy reading feeling.

Until next time pretend to be a chair

getting into the blog game

So over the course of a semester I have gotten into several things that I thought I might never do, one of those things is this blog.  I do not fancy myself a person who wants to sit infront of a computer and talk, I much rather do something in person.  But here I am so be patient with this and know that I want to offer things to the average reader and try at the same time to give my point of view on things that I see working when it comes to childrens literature. 

I find myself pushing this blog in a direction that offers advive and suggestions when it comes to being a father and reading to your children.  This is an activity that has become something I have grown very fond of and love showing my children how much reading can do for them.  I want to offer my review of the childrens books we read and why we have them, to show the amazing talent that is out there for the young reader.  I also would like to draw attention to the importance of reading and how dads can become more involved in this part of their childs learning.

I want to point out that while the economy struggles and government decides that best way to compansate for this issue is by cutting teacher pay and removing some great programs from school in the hopes of balancing budgets.  As parents we have to decide how our children will get the education they need, how can we best prepare them for the road ahead.  It is by starting at home with a solid and excitting reading program that will be both rewarding and enjoyable for mom, dad, and the children.

I will be focusing mainly on readers from birth to age 6, I find that this is a great time to get the book bug to bit them, and with the thousands of great childrens books out there and a topic that seldom comes up when parents talk about their children I want that to change.  It seems when parents get together they talk about the newest clothes or stroller they got for their baby or young toddler but know one is talking about the books they read or have found for their little ones.  I want to be that dad who offers this conversation to now be open.

So I hope that this journey offers me the chance with time to bring this topic to the circle of moms and dads at the next gathering of friends and family.

Until next time  enjoy the summer nights

poetry

 I love reading poetry to my children, it is such a wonderful way to introduce them to a beautiful and rich word of vocabulary and show them how they can create a world that means nothing to must but everything to them.  My favorites to read to my children are the Shel Silverstien books I am a fan of all his writtings and to have them on the shelf for my children, this always takes me back to the times in my childhood that seemed to matter.  My favorite is Where The Sidewalk Ends and the poem Peanutbutter Sandwhich I grew up loving peanutbutter sandwhiches and this poem always makes me laugh and reading this to my kids is a blast.  My 5 year old is a fan of Don't Bump the Glump which is a strange book but is a world that a child quickly falls in love with.  The ability to take the view of what a child imagines from the creature that looks like a hat or an egg and give it a name and story.  I love this about poetry and childrens books.  I feel that poetry and childrens books go hand in hand, they can be very beautiful in their presentation both in words and pictuers so as to take the child into the pages and join the journey the auther has given.  Childrens books seem to flow like poetry, take Nancy Tillman her books have that flow and the art work gives the added structure to a childs imagination.  I think that poetry is a great way to introduce children into exploring their world by getting them to explain a setting or story they have in their head and helping them to expand on it and not worrying about the words or grammer, you can guide them in seeing that stories those that last in our minds are the ones that break the mold, the ones that touch us in our inner child. 
Until next time write a poem

good books

This book which can be found at http://www.amazon.com/ is one of my favorites to read to all my children, as is any book by Nancy Tillman.  The children have been blessed to get such a wonderful selection from their Nana and Nancy Tillman is the one that we get who seems to really capture the imagination of a child with beautiful eye catching art work.  The flow of her stories will last a life time with you as you turn every page and you as a father will find yourself back into your childhood and the time of adventure and love that you hand for just wanting to never grow up.  I know that has a father and one who wishes the best for his children that this book will have you back to its pages evry time you walk to the shelf, you will discover new stories to tell and new adventures to bring your children on.  A wonderful writter and illustrator, a must have for anyone who loves to remember the childhood they long to have back and even the one they thought was lost.

Yes that is right Steve Martin, now I know anyone with children who may be around my age or older remember Saturday Night Live when it was at its best, and I do mean its best, can remember this wild and crazy guy.  Not only is he one of my favorite comidians but this book has truely come to be one of the favorites among my children.  The art work by C.F. Payne is so in touch with the story and how I woul;d imaging Steve telling this story in person.  every page is full of great facial expression and action, it moves from page to page like a Steve Martin skit and you will find yourself once again remembering your childhood and having a great story to tell and laugh.  The best thing is that it comes with an audio cd by Steve Martin and his banjo that gives the story in a fast pace telling like it needs to have, face it sometimes haveing someone else read is a great time.  Do yourself a favor and get this book your kids will love it and come on its the man who can give you 20 insults about the size of his nose!  Find it at http://www.hatchettebookgroup.com/
Now on a learning topic it is important to remember for young children that are getting ready for school or that need some help to use reading time as a way to help point out letters and the sounds they make.  Make the hard sounds in the  readings and have them repeat you, when reading a rhyme or poem make sure to clearly speak the words so they have a chance to hear and repeat it several times for them.  You may want to use some words to see what they can point out in the story, find words that repeat and say them and have them find the word.  Give them evry oppurtunity to hear all the words in evry context as possible and to build off what is being said, this will help them in their decoding and their oral language development.
Well until next time share a good book

What a weekend

So the weekend comes to a close and how often do we look back and think of the chances that we gave our children to learn and explore.  For myself this is the one I try to make my goal to be better at, this weekend we were able to take the kids to the Drive-in to see Kung Fu Panda 2, this was a great time for the kids to really have a blast and stay up late. For the parents it was a great time that turned out better then one might dream of.  Our kids loved the movie and watched it with excitement not only for the movie but the chance to eat junk food and run and jump around the back of the van.  Great time.
To the Sunday night book reading, this was very fun as my oldest brought me our small book collection of Richard Scarry books, they are a set of 8 board construction books about 8 pages long and full of colorful pictures and lots of busy and fun scenes that our oldest seems to just love.  They have opened up his ability to look at the picture and tell his own story from what he sees and his younger brother will tell a crazy story of how he has seen a watermelon car out side or that he saw a worm with a tennis shoe outside in the garden.  The books range in title from Things That Go!, Huckle's Opposites which is a great book to do a Q&A with young children the words are simple and short, great for the young reader developing his ability to recognize words.  We have All About Us, Get Up and Go!, Huckle's Good Manners, and others which can be found at www.fivemile.com/au or http://www.amazon.com/ My littlest boy came to me with   He is really into pointing and asking "whats this" and wanting to hear the story of what he points to and this book like all Disney books is great for him, with dogs and cats, and even a horse I can give him a good story in a few short minutes and he is interested and turning the pages ready with a point and answer. 
My three year old is into the Batman supper hero thing and I got these books from work and for him it is that feeling of beating the bad guy and the fighting and being strong that really gets him into the book and wanting to read.  That is okay because it helps us talk about what it takes to be supper and that bad guys are out there but if you take care of yourself you can take on those bad guys and be like Batman, and he loves knowing that he can get bigger and stronger and that gives me a smile and know that this is part of who he is right now.
So as you can see the age might not actually say anything about the books they want to read, but you just go with it with no questions just an open mend and make it into something that lets them learn and grow in their search for language and knowledge of their world.  Reading is the one thing that a father can build in the child and it takes only a small amount of time for it to build into a world of difference.
Until tomorrow read a comic to your kids

A little room to move

So last night was a relaxing book time for myself and my two youngest, the oldest was under the weather and asleep.  My three year old really likes at times to just hear a book and snuggle next to me, and the youngest just wanted to point at pictures and turn pages.  This is that moment when you see how they just enjoy the time you are giving them, that they really have control over how much they read and we present the stories.  I love the days we just snuggle and read, when they are intone with hearing my voice and the story at hand, it gives me the chance to present the characters and create a style for the listener.
Often when reading to children adults forget that there are characters and that they each have their own voice and the story just becomes a flow of words with little impact of how it was meant to be read, this is not something we think about dads it just is our nature to present the facts and get to the bottom of the story.  So often is the case when all three of my boys want to hear a story and one has a book about bugs the other a counting book, I get caught in the mix of material and this is harder to achieve. 
What you do at that moment is look at the books they bring to you read the title and glance through the pages, this takes very little time.  Then set your mind into the characters setting and take a deep breath.  Last night it was A Charlie Brown Christmas, yes this is what my 3 year old picked, I love Christmas so I was ready. 
This is a Hallmark gift book from their Nana, it is interactive with voices and sounds that really get younger children involved.  Anyone who remembers growing up and watching this special on TV will find this book a joy to read to their children, it is easy to present and with the added interaction it offers you a time to see great smiles.  I love getting into the characters and really letting the story become real for my kids to almost see them looking at me and not the book.  I mean lets face it the lines between Lucy and Charlie are always great and the emotion that Charlie Brown brings really gets you to connect words and emotional reaction, this is a great way to help teach social interaction. 

My youngest chose this book by Richard Scarry which can be found at http://www.fivemile.com.au/ or Amazon.  We have a set of several easy to follow board construction books that are great.  This book is full of bright colors and busy pictures of food, planes, and pigs to name a few.  My yougest was in the mood to point and listen to me talk about the things he pointed to and it abled me to work on pronounceing words and helping him to hear the sounds.  Like Fork, SPoon, TOothBRush,  and to hear him try and repeat those sounds, there is nothing more exciting and comical I love this time with the boys and look forward to it every night.  Knowing that I am offering them a chance to learn and see me in a different way means the world to me.
Until next time have a great day

Just some things to know

As a dad you may be asking yourself, what can I really do?  So much of a child's language is given to them in a social context, and with regards to growing their vocabulary, it starts with an abundance of experience and the chance to learn with that experience.  That is where you come into play, you offer your child or children that chance for a one on one or small group learning experience that is not afforded them in school, and often the case with dad. 
Take your profession for a brief minute, does it require that you interact with lots of people or that you understand how to solve a problem within a set amount of time.  This is what you bring to their growth of language.  We take for granted that learning to talk just happens and if you really tried to look back at your own journey in language you would be lost as to how it started, but you could find that there are always situations in which having had a path before you would have meant a different outcome. 
At times this is presented to us and we have overlooked it and thought nothing of it, until now.  I enjoy taking the children to the grocery store, this is the time to really put some language and reading skills to use.  Give them a list of a few things that they need to be on the look out for and along the way give them cues to look for or ask them questions about were in the store might the thing be located.  This will prompt their brains to search and start asking about everything in the store until they have located the item.  You get the chance to teach them ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT, everyday things that they encounter from logos to letters and shapes.  I like to explain to them why they can have yogurt but not candy so they can ask why and I can try and explain ingredients.  The store also helps use work on their PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY or their ability to remember what the heard for a brief period of time. 
Store time is somet5hing every family has more then they care to acknowledge but it is the one time that offers itself for dad to show that little one that they love to spend time with them and that they want to teach them some cool and interesting things.  I also want to say that you will see that your children will start to turn to people in line and tell them what they have learned or they will tell them that they know something about the store or the item on the checkout stand, this is always that moment you feel great and know that you made the most out of a time that use to be a get in and get out moment.

I end tonight with one of my favorite books that my children got from their Nana, All the World by Liz garton scanlon.  This book is so wonderfully put together that I don't no where to begin.  It has bold letters and a flow of sounds that is so rewarding as a reader to young children.  The ability it gives me to get them to pronounce words back and to keep their interest into the book is fabulous, and the art work, well that is beautiful, every page is full of color and detail as if I remember being at those places on my own travels.  This book is a must have for any child's book shelf and will be the one you will see offers a world of education for dad and his little ones.  Find this book at http://www.kids.simonandschuster.com/   So until next time, show them you are bigger then life

Dad I love insects!

So as the little ones grow the duties of a dad chamge from knowing how to change the oil in the car to now knowing about EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING, I love this because it keeps me on my toes and helps me build that language of asking questions that I feel a school system doesn't do for children.  Having spent sometime working as a Para-Professional in the local school system I had the oppurtunity to see that children have a drive to want to learn amazing new things but they seemed to not have the foundation of how and when to ask a question.  For tonights focus I move to my 5 year old who is at that amazing quest for knowledge and right now it is bugs and evrything about every bug.  Tonights book is titled Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder, found at http://www.penguin.com/ the art work in this book by Lynne Cherry is amazing, she takes you into the grass and field level settings that offer a view into the life of a caterpillar from egg to butterfly.  The words are simple and it offers the child boxes that show a zoomed in view of what is going on and that opens the question gates.  You can point out that it is important for the egg to be hidden from prey and I gaurante he will ask where is a good place to hide and what would want to eat a bug, the list goes on so just come back with anything.  I offer up that in some cultures people eat bugs as part of their daily meals this is good wide eyeid expressions that to me are proceless.  I ask him to explain what he sees on the page and instead of correcting him I give him a building block to work off. EX.  There is a page that talks about the caterpillar shedding his skin as he explains this he seems confused so I explain that he loses skin cells and has to replace them to become bigger and in return he tells me that the catterpillar is going to grow bigger as a butterfly.  Remember that it is important to just let them come up with whatever they wish in this process and instead of correction give him a way to see it in a new way.  I know very lttle aboutr bugs but I know that I can create a world that interacts with his and it offers us the chance to learn great things together.  I highly recomend this book to any young child who loves bugs, at the end it offers a way to get butterflies into your own garden and in the end giving your child the chance to have a hands on experience with their reading will only help to increase their knowledge and give you a great big smile at the end of a long day.  IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER THAN THAT!
Until next time imagine the world

Finding your groove

I want to start by letting Dads out there know that it is about finding the time that best works for you when trying to start this.  For me and my schedule it just happens to be the night time bed routine.  Also with boy's ranging from 5yrs, 3yrs, and 19 months it is a challenge but each child gets the chance to pick one book of their choice.  Remember if you have a little one to accept any book he brings and work with it, this really lets him or her feel like they are a big part of this whole process, and you will get a great feeling when they bring you Cat in the Hat.  So for now look for a time of day that you can give them any amount of time, for the purpose of the post today we will look at my youngest.  At 19 months I am lucky to get a good five minutes from him so he gets first priority and tonight it was Pet Babies by Charles Reasoner, this can be found at http://www.justforkidspress.com/.

I love this book for young children it is a thick board construction which means it can take a beating and that is number one in buying books for little ones, second it has those over exaggerated character eyes that kids are drawn to.  For me this book offers pages of bright colors and lots of objects on the page for the little one to point at and for me to improve off of.

 Opening page example, it has several animals to make noises for and the chance for you to do point and find with the little mouse in the picture.  I give this book a 5 star rating because with the art work and fun looking animals I can forget the words and teach and watch my youngest as he points and tries to mirror my actions and noises.  Like the blog states it is aboutt finding your groove, make it a time when you are ready some simple rules to follow when reading to children: 1) Be in a good mood, they can feel your mood, 2) know who you are reading to 3) make it different then the rest of the day for you and them
Until next time enjoy being a DAD!!!

Daddy I love your voice

When I started out on this fatherhood journey i had the chance to be reading some research by Patricia Kulh at the University of Washington.  She talked about the abilities of how young children till the age of 6 months can discriminate distinctions among languages.  This is amazing stuff I invite you to check it out, I found it at www.researchchannel.org I mention this because as a new father we often think that babies are just there, they really only seem interested in mom and lets face it she has all the things they really need.  Now we can say that dad you have something to offer, the SPORTS SECTION!, I know that this sounds to good to be true but, if we understand that young babies can pick up on language distinctions then that must mean they are intently listening to the spoken world around them and to that I say "dad let your voice be heard".  You can do this simply by taking the news paper you read go to the sports section, its quick and has just enough in their to keep baby going, at the same time give your little one the local sports store advertisement and let them have at it.  It is important to know that a young baby is exploring and feeling their way around the world so give them something that they can dig into and have their way with.  While they are on your lap read the world of sports out loud to them and when they look at you or make a noise directed to what you are doing use that as the open door to talk to them, tell them about the pictures in the paper and tell them that the Dodgers have a good team, and ask them "do you like baseball?".  Give them the chance to see your face and how your face is while you read, that means showing your excitement when the Steelers(that's our team) get into the playoffs or when they lose.  It is also important for the child to understand the emotions that go with the noises of the words.  Dads, we know that this fast pace world of working and getting the most out it is tough to manage, and I offer no simple solutions for that, but what I do offer is the chance to take the everyday and make it the every opportunity day that we as dads can teach our little ones.  They really do love our voice and that is all the world during this early time!!   Thank you