Early Literacy Around the House: The Bathroom

Between hand washing, bath time, and potty training, little kids spend a lot of time in the bathroom. Make these experiences a bit more fun - and educational! - with these early literacy activities.

• Sing "This is the way we wash..." As you wash your child in the bathtub, sing a little verse about each of his parts. (Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush is the perfect tune for this game.) Pay special attention to the words you may not say as much in everyday conversation, such as elbow, eyebrow, thigh, shin, and wrist. If your child already knows some body vocabulary, ask him to tell you which part to sing about next. 
• Draw letters on your child’s back with a washcloth and have her guess them. Preschoolers who are beginning to write letters will have fun with this game as they try to visualize each letter you draw on their skin. Get your child in on the game by hiding your eyes and letting her trace a letter on your hand or arm so you also have a chance to guess. 
• Write in the fog on the mirror. Kids can't resist a mirror that has steamed up after a hot shower. Indulge their fascination and allow them to write and draw in the fog. For added fun, play a game of Win, Lose, or Draw, where you and your child take turns drawing and guessing what has been drawn. 
• Time your hand washing with the ABC song. It can be hard for a young child to take time out of his busy day of play and exploration to wash his hands properly. Make the time go by a little faster by singing the alphabet - or any other favorite children's song - while your child lathers his hands. 
• Sing a tooth brushing song. Many young children, especially toddlers, hate to have their teeth brushed. Ease their anxiety and discomfort by singing them through the experience. Suggested songs include: 

• Teeth are for Brushing (last verse of Hands Are For Clapping from 
Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)
• Brush Your Teeth by Raffi or Marylee 
• I've Got All These Teeth in My Mouth from Growing Book by Book 

For more household early literacy activities, see my other Early Literacy Around the House posts. 

Babies Need Words Every Day Blog Tour: Singing in Story Time

Today I'm participating in a blog tour to help promote a great new resource from ALSC: Babies Need Words Every Day posters! The posters were designed by the Early Childhood Programs and Services committee using illustrations by Il Sung Na. Each poster highlights one of four early literacy practices: sing, talk, read, and play. My post today is inspired by this poster (shown below), which focuses on singing.

Singing is as much a part of my story times as stories themselves, and it is my favorite way to interact with babies. There are many ways to model singing during story time; these are the ones I use most.

• Sing with props.  Singing with a puppet or other prop can make you - and parents - feel more at ease, since some of the focus is taken off of the singer and placed onto the object instead. Farm animal puppets are great for Old MacDonald Had a Farm, shaker eggs pair well with Shake My Sillies Out, and a scarf is wonderful for songs involving waving, washing, or hiding. By using items you have in your story time stash to inspire your song choices, you show caregivers how they can be inspired to sing by the toys and stuffed animals in their children's environment.
• Sing about bodies. As the poster suggests, singing during diaper changes is a great way to promote a baby's early literacy skills. You can help parents build their repertoire of songs to sing at diaper time by introducing body-themed songs into your story times. Head, Shoulders Knees, and Toes, Tony Chestnut, Eyes Nose Cheeky Cheeky Chin, Where is Big Toe?, and Where Oh Where Are Baby's Fingers? have all been big hits in my story times, and at home with my three-month-old.
• Sing a picture book. There are many board book and picture book versions of favorite children's songs. Engage babies and their caregivers by singing some of your stories! The Babies Need Words Every Day book list includes several singable titles: 
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Caroline Jayne Church
• Baa Baa Black Sheep by Annie Kubler
• Itsy Bitsy Spider by Annie Kubler
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
• The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz
• Sing a nursery rhyme. Nursery rhymes are a great way to introduce babies to rarely used vocabulary and fun rhythm and rhyme. Some popular nursery rhymes have been set to music, like Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Boy Blue, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Many also fit the tune of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Children's singer Marylee has a great album filled with singable nursery rhymes.

As a proponent of finding early literacy opportunities in everyday places, I think these posters are a great low-pressure way to keep parents and caregivers aware of the opportunities for sharing language that exist all around them, in the places their children visit in their daily routines. To reach families with babies, consider hanging a poster or two in a church crying room or bathroom, in the waiting room of a pediatrician's office, or above the changing tables at baby gyms and clothing stores, as well as in your library's children's area and story time space.

This blog tour continues all week. Check Reading with Red for the full schedule.

Feet & Toes Board Books

Babies and toddlers are fascinated by feet! The five books on this list will have them tapping and tickling their toes all day long.

Tickly Toes by Susan Hood, illustrated by Barroux (ISBN: 9781894786522) 
In this 2014 release from Kids Can Press, a mother and father marvel over the fact that their sweet little boy loves his own toys over all other toys. This is an ideal book for pre-crawling babies, especially those who have recently discovered their feet. (I reviewed this book last summer.)

Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (ISBN: 9780316736091)

This rhyming story shows off the cute brown sweetness of toddler toes, leading up to the reveal that they belong to a little girl. The illustrations are by one of my favorite illustrators, LeUyen Pham. Find more of her books on this list.

Rain Feet by Angela Johnson, illustrated by Rhonda Mitchell (ISBN: 9780531068496)
A little boy named Joshua puts on his raincoat and rain boots and enjoys the wet weather as it plops and splashes all around.

Feet Are Neat by Susan Pearson, illustrated by Emily Bolam (ISBN: 9781934618462)

This BeginSmart book teaches the youngest readers all the things feet can do!

Busy Toes by C.W. Bowie, illustrated by Fred Willingham (ISBN: 9781580890564)

Little toes are busy all day long in this book celebrating some of the unusual and silly things kids and grown-ups can do with their feet.

9 Kids' Books Illustrated by Lane Smith

Lane Smith is the illustrator of two Caldecott honor books: The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka (honored in 1993) and Grandpa Green, which he wrote himself (honored in 2012). He is married to Molly Leach, a book designer who has designed many of Smith's books. Listed below are works by other authors which Lane Smith has illustrated. 

Novels 

• Lulu Series by Judith Viorst
  There are three books in the Lulu series, and Lane Smith illustrated the first two. In Lulu and the Brontosaurus, a little girl who wants a brontosaurus for a pet gets a very big surprise when the dinosaur brings her home to be his pet instead. In Lulu Walks the Dogs, the same little girl decides to walk dogs in order to earn some money, but things don't go exactly as planned. (The third book, Lulu's Mysterious Mission, in which Lulu tries to outsmart a crafty babysitter, is illustrated by Kevin Cornell.)
• Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka
  Lane Smith illustrated the early volumes of this popular series, in which a group of friends explores history by traveling through time and having funny adventures.  The following titles feature Smith's illustrations: 
• Knights of the Kitchen Table
• The Not-So-Jolly Roger
• The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
• Your Mother Was a Neanderthal
• 2095
• Tut Tut
• Summer Reading Is Killing Me
• It's All Greek to Me 
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
  Though nothing can compare to Quentin Blake's well-known illustrations for this book, it is fun to see Smith's own take on the story in this 1996 reprint edition of the beloved novel.

Picture Books

• Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated by Florence Parry Heide
  A princess with a unique problem finds ways to cope and makes a new friend in the process in this laugh-out-loud contemporary fairy tale. 
• Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky
  This book was originally conceived by Dr. Seuss, but was completed by Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith after Seuss died. The story focuses on Diffendoofer School, where the principal worries whether his free-spirited teachers have prepared his students for the upcoming standardized tests. 
• Big Plans by Bob Shea
  A young troublemaker who has been placed in time out reflects on all the big plans he has for his exciting future.