I Love The Love For Reading

On February 25, 2023 By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

If you follow my @justmymomsense Instagram, then you have definitely seen some our library hauls.

Each of my kids got their first library card at around 6 months old. Our library is so awesome. They offer classes from the baby stage all the way up to classes for adults. Their children’s book section is extensive and it also fills the void that Blockbuster left by giving us the ability to take out DVDs and video games.

I love the love for reading that my kids have. They’re excited to pick out books and look forward to having new ones in the mix.

We’ve spent time making reading forts.

We’ve taken things outdoors in order to read on the trampoline.

Reading before bed is always fun since my husband is good at providing some of the character voices.

Along with gym, music and art, my kids also go to their school libraries once a week. They learn about new authors and are able to bring a book home from that library as well.

I am grateful for the library and schools we have. I know what a privilege it is for my children to be able to have access to so many wonderful authors, stories and opportunities.

If have a library card, you may be able to access apps in order to take out books virtually and have them sent to your Kindle or iPad. Apps like Libby are also available to read books on different devices. (This isn’t an ad, just something we’ve used)

Growing up I liked book stores and I remember having favorite authors, but I wasn’t always able to get lost in stories. I remember setting up a reading nook in my room to help give me that nudge I was needing, which probably only worked for a short amount of time. I think it’s awesome that my 8 year old loves reading new books, writing fan fiction and draws his own illustrations. My 6 year old is in Kindergarten and has come so far with reading in the last few months, it’s been amazing to watch her growth.

And now for my unsolicited advice: if you have access to a library, please get yourself and your child a library card and read with them. One of the coolest things you’ll experience is sharing a story together. That may look like you reading to them, them reading to you or just looking through pictures. However it’s done, enjoy those moments!

I’ve included some of our favorite children’s book authors over on my “These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things” page which you can check out by clicking here.

Sorting Fun

On October 19, 2018October 19, 2018 By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Impromptu sorting game for a lil TGIF fun!

My kiddos are 4 and 21 months, so we worked on a variety learning objectives with this one. Each plate had the name of the color written uppercase in that color. I also wrote it out in lowercase on the bottom. I grabbed random toys from around the house and threw them in a big pile in the middle.

This ended up being a great success!

I had them sit on the couch to listen to the instructions. #listeningcomprehension
They worked together to sort random toys on the correct plate. #teamwork
‘J’ was able to read the words on the plate. #reading
When there was more than one of any item, we worked on counting. #math
Speaking candidly, ‘Baby J’ was over the sorting portion a lot sooner than ‘J,’ so she started putting the mega blocks together. Working on those gross motor skill, right?

Sometimes I forget how easy it is to create games with things you already have in the house. They both had fun and we’ll definitely do it again soon!

Feelings

On April 25, 2018June 21, 2018 By justmymomsenseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

The first movie ‘J’ ever sat through in its entirety was Pixar’s Inside Out. If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, it takes viewers through the inner workings of an 11 year old’s mind. We get to see how her feelings, dreams and thoughts affect her daily life. The main characters consist of 5 feelings: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. I’d say those are 5 feelings everyone finds relatable.

I’m not sure I know many adults that understand their feelings so it makes complete sense that navigating feelings for a child is not an easy task. When ‘J’ started being affected by my niece crying or his sister crying, he also became extra sensitive to talking about any negative feeling. If you made a sad face as you were playing, it would result in crying from ‘J.’ If an adult said “oh, that makes me sad” or “oh I’m going to cry,” he would immediately react. We have Inside Out Box of Mixed Emotions books, one for each feeling. He got to the point of not wanting to read Sadness’ book. It broke my heart to see how affected he became by just the mention of a feeling.

Although I was starting to suspect that there may be some sensory processing issues going on, I also wasn’t sure if he was going through a phase. I started looking into other books that talked about feelings, singing Daniel Tiger songs about feelings and was even trying to get him to talk through his tantrums. For a 3 year old, whose words are still catching up to his mind, this was a lot of work. And again, for an adult, this is a lot of work. I didn’t want to push him too much and risk him keeping everything inside.

One of the books I got was “The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain. It goes through all the feelings one could have: silliness, frustration, happiness, boredom and many more. There are pictures associated with each feeling’s description to help the child understand it even more. I mentioned Daniel Tiger songs, but I also picked up Daniel Tiger Happy and Sad books. The show, the songs and his books tackle so many things that kids go through and I find it really helpful. Once we were getting through our Mickey Mouse Clubhouse addiction, ‘J’ had moved into Daniel Tiger and I’m glad he did. We countdown to calm down just like Daniel and associate different situations to how Daniel has handled them. What does Daniel do when he gets mad? How did Daniel feel when his sister wanted to play? What happens when Daniel’s friends didn’t want to play with him? What did Daniel do that was kind? The list goes on!

Feelings are so tough to navigate and if you’re someone that has sensory processing difficulties and becomes overwhelmed in a lot of situations, it becomes even tougher. Whatever tools you can use to help are worth trying. Books, shows and songs are great for kids since they are drawn to those things already. They’re learning without realizing they’re doing any work. It’s kind of like sneaking vegetables into their cupcakes ;-).

I will always try to get my kids to talk through their feelings. Even when they’re teenagers and they find me extra annoying. Communication is one of the most important tools in life and the sooner they’re able to have that in their tool box, the better!

Below are links to the various books on Feelings as referenced above:

The Way I Feel

I’m Feeling Happy (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood)

I’m Feeling Sad (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood)

Inside Out Box of Mixed Emotions