Category Archives: Uncategorized

by

National Library Week

For most people, libraries equal books—shelf after shelf of books and maybe a computer or two off in the corner. I would like to challenge that perception. Not because I don’t love books. I do. As much as I love books and stories of all sorts, I also strongly believe that they aren’t what libraries are about. It’s National Library Week, and I am going to be posting about what libraries are about all week long. My hope is to open the equation about libraries that you have in your head to more than books, to show you that libraries matter—perhaps in ways you haven’t considered.

Libraries are about community and education. Librarians are your guide to the world of resources out there from books, to technology, to people. We want to connect with you.

The official theme of National Library Week 2013 is Communities Matter, so I’ll start with that tomorrow.

communitiesmatter

by

The Spotlight of Difference

I don’t see many people who look like me.  Occasionally I would meet people with a limb deficiency or wearing a prosthetic device, and they would tell me stories of trauma and rehabilitation.  I would try to look for commonality, but often there wasn’t much to go on.  So I was surprised to see a contestant on a dating reality show who looked and sounded like me.

Sarah Herron was very straightforward about her limb deficiency on The Bachelor.  She said basically the same things I always say.  It isn’t a disability.  It’s just different.  The moment probably seemed a bit overly dramatic to some, but I’d rather have a moment of drama by being direct than many moments of awkwardness if we avoid talking about the obvious difference.


Herron expressed that she isn’t interested in being a role model or a spokesperson, but in my experience, there’s an undeniable “role model effect” to physical difference that you don’t get to turn off.  I am the only one-handed person most people know, and that isn’t likely to change any time soon.  It took me a long time, but I’ve come to understand that that’s just part of my life experience.

People see the word “disability” when they see me.  If I am a spokesperson for anything, it is for the idea that people are more than what you see.  Sarah Herron is more than her limb deficiency, and so am I.  We’re both different, but the difference is just part of our stories.

Read more about my experience at Fake Arm 101.

by

Exploring Relative Size (Picture Book Preschool)

Whether you are a big kid or a little kid doesn’t really depend on your age or size.  It depends on who you compare yourself to.

With Emily Jenkins’ Small, Medium, Large as a jumping off point, we explored relative sizes in a way that included a vocabulary lesson, math skills, and art.  First a bit about the book: Jenkins and Bogacki’s collaboration brings odd little creatures–Ladybug decided that they were dogs, but they might be mice–of various sizes together as they compare their sizes as they generally illustrate the concept of S, M, L, and XL.  We follow “small” down to “minuscule” and “large” to “colossal” to the delight of my little word girl.The one-upsmanship  makes the book fun for little listeners when it otherwise might be a bit too “educational.”  The gatefold with the little creatures stacked up to equal one very large creature is pretty cool too.

I thought it might be fun for my girl to see how she compares to various things, and what better way to do that than to make a life-size drawing of herself? :)

And measure it:

Then compare:

7 of her own feet, 10 of her hands, a bunch of cars, and 42 paperclips.

My only regret is that we didn’t manage to get to the Walker Art Center’s Lifelike exhibit before it ended.  If you happen to be in New Orleans, San Diego, or Austin, you might be able to make that happen.  It’s great for kids!  You could re-create the scenes to explore scale like little girl in this post on the Walker Education blog.

–

See my Parents & Educators page for more Picture Book Preschool posts.
Disclosure: Amazon.com links are affiliate links.   A portion of purchases made via these links earns a commission for this blog.  Thanks for your support!  (Book Reviewed from library copy.)
by

Friday Finds: Colbert interviews Sendak and a few other not-as-funny links

Books:

  • Grim Colberty Tales on the Colbert Report.  It is a must-watch.
  • Librarians looking for a February book display might be interested in this list of teen fiction with hearts on the covers on my Book Lists Wiki.

Music:

  • If you, like me, were unable to make it to the Best New Bands showcase at First Avenue this week, you will be happy to know that you can live it vicariously on the Internet.  You can read Citypages‘ write-up here or read about local drummer Jared Isabella, who played in 3 of the bands, here.  Don’t forget that the hours are dwindling to support Bloodnstuff’s Kickstarter project.

Family:

And it’s all about me:

by

Monday Morning Music with Godspeed You! Black Emperor

With all the coverage of the end of the Iraq War going on right now, I can’t help but remember the beginning.  I probably wouldn’t remember the night the war began if it weren’t for where I was.

On March 19th, 2003, I was in First Avenue’s mainroom with hundreds of other people for a rock show.  I didn’t pay much attention to the news back then, so I only vaguely knew what was happening with Iraq.  That night, of course, was “zero hour” for Operation Iraqi Freedom.  While bombs dropped on Iraq, Godspeed You! Black Emperor played on.  At some point during the show, they turned on the radio so that George W. Bush’s voice could be heard as the music–contemplative orchestral post-rock–provided a portentous soundtrack to history.

It was, easily, the most powerful musical experience I’ve had.

This article about GY!BE from Citypages says, “This music gives you a lot of time to think, and maybe that’s the point. Playing a Godspeed CD is like pressing pause on the rest of the world.”  Perhaps you feel like pressing pause today.  Here you are.

by

Seasons Go ‘Round (Picture Book Preschool)

Leaves are falling from the trees outside my window as I type.  We have been watching summer turn to fall, and now fall will be winter soon.  It seems like a good time to talk about seasons with my little one.

It’s a great opportunity to share one of my favorite picture books: Red Sings From the Treetops by Joyce Sidman.  It was one of the first books I reviewed on this blog. I said,

“I loved the way this book pulled me into the details.  It reminded me to notice the things that I am often too busy to see.  It was a lovely invitation to see each season as something new to explore.  I can’t recommend it enough.”

We read it along with the sorting activity you see in the photograph and talked about the things we like to do in each season.  We focused on fall since that’s what we can see now.  Sidman’s fall gives way to spring like this,

“In FALL,

Green is tired,

dusty,

crisp around the edges.

Green sighs with relief:

I’ve ruled for so long.

Time for Brown to take over.”

Perhaps more important, to me, than exploring seasons is the opportunity to introduce my daughter to poetry and wonder.  The book Playful Learning is a great resource for parents who want simple activities and crafts to explore the wonder around them–including an activity that has kids observing a tree throughout the seasons.

There are, of course, many many good books about the seasons for kids, and I have a few of my favorites listed here.

Since it’s a favorite of Ladybug’s, I’m also including a video of Caillou’s seasons song.  Enjoy!

–

See my Parents & Educators page for more Picture Book Preschool posts.
by

Stories come alive at the MN Children’s Museum

When we walked into the Storyland exhibit at the MN Children’s Museum last Friday evening, my kiddo’s eyes went wide with delight.  The room–which, in all honesty, was smaller than I was expecting–was full of familiar scenes from the pages of children’s books, several of which we have read over and over again.  There, though, it was real.  And it was big.

The first scene to catch her attention was from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Not only is this one of our favorite books to read at home, but also, the huge letters and giant coconut tree are probably the most eye-catching part of the room.

That wasn’t the favorite, though.  She spent the most time in Peter Rabbit’s burrow, which surprised me since I don’t think she has read the story.  Ladybug could have spent the entire time just in that one place.

I can’t imagine she was thinking about sound awareness as she played with letters or about narrative as she put Peter Rabbit to sleep in his bed or made him a tasty pretend dinner.    To her, it was play.  To me, it was early literacy in action.

I am currently reading Mind in the Making: Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky.  One of those skills is communicating, which includes a lot of information about early literacy, but what has really interested me as I read the book (and I am only about half-way through) is how often storytelling and pretend play have come up as suggestions for cultivating other valuable skills.

The pretend play that Ladybug did in the Peter Rabbit part of the exhibit, for example, is a way to promote cognitive flexibility.  She had her thing going on as she pretended to be Peter’s mom, but other kids and parents were also at the exhibit.  They interrupted her narrative or changed it, and it was up to her to deal with these changes.  This skill isn’t necessarily one we think about often as we watch our kids play together, but when our children are adults a high level of cognitive flexibility will help them to adapt to change and understand other people’s perspectives.

Storyland is a great opportunity for both parents and children to see how books are more than just words on paper and literacy is more than just knowing how to read.  It is an opportunity for what Mind in the Making calls “extended discourse,” or taking the conversation beyond the obvious to ask questions about stories or connect stories to our own experiences.

We will definitely be going back to Storyland, since we are members of the MN Children’s Museum, and I think that reading the featured books that we hadn’t yet read will enhance the exhibit even more.

Disclosure: I was not in any way compensated for this post. We received a family membership to the Minnesota Children’s Museum as a gift from my mom.  Books referenced in this post are either personal or library copies.  Amazon links are affiliate links, which means I earn a percentage of any purchases made from the links.

by

Girls Weekend

Spent my weekend just me and my little one since my honey was out at Soundtown.    We played at the park and the library.  We painted butterflies and our nails.  It was lovely.  Here are a few highlights:

First stop: LibraryPainting is a special treat because I almost never want to do messy crafts, but a girls’ weekend seemed just the right time to throw a drop cloth down “just in case” and let her paint.

My mom buys these workbooks for Ladybug, and she actually really likes to try to write letters.  She’s in such a hurry to do anything that seems grown up.   I’m happy to help her whenever she wants, but we keep it very laid back.   If she just wants to scribble, that’s okay. It wouldn’t be a girls’ weekend without a game of Candy Land. :)

The highlight of the weekend for Ladybug was playing at the park with her friend.


The soundtrack for the weekend was provided by Wonderground Radio, which is non-commercial music for families from Minnesota Public Radio.   It is a great compromise between kid-music and parent-music without alienating either generation.  We love it.

We had a great weekend, but we’re glad to have Chad/Papa back.  In addition to seeing some great live music and camping at the festival, he was there representing Free Arts Minnesota, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of art to transform lives.  It is a good cause, and they are looking for volunteers… :)

That was our weekend. How was yours?

by

Behind the scenes of Atheist Talk

A few months ago, a friend asked me for book recommendations for her son.  She was looking for a way to explain various religions to her young son from a secular perspective.  I have to admit, I love helping people find the right books, but I was less than enthusiastic about her request.  Books about religion for kids that aren’t religious?  I wasn’t expecting much.  I did a search and sent a list of books, each one with a caveat.  Most books that touch on religions have mixed reviews from professional audiences and let’s not even get into the customer reviews on Amazon and other booksellers’ sites.  It’s hard to sort the good from the bad, and I was wondering if there even were any good to choose.  But even after I sent the list, I kept up my search.  There had to be something out there, right?

I’m glad I kept searching because it came in handy when I was invited to discuss books for secular families on Atheist Talk, a public access television program produced by Minnesota Atheists.  We discussed books about religion and books about science that would have particular appeal to families raising children without religion.  It was a bit last minute, so I wasn’t able to share everything I wanted to share because I couldn’t get my hands on a copy of the book that quickly.  But I’m happy with the discussion.  Here is a shot of me with my friend James Zimmerman, who invited me on the show:


I’d never been on TV before, and I must say that I was really nervous. It didn’t help that the crew informed me that there was no editing.  Any mistake I made, big or small, would be included in the final version of the show.  James was a great host, though.  He kept the conversation rolling with questions about the books and stories of his own family’s reading.  We got great feedback from the crew after we finished taping.  My family cheered me on from the control room.  My three year old actually managed to stay and watch for the whole taping, which was two thirty minute episodes.

I’ll post the link to the video when it’s available online.  Those in the Twin Cities area can watch for me on their public access stations.  Information about channels and showtimes is available here.  Stay tuned here, though, because I’ll be blogging about the books we talked about on the show and the ones we didn’t have time to include.

I also feel compelled to mention that the television program and the organization behind it are not about denigrating religion.  The Minnesota Atheists as an organization are committed to positive atheism:

“Minnesota Atheists is Minnesota’s oldest and largest atheist organization. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational organization that seeks to promote the positive contributions of atheism to society and to maintain separation of state and church.”

The atheist community in Minnesota is a diverse group of secular individuals and families.  I’m happy that I was able to work with them, and I hope that they enjoy the books!

by

What do to this weekend in the Twin Cities

With the kids:

For the kids:

Without the kids: