Parenting

Summer Reading Medals

September 14, 2015 by teachingtinytots

Our latest summer reading medals! Hard to believe they started with stickers on sheets when they were 5 to inputting minutes on the computer on their own reading log accounts! Despite all the kindles and electronic books available, I wanted the girls to experience something my mom did for us when we were little. We went to the library every week and I remember them saving books for my mom in a paper bag and we would get a big pile of books each. It is something I remember vividly…even the smell of the books in that library. I wanted my girls to remember this too so we go to the library every week during the summer and every other week during the year. I encourage them to continue getting picture books as well because I think the pictures are great in the event they ever become a children’s author.

Alicewinks iBook Review

July 31, 2013 by teachingtinytots

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is celebrating its 150th Anniversary with the release of Alicewinks for Tablet Computers. It is the newest version of Alice’s Adventures, where Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole and encounters many interesting characters and has extraordinary adventures.

The text is read by the narrator with the other characters read by additional actors and actresses. The illustrations are selected from 12 different artists. They are used to animate her adventures and bring the characters to life. My girls noticed right away that Alice and the other characters changed as the story progressed.

Alicewinks features three different sections that alternate with the original text, original prints from vintage editions of Alice, and a video with animation of the original prints. I enjoyed watching it with the girls but they also enjoyed going back and browsing through their favorite chapters and comparing the differences in the illustrations. My girls like to make books together and one in particular loves to draw so we always talk about the illustrations. It was interesting to note the differences with Alice and their favorite characters in each of the drawings.

I love sharing books that I enjoyed as a child and it was wonderful watching them enjoy this classic…better yet we could take it with us and enjoyed it while on vacation. Having grown up with technology, my girls are very comfortable using the iPad and other electronic devices so they were able to view it independently and actually learned how to navigate through Alicewinks faster than I did!

One of the neat options about this ibook is that you can choose to read the book, view the video or simply browse through all of the beautiful illustrations. I loved how Alicewinks captivated their attention and imagination!

In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland, Alicewinks brings the story’s classic illustrations to life for digital audiences through animated video and rich narration. To download this one of a kind iBook, visit iTunes.com/alicewinks

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Alicewinks. The opinions and text are all mine.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Alicewinks.  The opinions and text are all mine.

When Pets Train Their Owners!

July 19, 2013 by teachingtinytots

I remember when the girls were little they would drop their lovies over the side of the crib or from their stroller or car seat. I’d tell them I’d pick it up 2x and that’s it. They’d stop.

I just didn’t think about my pets doing it and I certainly fell for it many times not expecting them to be doing it on purpose! Here I was reading and my pup came to sit by me to get some attention. I’d pet her and then remove my hand…I suddenly became aware of what she was doing. My daughter wanted to record it so here it is.

Summer Camp

July 16, 2013 by teachingtinytots

Camp was our girls big activity for the summer again and they enjoyed every minute. It’s just a day camp but they remembered some of the returning campers from the year before and quickly renewed friendships. They participated in various activities including tennis, golf, swimming and crafts and games.

Here they are on a boat ride and making “Shaka”…which I’m not even sure my girls realized was a “Hawaii thing” to do!!

Not being strong swimmers, it was probably best I didn’t know they would be riding behind the boat…apparently this was one of their favorite activities! I saw the picture of the raft overturning…I wanted to suggest omitting this photo to over protective parents like myself! They had great instructors though and certified for emergencies but it still looked spooky to me.

It was beautiful in the mountains and what better place to have jumpy houses! Cool and scenic at the same time.

Had to convince them a bit to get out on the dance floor but they recognized the song Cupid Shuffle which they learned at their birthday party so out they went!