Sometimes I like to curl up in a ball By Charles Fuge

This book might just be one of my all time favourites! It is such a simple, beautifully illustrated, easy to read story that you just can't go wrong with it.

The story is about Little Koala and the things he likes to do for fun, and the thing he likes to do most of all... and the thing he likes to do most of all, is something I'm sure most of us can relate to! (I won't give away the ending though! You'll have to go and read it yourself!)

When I read this story I like to get the children I am reading with, to act out or do the actions that little Koala is doing in the story. Such as, curling up in a tight little ball, or pulling funny faces and jumping really high to see how much noise they can make when they land!

I have never come across a child or an adult who doesn't fall in love with this story... and to make it even better there is a whole other set of books about Little Koala's adventures that are just as cute and fun to read.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar By Eric Carle

No book blog would ever be complete without a review or a mention of one of the best children's books ever written. 'The Ver Hungry Caterpillar' By Eric Carle!

Why is this book so fantastic! Why should every child own a copy. . . ? (as suggested by the Daily Telegraphy on the back of the book.) Because even though it is a very short and simple read, there are so many learning/teaching moments within the simple yet effectively illustrated book. (There you go, three reasons in one sentence!)

Teach about the life cycle of the caterpillar/butterfly... which in itself is one of the most magical and amazing life cycles to witness. With this story the youngest reader can begin to make sense of, and understand the process that takes place.

Learn about the days of the week... practice counting and number names... talk about different fruit and food that the caterpillar might eat... need I say more.

Well, I will say just a little more. I have used this book as the focus of many activities with children I have worked with in early childhood settings. Some ideas for you...

* Make your own Hungry caterpillar pieces that your child could use to tell the story themselves. Draw, cut, laminate and if you have a magnetic board or the fridge, put magnetic pieces on the back so they can display the story as they tell it.

* Do a Hungry Caterpillar Picnic. Find each of the items of food and as you read the story have your child pretend they are the caterpillar eating through the different items of food. (You may not actually eat 5 oranges, but 5 orange pieces.)

* Encourage your child to use their imagination and act out the story as you read it to them.

Happy Reading!

ICE ICE BABY

The way this activity with exploring ice evolved was a little unusual. . . but learning often happens in the most unexpected places. . . and that is why my moto, along with Polkadots is "Make every moment a teaching moment." You have to be ready when to grab each moment of interest with your child, because thats when they will really be paying attention!

So this morning when I was getting my meat out of the freezer for dinner, Ashton managed to reach out and place his hand on the frozen package, (still wrapped in plastic I might add.) Usually, he would start to bang and pull at the object of his focus, this time was different though, once his hand came down, it stayed there, flat on the icy surface and then slowly he raised his head up with big wide eyes to meet our gaze. This was obviously something quite different to anything he had ever touched before.

Ashton didn't want to stop touching the frozen meat, but seeing I didn't think this was the best toy or object to play with. I put the meat away and got out two ice cubes and put them on his high chair tray. His reaction to the ice cubes was just as priceless! He dived down to pick up the little cube and immediately he stopped, cold ;o) in his tracks and just held it still in his hand (as you can see in the photo below... love it when I capture the moment!)

From then on Ashton was intrigued with the ice cubes, chasing them around his tray as everything became more slippery with the cubes melting and leaving more water. This was also exciting for him to find more water appearing on his tray to splash around in.

Getting a closer look. (What this photo doesn't portray are the quiet groan that he was doing while he held it... Like, "Um this is really cold, why can't I feel my fingers.")

Once the ice was all melted I decided to let Ashton explore a little bit of contrast from the freezing cold ice cubes and brought a little bowl of warm water to his chair. Seeing the water, he went to splash around straight away, but when he felt the warm water he went still again and just left his hand submerged there for a few seconds... as if he was just letting his body enjoy the 'defrost!'

We both had so much fun exploring the ice and warm water, so we are going to explore it again tomorrow... just with a slight twist! Stay tuned!

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE... SOMETHING WOODEN

One of Asthon's favourite things to do at the moment is empty toys from his toy basket. Fun huh! Basically once it is put in front of him, it is a race for him to see how quickly he can unload his toys. I had three theories as to why he was doing this. . . a.) he was exploring his motor skills of 'grab and throw'. b.) he was bored of the toys he has been playing with in there for the past week or so. Or c.) he was just testing out his destructive powers.

I would like to give Ashton the benefit of the doubt and think his motive was option A or B. If it was option A then he is going to continue doing this act no mater what i do. If it is B then I came up with the idea of changing one or two of the toys every other day, and it was amazing to see how observant and aware of this he was. As he was going through his basket emptying as son as he came across the new toy or object he would stop and have a good inspect of it and then continue playing with it.

So I thought I would take Ashton's basket of toys to a different level, instead of just having an assortment of all sorts of random toys we were going to find all toys and objects made of 'WOOD!'

We started by taking our basket out and went on a 'Wood Hunt'. As we walked around I chanted "I spy with my little eye something... wooden." While we walked and chanted we touched all the objects we passed until we found something wooden. Although Ashton probably was unaware as to the specific reason or purpose of our hunt he loved walking around touching and exploring all of the different surfaces!

Once we had found lots of different wooden objects to fill our toy basket we brought the basket back to the room to play with and it was amazing to see how much Ashton's play and exploration of the objects in the basket slowed down. He took each object out one by one and really took his time with it! We have been playing with the wooden toy basket for one week now and he is only just starting to get back into his 'grab and throw' routine! Maybe its time to go on a 'Plastic Hunt!'

Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway

With Ashton's current enthusiasm for clapping I found this a great book to read today! This book is made up of lots of mini poems about the different creatures that live in the sea; 'Clickety Crab', 'Amazing Angelfish', 'Smiley Shark' and many more. So, as I read each little poem I would tap or clap out a beat and encourage Ashton to clap along with me.

To begin with I found Ashton just clapping randomly as we read, but towards the end his clapping to the beat definitely started to fall in time with mine. He really enjoyed watching the pictures and clapping as we read. It made the story a lot more interactive and is also a great way to teach children about rhythm and rhyming schemes. Not every poem had the same beat, so we explored some fast and some slow beats. It was lots of fun! And the illustrations were very bright and colourful to look at!

Fidgety Fish and Friends

"Swimming and skittering under the sea.

With a smile and a swirl and a swish.

All of his friends love to play every day

With the fabulous Fidgety Fish!"

BUBBLE, BUBBLE, BUBBLE... POP!

I couldn't have asked for a better response from Ashton as we explored bubbles this morning! His reaction to the bubbles appearing and floating down in front of him was just as magical as the bubbles themselves are!

I have been wanting to explore bubbles with Ashton for a while now but kept forgetting to buy any solution or a bubble wand while we were out. So today I decided that I would be a resourceful mother and make my own bubble wand out of a tin can with both ends cut out and then made my own mixture (after looking up a recipe online).

It took a bit of experimenting, trial and error to begin with to get the solution right, but once we got things moving, right from the first bubble Ashton was following the bubbles around the room, with his mouth open with awe! (Which he quickly found wasn't the best idea when the bubble pop right above you! You get a mouthful of bubble spray!)

Ashton's automatic response to the bubbles was to reach out and with an almost reverent approach would try to touch them, as if knowing they would pop when he touched them. The first few times when the bubbles did pop either before he could get to them, or when he touched them he gave a slight jump, surprised at the little splatter they gave off as they burst. But this did not stop him being eager for more, actually would get quite antsy with me when I didn't produce them fast enough!

I just love this photo below! It totally captures his wonder for the bubble!

WATER PLAY FUN!

Nothing is more relaxing, yet at the same time more exciting than playing with water... for a child under 5! Well this is the case for my child anyway. Ashton has discovered his love for water, you can see the excitement take over his body whenever he hears the shower turn on, or when we walk into the pool area, or even just fill the sink for he dishes.

So, lately have been filling up a big mixing bowl full of water, (sometimes warm, sometimes cold... just to mix it up and keep things interesting.) I add a few of his toys for him to play with and he is occupied for the next half an hour!

Ashton loves catching the water and letting it pour over his hands, so I put in little cups that have holes in the bottom of them that can let the water run out in a shower effect. (If you don't already have a container like this, get an old tupperware container and hammer some holes in the bottom. Works a treat!)

He has also been enjoying having objects in the water that float. He thinks it's very funny trying to catch them as they bob away from him each time he tries to pick the floating objects up.

But most of all he just loves to splash and kick as big as he possibly can! I actually think he

loves the sensation of the water jumping up to splash him in th

e face. He loves getting frights so maybe this is the equivalent of a self indued fright!

LAUNDERING ABOUT

One of Ashton's newest play areas is. . . the laundry basket! I don't know if this is a typical place for children to want to play, but we discovered while playing at Aunty Dionne's house the other day, then he spotted our laundry basket sitting in our lounge area and got all excited!

So to make it a little more comfy I filled the bottom with a pillow and placed a blanket around the sides. Ashton loved bopping up and down in there playing peek-a-boo.

At the moment Ashton is trying to master the skill of pulling himself up on things, but with his balance on his legs still "under development" he can get a bit of a lean on and can't correct himself very easily. Although in the laundry basket he has discovered he can use the back of the basket to anchor himself and push off it. He is able to stand up and sit down pulling his own weight and correct himself if he looses balance.

I think the main reason he enjoys playing in the basket is because he can be independent! And its a great place for playing hide 'n' seek! Who would have thought! Fun, play and learning turns up in the most unexpected places!

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR By Don & Audry Wood

A cute little story that is great for one on one reading as well as big group story time. Little mouse can't resist picking the red ripe strawberry, even when she knows BIG BEAR might be coming for it! Her quest to keep is safe and the lengths she goes to do so is very entertaining and has been illustrated beautifully!

Discussion ideas:

* I like to use books to get children thinking, and predicting. So when reading this story, I always ask the children I am reading to to predict what they think Little Mouse might be doing? As that is the first question and opening sentence of the book.

* I also like to ask them to think of ways they might hide the strawberry to keep it safe from the bear. Do they have some better ideas? If they are old enough they could draw their own illustrations of how they would hide the strawberry!

The Best Loved Bear By Elizabeth Fuller and Diana Noonan

A story everyone who has ever loved a teddy bear to bits can relate to. A nice little story, with a great little message. Although its hard to judge or measure the love any of us have for our teddy bears, I love the way Fuller and Noonan depict the small acts of care, kindness and love that the little boy in the story has for his best bear friend.

Not much else to say, other than its a cute story that seems to strike a chord with me. ;o)

Adventure Idea:

* Show your bears how much you love them by going on a teddy bears picnic. Have your child choose which bears they would like to take for their picnic and have them help you prepare the food you will take. Ask them what they food they think their bears would like to eat. Maybe each bear has its own favourite food?

* Have you own 'best loved bear' competition. Invite special judges and get all your bears all dressed up and ready for display.

AUTUMNAL ADVENTURE

Ashton had a sleepover with his cousins last night and you can't have sleepover at Aunty Carly's house without going on an adventure!

During our drive home from picking up Delta and Anika, Delta pointed out to us that all of the leaves on the trees were changing colour, and that this meant it was now Autumn. We decided while we were driving that this would be the focus of our adventure . . . we would go on a Autumn leaves hunt and collect up as many different coloured leaves as we could find.

So we set off in Grandma's new Radio Flyer wagon! (her dream of owning one finally come true!) and kept our eyes peeled for leaves of red, yellow, orange and sometimes brown! We found a row of trees that were all of the above and quickly jumped in amoungst the fallen leaves to have a play. As we jumped around on them the leaves crunched and crackled under our feet. This was very entertaining, especially to Ashton, who got so excited by the leaves that, surprise, surprise, he wanted to EAT them! He also loved scrunching them in his hands and as the girls and I threw them up in the air around us, he would watch them all land with a bit of a giggle!

Once we were finished having a play, we started finding the leaves of different colours and shapes that we could use in our Autumn paintings. There were so many to choose from and all such beautiful colours! Then we headed over to the grove of Oak trees at the back of the pond to set up our painting stalls.

It was so much fun painting underneath the Oak trees with the fallen autumn leaves all around us to inspire our paintings. Using glue we stuck leaves onto our paintings, and Ashton even dipped the leaves in the paint and painted with the leaves. It was also nice to get out and enjoy the change of the seasons!

Oh, did I mention that Ashton wanted to eat the paint too! (Note: All the paint, is non-toxic!)

SHUFFLE AND BOOGIE

It was time to let loose and have a boogie today! So we set our iTunes on shuffle and let the music tell us how to dance! Because the music was on shuffle, we never knew what would come on next. It was really rather exciting. If it was a slow, jazzy song, we would do a waltz type dance. Then "Switch" by Will Smith came on and boy did we bust a groove on that one. The Wiggles made their way into our mix and we did the actions that went with the song and we even got some orchestral music "Sonata Alla Turca" to be exact.

We danced and let the music guide our feet and Ashton thought it was hilarious! He was either giggling or had his face beaming with a smile the whole time. He became particularly entranced when he spotted our reflection in the mirror, he really enjoyed watching those crazy people dancing in front of him.

I didn't get any photos of this adventure as we were both just too involved, but it was lots of fun and a great work out for me! ;o)

Bamboozled By David Legge

A fantastically quirky book that gives me a giggle every time! The story is actually more about the illustrations than the simple yet clever storyline. This story is about a little girl who goes to visit her grandfather as per usual, but on this particular visit can't help but feel something isn't quite right. The funny thing is, everything is not quite right! Cowboys and Indians running through the hall way, fish in the TV, dishing hanging out to dry and mowing the grass inside . . . Just to name a few . . . But those aren't the things that seem odd. Its not until the little girl is about to leave that she realises what it actually is!

I can look at this book over and over and find someth

ing new and odd in the illustrations every time! This is a great book for children aged 4+, but I would recommend it more for a one on one or small group read rather than a large group story, as the best thing about this book is sitting around pointing out all of the things that are just mixed up!

Activity idea:

* Play eye spy with the pictures and see who can spot the most unusual thing happening in the picture.

* You could even play crazy eye spy in your room by taking turns to secretly change or mix something up in the room. The other person then has to try and spot the mix up.

SOUND HUNT

Every Monday night at our house is family night! And no family night is complete without a game... so for Ashton and I that means daddy gets to join in our adventure for the day and tonights adventure game for family night was a "Sound Hunt"!

Ashton sat on the middle of the bed so that he could turn and look in all directions of the room. Kris and I then took turns hiding the bells in different places and playing them there till Ashton figured out where the sound was and turned in that direction.

At first Ashton was more interested and excited at the fact that Mummy and Daddy were hiding around the room! But eventually he figured out that the bells kept ringing in different

directions and became very good at identifying the new hiding place pretty quickly.

The Nickle Nackle Tree By Lynley Dodd

"In a Manglemunching Forest there's a Nickle Nackle tree,

Growing Nickle Nackle berries that are red as red can be.

I went to look last Monday; I was too surprised for words

On every twisty branch there was a jumble jam of birds.

One Ballyhoo bird, kicking up a din,... "

I had to start with a quote from this book, because the opening page says so much about how fantastic this book is! The words Lynley Dodd has uses and the names she has created for each type of bird is just fantastic! Not only are they fun to say and attempt to get your tongue around, they play with wonderful sound combinations that are great for children to hear. She also experiments with great alliteration which is a really good way for children to become familiar with letter sounds.

So for a book that is actually titled "a counting book, by Lynley Dodd" it is actually a book that teaches literacy just as beautifully!

Now let me get to the counting element of the book! The books layout really allows the child to focus on the individual number as it is introduced. With the illustration on one side and the single number and sentence on the other side, the children can count the number of birds, identify the written number, then relate the description of the birds to what they see within the illustrations.

I have often heard people say that this is one book they can read over and over again and never get tired of it! I second that notion!!!

MY LITTLE DRUMER BOY

We've played with shakers, the keyboard, bells and even castanets, so today it was time to bang it out on our very own drum set! The pots, pans and boxes came out and the noise levels went up!

I sat Ashton down on his mat and one by one surrounded him with the pots and pans, his eyes watching the scene unfold a little unsure as to what his crazy mum was doing... again! But it didn't take Ashton long to dive down onto the pots and start banging them with his hands.

Next I gave him a wooden spoon, a metal spoon and a plastic spoon to use as his "drum sticks" and although he had to suck on each of them all first, once the initial sensory exploration was over he was into it! Picking up each utensil one by one to pound them on top of the various containers. At one point Ashton even managed to get one spoon in each hand and do a double handed beat! He made sure he made use of every pot, box or pan, turning and twisting where he sat.

As Ashton's little drumming adventure continued he began to explore the pots and pans in different ways, turning the pots over to bang the spoons inside the pot. He placed other toys inside the containers to bang them around and make different sounds. It was really quite exciting to see his little mind ticking over, thinking of how he could make new sounds and then to see him respond with such excitement when he made one! His eyebrows lifting, his little legs kicking, his arms pumping, and we must not forget the squealing of pure delight!!!