k is for kitten: books

A couple weeks ago we reviewed the letter "k" and spent some time learning about kittens. Jonathan really liked this (as did Grace) since they like seeing the kittens down at their Nana's farm. So here are some of the books we enjoyed:





Kittens 

The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown

This classic Golden book is about two little kittens, Brush and Hush, who with their paint cans and brushes paint all the colors in the world. It's an excellent first concept book for toddlers and teaches color mixing. Jonathan is fascinated by color mixing and carried this book around with him for a couple days.

If You See a Kitten by John Butler

Super sweet book that goes through what one would say if one sees a particular animal. It's a fun book that really invites reader participation! Jonathan had fun imitating me as I read it aloud over lunch time. We said "Ahhh" over cuddly kittens and "Pee-eww!" at dirty pigs. I love Butler's warm illustrations-- it's a great book for sharing with your toddler.

The Little Kitten by Judy Dunn

This is a 1980's "classic" I remember reading as a child. The story and photographs tell the story of a little girl named Jenny and her little kitten Pickle. Pickle is a curious kitten who gets into several scrapes. The book follows kitten as she gets into trouble and Jenny repeatedly rescues her. It's a cute story that I read to Jonathan and Grace over lunchtime one day. Jonathan especially enjoyed looking at the photographs and told daddy about the book afterwards. I think he especially liked the book because his Nana has a new kitten. :)

Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone*


This is a retelling of the classic nursery rhyme that Jonathan really enjoyed. Galdone's illustrations are so lively and full of interesting details that I found appealing as well. We sang the nursery rhyme as we read the book and Jonathan liked laughing at the naughty kittens. Really, this is a wonderful version of the rhyme and is worth adding to your home library!

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes*

Oh my, Jonathan just loved this Caldecott winner! It's a story about a little kitten who mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk. The kitten does all he can to try to obtain the bowl of milk, resulting in several mishaps. But after all of his misadventures finds a bowl of milk waiting on the porch. It's such a simple story told in shaded black and white illustrations. Jonathan loved this book and requested it several times right before bed. We'll be buying this one for sure!

The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter

I remember enjoying Beatrix Potter's stories when I was a child and have a vague memory of liking Tom Kitten. It's a simple tale of three little kittens who are dressed in their best clothes only to lose their clothes while playing outside. Unfortunately, it didn't hold Jonathan's attention at age 2 1/2. I think it would be better suited for preschool aged children, so we'll try it again when he's a bit older.

That's Not my Kitten by Fiona Watt

This was a book I checked out for Grace since she's really enjoying touchy-feely books lately. It's a simple book (like the rest in the series) that shows different kittens saying "that's not my kitten" and giving a reason why until the last page shows the correct kitten. . Each page has a texture to feel and Grace enjoyed patting the "kitties" as much as I thought she would. It's a great series for young toddlers.







*Denotes a favorite that we highly recommend!

Tot School: k is for kitten and kite (32 months)

32 months

This week Jonathan and I didn't accomplish as much as I hoped. Saturday night he came down with croup and we took him in to the ER. The rest of the week he wasn't croupy, but still had a rough cold. 

Bible & Character 

We focused on Gideon this week during our Bible time. Jonathan was so cute. He had fun pretending to blow a trumpet and say "for the sword of the LORD and for Gideon!" I'll share a little more on Weds.

We continued also focusing on the character trait of attentiveness. We talked about paying attention vs. being distracted. And we played a fun listening game... more on that on Monday. :)

Books, Nursery Rhymes, and Read Alouds 

The heart of our week is the books we read. This week we read lots of books about kittens and kites. What else is there to do when you're sick besides books and movies?

• The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
• If You See a Kitten by John Butler
• The Little Kitten by Judy Dunn
• Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
• Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
• The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter
• The Berenstain Bears: We Like Kites by Stan Berenstain
• Kite Flying by Grace Lin
• Let's Fly a Kite by Stuart J. Murphy
• The Kite by Mary Packard
• Curious George Flies a Kite by Margaret Rey

Gross Motor 

We played with our cardboard blocks and built tunnels:

And we also tried to fly a kite on a windy day, but we don't have pictures of our kite attempts (none were successful!)




Art 


We didn't get to do much besides coloring and tracing this week, as Jonathan was sick and wasn't up for being crafty. Here's one craft I wanted to do, in conjunction with the nursery rhyme Three Little Kittens:

Source: daniellesplace.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Math

We made kites using our beginner pattern blocks. One of our kite books talked about symmetry, so this was a helpful extension:

These are way too easy for him at this point, but he still has fun. He decided to do every one:

So that was our short week this week. Be sure to check out our current giveaways! 

We are linking up to these lovely blog parties! 

Tot School: 13.5 Months- k is for kitten

Grace is 13.5 Months Old

I'm very thankful that Grace hasn't seemed to be affected too much by Jonathan's croupy cold. She has a bit of a cough and we're running a humidifier in her room, but that's about it. So we were able to do a few things together. She's been more the focus this week, since Jonathan was feeling sick and out of sorts.


Books 


This week Jonathan and I talked about kittens and kites and read several related books aloud. Grace almost always listens in, as we do a lot of reading at the lunch table. But I try to pick out a theme-related book for Grace. This week we read:

That's Not My Kitten... (Ubsorne Touch Feely) by Fiona Watt

Grace just loves touchy-feely books, and this popular Usborne series has plenty of wonderful books for infants and young toddlers. Grace enjoyed patting the kittens on each page and I think she even tries to say "kitty" now. It's a short enough book to allow you and your baby good snuggly time and to get them used to sitting and reading with you. Grace likes turning the pages back and forth and she's starting to grasp the idea that one reads a book from left to right, which is an important pre-reading skill!



Motor Skills 


Grace still loves push toys. She isn't walking independently, but she keeps trying out different push toys and even has figured out how to move our ottoman around! We had some nice Fall days this week and she had a lot of fun pushing the wagon outside:

She's so proud of herself-- she can be interested in this for quite some time! She's also started trying to let go and stand-- only for about ten seconds at a time, but much longer than last week!

She also really liked her Crawl Along Snail this week and would clap her hands and dance along with the music:

Early Learning Fun

We also played with our early lacing beads. She wasn't able to lace them yet, but she had fun putting them in a muffin tray: I talked about what colors and shapes they were as she played with each one:

We also played with our LeapFrog magnets. I put them on a cookie tray and let her move them around: I talked about the letters and the sounds they make.

And she had fun putting them on and off our French doors. She figured out that they don't stick to the glass:

So that was Grace's week!