Rain City Books Blog

I attended my first Usborne Regional Training day today.  Consultants from all over BC came into town, and we met for a day of laughter, training, great meals and training sessions, and loads of free books giveaways courtesy of head office.

I think a brand new consultant summed it up perfectly - “When I first joined, I was wondering how we could possibly do training with each other, considering we are technically mostly on different teams.  Now that I’m here, I don’t see any competitive and guarded atmosphere at all.  Everyone is so incredibly supportive of each other!”.  And she is absolutely right.  There were directors who have been in the business for over 16 years, and brand new consultants who have literally just started, i.e. they just signed the paperwork today and so have not received their starter kit, and everything in between.  We shared candid tips and stories throughout the day, and all came away inspired, empowered, and with a new bag of tools to grow our businesses.

As I reflect on my experience so far as an Usborne consultant, I realized that I’m very fortunate to have found a business with products that I’m truly passionate about, and a company culture that is completely aligned with my values.  I had signed up to be a consultant really to only get some free books.  Now, only six months later, I’ve got more books than I know what to do with (well, actually, I do know what to do with them - find them good homes!).  And in a short time I’ve learned so much about the highs and lows of running a business, overcoming fears, and have met so many great moms, fellow consultants, and mentors.  Can’t wait to dive right into our busiest fall season!

The September new titles are here!  There are lots of goodies in this month’s titles, and I’ll be reviewing a few of my favorites over the next few posts.

Recycling Things to Make and Do

Recycling Things to Make and Do caught my attention right away when I opened this month’s box of books.  This book has a collection of 20 earth-friendly projects (and pocket friendly too, considering we likely have a bunch of the materials lying around the house) and is illustrated with bold, colorful pictures and step-by-step instructions for each project.

There is a page on how to make shiny bugs from old nuts, bolts, screws, stripped electrical wires (these make great bug legs!), paper clips, cardboard tubes, old wrapping paper, and buttons etc. Another on making printed flowers from jar lids, pipecleaners and strings.  This year, skip buying gift tags for Christmas (ack! did I just mention the “C” word?) and make your own from cardboard scraps, paper and yarn, cord, string or ribbon.  My favorite is the Dragon puppet project - make a red fire-blowing dragon with cardboard tube, wrappers, cardboard box, and satay/kebab sticks.  You can even move the sticks up and down to bend the dragon’s body.

The last page of the book has instructions on how to strip a plastic wire, paint over a patterned cardboard, cut cardboard tubes and cardboard boxes safely too, perfect for the I-can-do-it-myself artist types.  What a great way to demonstrate the concept of recycling with these green projects!

Very First Words

This board book contains the first 100 words in a child’s vocabulary.  It is illustrated with Jo Litchfield’s famed Fimo models and set in environments with topics familiar to a child - people, transportation modes, animals, food, household items, things you may see on playgrounds, toys, body parts, colors, and numbers (1 to 5). I find that the way the pictures are printed - brightly illustrated, glossy objects over a matt background - really makes each item stand out and thus the book captures the attention of children very well.

Words are labelled in lowercase beside each object to encourage the development of association of picture to words.  Although the recommended age for this book is 1+, I would not hesitate to introduce it to a much younger child.  At first, a parent can simply point out an object and read the word out loud to a baby.  As the child begins to understand names of objects, the parent can sound out the word and have the child point to the object.  Once junior can speak a few words, this book would be perfect for the parent to point to a picture and then have the child tell you what word it is.  I love books that grow with a child and can be used in multiple ways!

The book is also available in different languages (Spanish, Irish, and Polish at the time of this post).  It’s a must for your budding linguist!  This is one that I take to every party and show in my “early literacy” section of my talk.

See the online catalogue for pricing and details.

parts of the body

people

things that go

inside outside

Our bedtime routine for Allie used to be pretty lengthy when she was younger - bath, quick snack, brush teeth, a few stories, then in her crib, iTunes playlist set to timer and on low volume, then lights off and we leave her room.  It used to take anywhere between forty-five minutes to an hour, depending on how many stories she demands.  And how could we say no to another story?  Or the same story one more time?  Or five more times?  I learned to recite her whole collection of bedtime books from memory.  Don’t believe it?  Feel free to challenge me anytime on which animal came before which other animal in “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?“.

Over time, as she became a better sleeper, we’ve cut back on a few of the steps.  Her routine is now quick snack, brush teeth, diaper change, one story, then she’s off to bed.  It only takes ten minutes.

Now that our second child is a few months old, I’ve been thinking about reinstating a similar routine.  Specifically one that includes some type of soft music to accompany her to dreamland.  While compiling a new playlist, we decided to listen to Allie’s old bedtime playlist to see which songs we would still include.  We had always started with the “Rainbow Connection” by Sarah McLachlan from this album then followed by the entire Putomayo Kids Asian Dreamland CD.  Speaking of this CD, a friend (hi Win!) had given it to us together with the book “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” which is by far the most helpful baby gifts we received.  Since then we have copied suit in gifting the same items to new parents.  If you’re a parent, I know you’re nodding your head now - anything that helps your baby sleep is the best gift, right?

When Allie heard the Rainbow Connection song, she immediately said “That’s my sleepy song, right?  I’m sleeeeepy” and then she yawned.  I’m so amazed that the song triggered that reaction.  We haven’t played the song for probably at least nine months.  And she used to scream when she hears it because it meant she was going to bed, like, RIGHT NOW.  I’m so very pleased that she is associating “I’m looking forward to sleeping” with the song and not “My mother is going to abandon me right this moment”.

What is on your child’s bedtime playlist?

Nursery Rhyme Picture Book

“Dumpy Dumpy had a great fall, kings men, horses, dumpy together again!”

That there, is Allie, my 2 year old daugther’s version of Humpty Dumpty.  It has been her very favorite nursery rhyme for the last few months, because, would you not agree, an egg falling off the wall and lying helpless on the ground really cracks one up (bad pun intended).

I’ve only ever known the words to Humpty Dumpty and wasn’t sure if there was a song that goes with it.  Only recently did I discover that KIDiddles has the lyrics and melodies to 2000 children’s songs.  So if I ever forget how to sing the 4th verse of Baby Bumblebee, that’s where I go look it up.

We’ve been singing and reading Nursery Rhymes to our girls ever since they were born.  There are numerous benefits to introduce your child to Nursery Rhymes from a young age, including important ones like expanding their vocabulary, and becoming familiar with phonemes, which is a pre-cursor to learning to read.  I also enjoy the poetic flow of the words while reading to them, but most of all, I LOVE the silly songs.  Yes, from eating smelly socks to throwing ears over shoulders to alligators snapping monkeys out of trees (ok that one is slightly violent), there’s nothing else quite like rhymes that throws you into a different world where anything can happen and everything is possible!

For the last little while we have been reading Nursery Rhyme books like this one, watching YouTube videos (search keywords “Nursery Rhymes”), and I finally got a copy each of Usborne’s First Picture Action Rhymes and First Picture Nursery Rhymes with sound chips.  Allie had enjoyed reading the versions without the music (here and here) but is now obsessed with her new copies where she can press the buttons on the side and listen to the songs over and over all by herself.  I’m really glad the batteries are replaceable and that the tunes are arranged in keys’ appropriate to children’s voices so they can sing along nicely.

The biggest bonus?  I get my iTunes back.  No more Dumpy Dumpy as background music while I’m surfing.

Overheard my mother’s conversation with her friend who just recently became a new grandma “My daughter-in-law is reading to her 4-month-old baby boy.  I don’t think he gets it though, he’s still so young.”

Which makes me so grateful for organizations like BC Books for Babies and Zero to Three, who provide excellent resources for new parents, when it comes to topics on early childhood development and literacy.

Some might define “literacy” as the ability to read and write and narrowly define “early literacy” as reading and writing at an earlier age.  However, before a child can read and write, there is a multitude of skills that they need to be exposed to and acquire.  Skills like handling books, observation and recognition, to comprehension and reading, are developed over time and with practice.  This quick-read article goes into more details, and offers activity suggestions to help our children develop these pre-reading abilities.  I really like that it offers breakdowns on what type of books children like at different ages, so you can use it as a guide as you’re selecting books.

While I’m no expert at knowing the nitty-gritty on the science behind brain development and other social/emotional and intellectual characteristics that develop as a result of reading to your child at an early age (you can read more on that here and here), what I do know is that my eldest daughter, who is now 2, loves her books dearly and I’m awed by her expanding vocabulary and comprehension (I’m a little biased, admittedly).  Plus, I love the bonding and laughter we share during our story time together, even if I’m reading the same book the 8th time in a row.

If you have no idea on what books to include for your baby’s first library, BC Babies has conveniently offered a few recommendations.

And if you’re looking for an easy-to-use guide for supporting your children’s learning, Usborne offers a Parents’ Guide entitled “Help Your Child to Read and Write” which I think is essential for any parents interested in making learning reading and writing an enjoyable process.  It outlines key reading and writing skills for different age ranges (birth to eleven), and then provides fun activity suggestions for developing those respective skills.  I like the colorful illustrations accompanying the activities, as well as the chapter on advice for supporting bi-lingual children and reluctant readers.

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.
~ Victor Hugo

Happy Reading!

Was having a conversation with my 2-year-old daughter’s soon-to-be preschool principal, and I was bragging (just a little) that my little genius already knows her alphabet.  Yup, she can sing the song, recognize the letters from A to Z, and point out signs on the street “Mom! Look! S! T! O! P!”  We are well on our way to college, ha!

Then the principal drops this on me “Does she know her lower case?  That’s what we’ll be learning first.”

Oops.  Everything I have from books to fridge magnets to blocks are in UPPER CASE.  Time to get some lower case materials.  We don’t want her to not get into college because mom DID NOT PREPARE HER FOR A GOOD START IN PRESCHOOL.

Do you know how hard it is to find toys or books with lower case letters?  We scoured the typical mega toy stores and the little boutique ones with little luck.  Why are there so few products on lower case letters?  What do/did you use to teach your kids lower case letters?

Finally, was really happy when Usborne published this book a few months ago so I got it immediately.

Touchy-feely a b c

I like how the book has sturdy tabs so there’s less frustration with little hands trying to turn pages.  On each double-page the complete alphabet is also listed across the bottom with the featured letter highlighted, so we know exactly where we are along the alphabet.  My daughter loves the touchy-feely features and the textured letters (was told later that this is akin to the Montessori alphabet sand tracing exercise).

My daughter is still a bit confused by why there are 2 ways to write the alphabet.  Yes I know little one, there will be many many more things in life that will confuse you.  But if you don’t make it into college (gasp!) one day, it won’t be because your mother didn’t teach you the lower case alphabet.

raincitybooks is having our very first Open House and you’re invited!

when: Sunday June 14 at 3:00 - 5:00 pm

location: Solarium, Riley Park Community Center (50 East 30th Avenue, Vancouver)

goodies: lots of draw prizes and customer specials!

What category do you fall into?

1) Not sure what the buzz is about.

Come to our Open House where there will be lots of books on display, and see for yourself the amazing titles available for kids from babies to teens.  A word of caution: may lead to love for reading.

2) Like these books and want a bunch for free?

Planning a summer party or BBQ? Why not make it an Usborne book party too and get a whole bunch of free books!  It’s easier than you think - you invite your friends over, Felicia does the rest!  Make sure you ask about our “Summer Fun” promotion - you get double the amount of free books for parties booked in June to be held in the summer.  Usborne is also giving away $100 book prizes to three lucky hostesses this summer!

Book by June 15 to get an additional $30 book credit on top of double hostess benefits, courtesy of Felicia!

3) Love love love the books and want them all?

Come find out a great way to build a beautiful library with high-quality, award-winning Usborne books while making some money on the side.  Felicia is currently looking for mums pondering starting a business on the side that is fun and flexible to join her team.  If you love reading to your child, join me in promoting literacy and putting books in homes and classrooms!