Where's the Poop?

I unknowingly gave my 11 month old daughter some double fiber bread this morning from my own breakfast.  She was very happy to get it and made a big deal of eating it after getting it good and slobbery.  After I finished my breakfast I realized what I had done and started to wonder if I made a mistake (probably).  We are probably still a year away from actual potty training, but like most activities involving children, it is usually good to give them lots of warning ahead of time.  In fact, just about everything around here is preceded by a countdown, it's like NASA or something: "Five minutes before we leave for school!"  and "You've got fifteen seconds to put that diaper back on your sister or else!" are good representative samples.  There's no reason that potty training shouldn't also be foreshadowed as well.

Where's the Poop? is a great little book for a 1-2 year old before you start potty training that helps them understand not only that everyone poops (the title of another popular poop book) but that there is a place for everyone's poop to go.  You get to look at various animals and see where they poop (Tigers in the jungle, Kangaroos in the outback, etc...) by lifting a little flap to see the "prize".  The last page of the book is a little boy telling his mommy that he pooped and beneath the flap is a potty.  A great idea for a book, not only are you teaching your kid that it is normal to poop, but that there is a specific place that it is supposed to go, as opposed to whenever and wherever he feels like it.  No longer will you have to wonder if that double fiber bread was a bad idea.  Eligible for free shipping at Amazon.com

 

Where's the Poop? at Amazon.com

The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

It turns out that someone got tired of complaining about the sorry selection of home chemistry sets out there (like me) and decided to do something aout it. Robert Bruce Thompson wrote the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments to replace some of the old home chemistry books from mid-century (you have to go back that far to get a good one). The book was just released today and is available at Amazon.

"From the 1930s through the 1970s, chemistry sets were among the most popular Christmas gifts, selling in the millions. But two decades ago, real chemistry sets began to disappear as manufacturers and retailers became concerned about liability. The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments steps up to the plate with lessons on how to equip your home chemistry lab, master laboratory skills, and work safely in your lab. The bulk of this book consists of 17 hands-on chapters that include multiple laboratory sessions..."

"With plenty of full-color illustrations and photos, Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course."

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (Illustrated Guide) at Amazon.com

(via BoingBoing.net)

Everything bad is good for you

I know, I'm getting off topic here. There are toys out there that need to be found and written about. I'll get back on the toy wagon soon, I promise. In the meantime, my earlier post about video games brought up two important points. One was that I had somehow turned off the comments, they are back on now so feel free to comment away. The second was to point me towards a book that I heard about awhile ago but had since forgotten. It's called Everything Bad is Good for You by Steve Johnson. His basic argument is that things are so much more complex now than they were a generation ago that it is quite possible that the sheer complexity of everyday living (especially entertainment and pop culture) is making us smarter.

Gracias to Jennifer at Connectwithyourteens Blog for catching the comment problem and reminding me about this book. Give her a visit, especially if you have teenagers.

How do you raise an entrepreneur?

A podcast interview with author Troy Dunn convinced me to get this book. He is a self-made millionaire, and he has seven kids, all of which he is encouraging to be entrepreneurs. His basic theme is to help your kids turn something they are interested in into something they can make money at as well. In his experience as a radio talk show host and business coach, it is usually the parent's preconceptions that unknowingly stifle the kid's natural creativity and business interest. In his book he strives to turn the parents into effective mentors. The goal is encourage kids to understand what it means to be their own boss. Chances are that they will like it and it will change the way they look at work, money, and opportunity in the future. Think of it as your way to "stick it to the man" via the next generation.
Young Bucks: How to Raise a Future Millionaire at amazon.com

Podcast interview (at Instapundit.com my favorite blogger!)

Ready for a new kid?

Here is a quick review of Have a New Kid by Friday by the blogger "GTC", plus there's some good reviews on Amazon for the book. I don't want to get too involved in the "parenting advice" world, but this book looks pretty interesting.

Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change Your Childs Attitude, Behavior & Character in 5 Days
(via Instapundit)

Kids books that teach life lessons

NPR has an short audio clip (8 1/2 minutes) about children's books that teach important life lessons like how to deal with death, anger, fear, and a new sibling in the family. I was glad to see Where the Wild Things Are on the list, as well as Bridge to Terabithia. I don't know much about a lot of the other books on the list, but I'm willing to check them out now.

Listen to NPR's Kids Books with Lessons for Life


Where the Wild Things Are at amazon.com
Bridge to Terabithia (Movie Tie-in) at amazon.com

I added the other books to Cole's Amazon Store if you want to take a closer look.

Illustory

Just so no one accuses me of posting too many science toys, here is a novel concept called IlluStory. It is a make-your-own book kit that allows children to write and illustrate their own story, including acknowledgments (thanks grandma and grandpa!) and an author's biography section. Your kid can write his story on the included paperwork or online, either way they are helped with plot and organization of the story. When they are done you send the documents in the prepaid envelope (unless you do it online), and in a couple of weeks you get a professionally bound and typeset color children's book written by your child (multiple copies of the book can be ordered as well). The IlluStory can not only make a good gift, but keep a lookout for a return gift written by a new author. We haven't tried this yet, but it's in the cart with a few other goodies to be shipped out soon.

IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit at amazon.com
IlluStory at ebay

National Toy Hall of Fame Part 3

This post has been written by Cole's Grandmother, who has a special appreciation for Raggedy Ann and Andy (thanks Mom!):

Raggedy Ann is a cloth doll that belonged to Johnny Gruelle's daughter. In 1918 he started writing stories about Raggedy Ann to entertain his daughter. The stories centered around adventures Raggedy had with the other toys in the toy room as they came alive at any time there was no one around. Several dozen stories have been written about Raggedy Ann (and her brother Andy who came came around a couple of years later), the dolls were sold as a tie-in with the books.

She teaches kindness, love, and any child holding the doll can feel comfort and friendship.

I found love for these dolls as a grandmother. My mother made them and gave them as gifts. I have found them to be special with a smile that can make you feel happy anytime you are around them. I hope they will come to your life and bring you joy.

The official Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum

a (small) sample of Raggedy Ann merchandise:
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Read-Aloud Treasury (Raggedy Ann) at amazon.com
Russ Berrie 12-Inch Button Eye Raggedy Ann at amazon.com

Raggedy Ann at ebay.com

This is part of a series of posts on the National Toy Hall of Fame, see part 1 (marbles) and part 2 (kites) also.

The Spaghetti Book Club

The Spaghetti Book Club is a kids book review site, the difference here is that all of the reviews are written by kids. It is actually a program that offers lesson plans and training to schools and libraries to encourage kids to read critically and then allows them to publish their own reviews (including an illustration). The reviews might be helpful to help find a good book out of the moutain of children's books out there, but I posted it mostly because some of the reviews are a hoot to read

Here's a couple of gems:

Walter the Farting Dog, reviewed by Andrew G (age 12)

"... My favorite part of the story was when Walter was taking a bath, because it is good to take baths. My favorite character was Walter, because he is funny. I can relate to this story because sometimes farting happens."

Go, Dog Go! reviewed by Cody S. (age 7)

"...I liked this book because it makes me think of my dog going crazy when I have to do my homework. My favorite character is the girl dog with the crazy hats. My favorite part is the dog party because they are playing wild, and they look like they are having fun. I think first graders should read this book because it's funny when the dogs go crazy."

link

Teaching kids about money

It's never too early to teach your kids about money. The book "Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday" is about a boy who gets a dollar from his grandparents and has to learn how to hold on to it long enough to do what he wants with it. It's a good "learn by example" story.

Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

See also this link about Monopoly Jr.

The Magic School Bus

I didn't realize it until recently that The Magic School Bus books have been around for quite awhile. Cole came home from daycare asking for the tv show one day, we previewed one on cable and realized that it was a pretty educational show. The animation is a long way from Pixar quality, but the content is fantastic. I guess that is because it was originally a book series where your content is more important than the graphics. If you don't already know, the story involves a classroom of kids that go on interesting field trips with their loony teacher in a magic school bus. This usually involves the bus (and kids) shrinking and exploring something like the solar system, or a your digestive system, or a water treatment plant. The thing I like the most is how days later Cole will spit out something he heard in one of the videos or books. If he is going to retain something from his day I would rather it be about the real world than Pokemon or Spongebob (dont' get me wrong, I love Spongebob as much as he does, but I have to admit that it is a little weird). Cole is old enough now that he likes to lay in bed and look at his books at night before he goes to sleep. Sometimes we think he secretly knows how to read and is just not telling us. At the very least he looking at the books and reinforcing what he can remember us reading to him.

There are hundreds of different Magic School Bus titles, we chose several to help answer some of those "why is the sky blue?" questions that you tend to get from four year olds.

Hungry?

My wife and I can't wait for our 2nd child to get old enough to eat real food and get out of diapers. If only we could make her stop at that point it would be great. But before too long she'll be asking for the car keys and rolling her eyes when I talk in front of her friends. I guess we will just have to take lots of pictures.

At some point about a year ago Cole decided he wanted to be a "cooker" i.e. a chef. We let him help out a lot in the kitchen, but sometimes it is not always safe to do have him in there. Thankfully there is fake food for him to play with. Not only does this food never go bad, but some of it is fairly realistic and colorful to play with. Pair it up with a play kitchen and you have a chef-in-training.

$14.49 at oompa.com


Extra: I'm a sucker for Rachael Ray, I think she's about as cute as she could be, plus did you know she can cook? She's got a great cookbook for kids that Cole is able to follow along with (parental supervision is still required though).
Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids