Hello and welcome to Again Again MORE. The podcast where we share our favorite kids books, the languages development between their pages, and the tips to make the most of reading them again, again, and more. My name is Wrenna and today my toddler used two toy cups and a hair band to make a pair of “binoc-li-laylers”.
For many of us the holiday season has descended and certainly the planning and creating of wish lists has crept into our schedules. Of course books will be at the top of all your wish lists. And this is usually the time of year when a podcast such as this would send out a Top Ten list or your 5 Must Have Titles. I think you’ll have had your fill of those lists soon. What you need this year is something to get you and the Littles through the few weeks before those fresh new must have titles arrive. You need to read a catalog. For us, this choice is the Ikea catalog. It shows up in our mailbox and we enjoy it for weeks. Its better than fruitcake. Let it be known Ikea is not a sponsor of this show and I do not have any affiliation or affection for that company beyond the appreciation of the desk lamp I am currently using. Although my Little’s catalog of choice is from Ikea, the following tips are applicable to any catalog and even to the grocery leaflets in the newspaper.
Understand that catalog reading is not for the faint of heart. There is no narrative to carry you through, you have to really dive into your ability to go beyond the text.
So here it is folks, my 5 Must have Titles for the pre-holiday season and my Top Ten Tips for reading them.
5 Must Have Titles
Catalogs such as Ikea, Oriental Trading, or Sky Mall
Grocery store inserts from the newspaper
Advertisement fliers stuck under your windshield wipers
Magazines in waiting rooms
Scholastic book order forms
Top Ten Tips
Describe furniture. Imagine which sofa you would get for Gramma and which one you would get for the postal delivery person. (Alternatives to furniture are obviously any other type of item you find in your chosen catalog).
If you’re using a catalog that is more age or interest appropriate for your Little you can have them create their own wish list either by cutting and pasting the pictures or by writing it all down.
Are there any items that rhyme? Which items start with the same sounds?
Scavenger hunt or I Spy. Choose an item in the catalog, label it and then try to find something similar around the house.
Color or shape matching and naming.
Holiday decorations. Seriously. These high gloss pictures add excellent color to a craft project. Following instructions verbally or from a written list is not only a linguistic skill but an executive function skill. If your Little isn’t up for paper chains you can do similar exercises by just tearing pages into requested number of pieces or shapes or sizes. The language development comes from the ability to follow single or multiple step instructions. The fun comes from the obliteration of catalogs.
Imaginative design. Create a recipe or decorate a room by cutting and pasting the pictures. This generalizes the object to new contexts. Would you have a chair in the shape of a bunch of grapes? If you would you are stretching your imagination and encouraging flexibility in definitions.
You describe an item on the page and the Little has to find it or guess what it is. Step this up a level by asking the Little to describe the item.
Choose a few items on the page and make up a story about them. You can jazz this up by making the story progressive, where each person only says one sentence. (And if this is a game that really works for your Little, check out the episode on StoryCubes).
Master Level: you say a statement about an item in the catalog. For example “the lamp is green”. The Little must come up with a question which would result in that answer.
With the vacation days, snow days, travel days, colds, and flus - why not give catalog reading a try? But don’t limit catalog reading to the big kids. Catalogs are great for infants too. They are shiny, they are colorful, the pages can tear and stick together and disintegrate and no one gets in trouble. And they are replaceable if they become a favorite and are lost. Don’t have a catalog magically appear in your mailbox? What about grocery leaflets? Food is one of the first categories of words we naturally teach our Littles because food is very important to humans.
That is what we are reading this week folks. Please also take a moment to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @AgainAgainMore or twitter @ReadAgainAgain.
And if you’re feeling the generous spirit of the holidays, take a moment to review us on iTunes. Every kind word helps.
Happy holiday reading.
Check out some ideas for how to use those catalogs in your holiday and winter decor on AAM's Pinterest page.
Episode 5 features Story Cubes as a way to bring language into game night for the whole family.