This is now my favorite kid’s Santa book. It was only published a couple years ago by Harcourt, Inc. Actually, it’s one of my favorite books. Period. Marla Frazee’s illustrations make me laugh. There is a lot of colorful detail, but it’s not confusing. It’s easy to scan. This is why it’s perfect for anyone from one to one hundred. It’s not too wordy. The pictures do most of the talking. Your toddler will enjoy conversations about various illustrations that are pointed to.
Since the winter holidays are in the air, we’re thinking what presents would be good for our children. Most of us are now thinking about toys in a different way because of the lead paint in some Chinese-made toys. Also we know that some plastics are not good for children, because they get absorbed in the system and mimic hormones, potentially causing problems later on.
In the June issue of Parents Magazine, there was an article entitled, “Boost Your Childl’s IQ (IMAGINATION QUOTIENT). Recent research according to the article shows that IMAGINATION may a bigger factor in academic success than the traditional IQ intelligence. It’s important today that children can become original thinkers. That means thinking outside the box. The only trouble is, our schools are increasingly going the other way: encouraging all children to get the so- called right answers on tests. Yet creative children know there is often more than one answer, just as they know there is more than one way to solve math or any other problems. What’s a parent to do?
•Number one is to reduce time in front of TV.
•Encourage unstructured play – remember when you went outdoors to play and pretend by playing house or whatever?
•Provide your children with blocks that can be made into anything without any necessary direction. There is no right way. Children who played with blocks, according to a study, scored 15 percent higher on a language development test than kids who didn’t have blocks.
•Allow your child to spend time each day outdoors in unstructured play time. My grandkids and I used to have so much fun going on “treasure hunts.” We would take bags and pick up anything that seemed interesting (old nails, bottle caps, acorns, leaves, pieces of wood, or foil from wrappers, etc.) We’d bring the whole mess home, dump it out, and get some glue and make all kinds of images for a collage effect. I framed one of our efforts, and it’s a great memory of that particular time in my grandson’s life. He was about 3 1/2 or 4 at the time.
These treasure hunts provided far more interest, interaction, and creative thinking than any so-called “educational toys.”
•One of the most fun toys is a big box. Kids love to pretend they are a house, a garage, a fort.
•Get the book Unplugged Play that I recommend earlier. This has so many idea you can use. It will give you sources for where to get wooden toys made right here in the USA, free of toxins.
•Books. There are so many wonderful children’s books. Today I went into our local children’s book store, ADVENTURE FOR KIDS. I was spellbound by the treasure of beautiful books availale. Of course, I had to buy some, as I always do. I’ll be writing about what I bought later.
As our book BABY READ-ALOUD BASICS states so clearly, if you want your child to be happily and intelligently imaginative with great language skills, read, read, read to him and her every day.
Santa Claus The World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee
Harcourt, Inc. 2005, hardcover
