Oh the hilarity of watching American Idol this year! Will is by far the most devoted aficionado of singing competition in this house. I posted pictures here from last year, showing Will glued to the TV while mimicking the singing.
This year is a little different. Now he can repeat choruses and he can move. I mean really let his body sway and bend with such emotion that you would think that he was really singing the song. He has also found the Wii microphone to be perfect, as it's long cord requires maneuvering and he smoothly slides all that footage of wire to the side, around, step over it. Will is smooth-cool in stage presence man.
Oh, how I wish that my video camera hadn't gone missing. I did make a strong accusation that the kids had made off with it to make their own movies, but they guilted me into a retraction. Where was the innocent until proven guilty? I cannot say anything further about it until I spot it under some one's bed.
Anyway, this year Will is so loving "his" favorite show that when we are still talking when the commercials are over he loudly reprimands us "Hey, American Idol is on!" It sounds more like this though: Oy! Muricanido s'on. His voice is so baritone that it sounds like a man is telling us all to shut up.
OK, the baritone thing is freaky when the men in the American Idol competition are singing in keys Will can't get up to.
On another note, Will is still loving our new reading system. I have fallen off the wagon and purchased a whack of new books that are so awesome! I have spent so much time researching books online. This is a very hard process, as one really needs to flip through books to get an idea of how appropriate they are. I have come up with a good system of using online ratings and criticisms and the "Look inside " features. I have to say that the Barnes and Noble "look inside" feature is very efficient and far easier to use than the one on Amazon.
For those parents interested in a conversational approach to reading with their kids, here are some great titles:
Un Brella
This is a great wordless book that offers a humerus spin on the weather. Will laughs at the silliness of this book, and is dazzled by the illustrations. Both parents and children will enjoy the contrarian fun this book offers.
The Rain Came Down
Another book that runs on a weather theme. This time a rainstorm causes a street-wide ruckus. The illustrations are rich and Will enjoys pointing out the obvious emotions that are portrayed on the character's faces. This is an offering from David Shannon, author of the David series of books.
Rainstorm
OK, I must be anxious for spring, because here in another rainy book. This is a wordless book that features a bored and lonely boy looking for something to do on a rainy day. A discovery in his house leads him to a fun get-away. Each picture builds logically with the story and "I wonder what's going to happen next?" questions may lead to some fun guessing. (By the way, Will rarely answers such abstract questions, but I still ask them and then answer them out loud after turning the page, as a demonstration.)
King Bidgood's In The Bathtub
I love this book! It is written by Audrey and Don Wood who also wrote The Napping House. We always loved that book, but this one is even better (garnering a Caldecott medal). King Bidgood isn't in the mood to get out of the tub and it's fun to watch how the court attempts to please him by conducting the day's business within the confines of the tub. Lots of silliness to laugh at. Lovely illustrations that seem to always have something new you didn't spot before kind of detail.
The Flower Man
Mark Ludy deftly uses colour to move the storyline along. Very detailed illustrations that could provide a lot of fodder for discussion. The simple and heartwarming story line is appropriate for preschoolers, but the intricacy of the artwork might be appreciated by even older kids who enjoy looking through all the details.
You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum
This is an adventure story about a well meaning museum employee who decides to bar entry to a young girl's balloon. He is left to babysit the balloon and an ensuing adventure brings him all over the city in a crazy mad dash to save it. A funny, wordless book that features actual photographs of the museum treasures in the midst of the illustrations. (I really like this new technique in illustration. It offers such a great diversity to children's books. Seeing actual photographs of objects, or even close-ups of fabric or everyday items to provide texture and depth to illustration, gives children more to consider and appreciate. Lauren Child's books are a great example of this technique.)
Beyond the books....
In other news, we have all survived a family-wide strep epidemic that dragged on relay-style for two weeks. Pink eye was in there too. Lots of antibiotics and plenty of fluids and we are O.K. and back to our regularly scheduled programs.
We are looking forward to some visitors from Ontario next week and then we are sending Mitchell off on his grade 8 trip to Washington D.C. for the first half of our spring break. Mark will be taking Mitchell and Jack into the mountains for skiing for the second half of the week.
Mark has been travelling a lot lately so we have been trying to make the most of the weekends. Hockey season is over after both boys getting put out in only their first playoff game. There is still a tournament left for Jack, Mitch will miss his while in Washington. Olivia will start volleyball in the next couple of weeks. Olivia is a week and a half away from getting her braces on. I dread the multiple returns back to the orthodontist at the beginning, when only thin, easily broken and misplaced wires cause me to add last minute trips to the ortho into my already busy day.
We have already begun the discussion with the school in regards to Will's transition into kindergarten next year (to a school much closer than the one he attends now). Will is currently undergoing testing to see if he qualifies for special education. It's a formality I know, but I think it's a funny bit of formality.
Well, that's us, as we head into spring :)
This year is a little different. Now he can repeat choruses and he can move. I mean really let his body sway and bend with such emotion that you would think that he was really singing the song. He has also found the Wii microphone to be perfect, as it's long cord requires maneuvering and he smoothly slides all that footage of wire to the side, around, step over it. Will is smooth-cool in stage presence man.
Oh, how I wish that my video camera hadn't gone missing. I did make a strong accusation that the kids had made off with it to make their own movies, but they guilted me into a retraction. Where was the innocent until proven guilty? I cannot say anything further about it until I spot it under some one's bed.
Anyway, this year Will is so loving "his" favorite show that when we are still talking when the commercials are over he loudly reprimands us "Hey, American Idol is on!" It sounds more like this though: Oy! Muricanido s'on. His voice is so baritone that it sounds like a man is telling us all to shut up.
OK, the baritone thing is freaky when the men in the American Idol competition are singing in keys Will can't get up to.
On another note, Will is still loving our new reading system. I have fallen off the wagon and purchased a whack of new books that are so awesome! I have spent so much time researching books online. This is a very hard process, as one really needs to flip through books to get an idea of how appropriate they are. I have come up with a good system of using online ratings and criticisms and the "Look inside " features. I have to say that the Barnes and Noble "look inside" feature is very efficient and far easier to use than the one on Amazon.
For those parents interested in a conversational approach to reading with their kids, here are some great titles:
Un Brella
This is a great wordless book that offers a humerus spin on the weather. Will laughs at the silliness of this book, and is dazzled by the illustrations. Both parents and children will enjoy the contrarian fun this book offers.
The Rain Came Down
Another book that runs on a weather theme. This time a rainstorm causes a street-wide ruckus. The illustrations are rich and Will enjoys pointing out the obvious emotions that are portrayed on the character's faces. This is an offering from David Shannon, author of the David series of books.
Rainstorm
OK, I must be anxious for spring, because here in another rainy book. This is a wordless book that features a bored and lonely boy looking for something to do on a rainy day. A discovery in his house leads him to a fun get-away. Each picture builds logically with the story and "I wonder what's going to happen next?" questions may lead to some fun guessing. (By the way, Will rarely answers such abstract questions, but I still ask them and then answer them out loud after turning the page, as a demonstration.)
King Bidgood's In The Bathtub
I love this book! It is written by Audrey and Don Wood who also wrote The Napping House. We always loved that book, but this one is even better (garnering a Caldecott medal). King Bidgood isn't in the mood to get out of the tub and it's fun to watch how the court attempts to please him by conducting the day's business within the confines of the tub. Lots of silliness to laugh at. Lovely illustrations that seem to always have something new you didn't spot before kind of detail.
The Flower Man
Mark Ludy deftly uses colour to move the storyline along. Very detailed illustrations that could provide a lot of fodder for discussion. The simple and heartwarming story line is appropriate for preschoolers, but the intricacy of the artwork might be appreciated by even older kids who enjoy looking through all the details.
You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum
This is an adventure story about a well meaning museum employee who decides to bar entry to a young girl's balloon. He is left to babysit the balloon and an ensuing adventure brings him all over the city in a crazy mad dash to save it. A funny, wordless book that features actual photographs of the museum treasures in the midst of the illustrations. (I really like this new technique in illustration. It offers such a great diversity to children's books. Seeing actual photographs of objects, or even close-ups of fabric or everyday items to provide texture and depth to illustration, gives children more to consider and appreciate. Lauren Child's books are a great example of this technique.)
Beyond the books....
In other news, we have all survived a family-wide strep epidemic that dragged on relay-style for two weeks. Pink eye was in there too. Lots of antibiotics and plenty of fluids and we are O.K. and back to our regularly scheduled programs.
We are looking forward to some visitors from Ontario next week and then we are sending Mitchell off on his grade 8 trip to Washington D.C. for the first half of our spring break. Mark will be taking Mitchell and Jack into the mountains for skiing for the second half of the week.
Mark has been travelling a lot lately so we have been trying to make the most of the weekends. Hockey season is over after both boys getting put out in only their first playoff game. There is still a tournament left for Jack, Mitch will miss his while in Washington. Olivia will start volleyball in the next couple of weeks. Olivia is a week and a half away from getting her braces on. I dread the multiple returns back to the orthodontist at the beginning, when only thin, easily broken and misplaced wires cause me to add last minute trips to the ortho into my already busy day.
We have already begun the discussion with the school in regards to Will's transition into kindergarten next year (to a school much closer than the one he attends now). Will is currently undergoing testing to see if he qualifies for special education. It's a formality I know, but I think it's a funny bit of formality.
Well, that's us, as we head into spring :)