Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Karma Kids Yoga Story Time

 
We went to story time at Karma Kids Yoga NY today http://www.karmakidsyoga.com/events_workshops.html, it's a creative story time that mixes yoga into childrens books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I didn't know there was a sheep yoga pose, did you? But the teacher sure showed us, and the turtle pose was pretty cool too. ;) She also read this children's book called One, which is about bullying and I had looked past the book in the store but it impressed me today, give something a second chance ;)


 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Phoenix and I read Forever Young by Bob Dylan and illustrated by Paul Rogers


I love it when songs become children's books, like Forever Young and What a Wonderful World we recently read and it was fun to sing the lyrics and share the beautiful illustrations and meaning with Phoenix.

These are great books to read to your baby now while they are learning about togetherness, love and compassion, it starts early on.

~Isobella & Phoenix

 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Earth Day apps we are enjoying today and every day on the iPad

 
I love seeing the world through my baby's eyes and I love sharing with him the world, here are a few apps that are perfect Earth Day but also every day.


Earth 101, awesome 3D interactive app for babies and kids of all ages, touch and move the globe and you can also tap to learn insight on cities and wonders of the world. It's cute to see Phoenix, 6 months spinning the world. Created by 3PlaneSoft

In my opinion, The Forest is one of the best, most beautiful interactive apps to share with babies and kids of all ages, it's put out by Scholastic and it's a very fun way to introduce your baby to the seasons, the forest (you'll enjoy watching your baby move the deciduous leaves touch the screne to make the confirerous forest go from Spring to Summer, Fall and Winter, it's cute when the snow falls) and animals hiding in the forest. You can hunt for beatles and watch flowers grow with a tap to the screen.



There are so many cute apps about animals and the planets, but instead of an animation or cartoon style I think it's best to show your baby the real thing. Here are some we have on our iPad:

NASA, it's an app with a serious vibe but it's a good app to share with your baby or toddler to introduce the planets, read the descriptions, look at the beautiful images, watch videos and talk about the color of each planet.

Small to Big, starts with an atom and takes you through the next big thing...red blood cells, salt, jelly beans, an apple, a rabbit, a lion, and a whale, in order of size all the way to the moon and Earth and  the univierse.

Stuck on Earth, travel with your baby or toddler to countries you want to see and create a travel wish list while looking at great photography. It starts by picking whether you are a daydreamer, an explorer, a photographer or all three, then the world map appears and you can click a photo or pin and learn more about that environment. It's wonderful to share with your baby or toddler different parts of the world, and through photographs and technology you can teach your baby to have an appreciation of different cultures and places on earth.

GTT ZOO, Like flashcards, you click a map of a certain environment and animals that live there appear as options and and then tap on an animal and info and a video featuring the animal show up, it's educational but you can tame it down for your baby by sharing the name of the animal and characteristics of the animal while you watch the video.

Geo Walk also has a 3D interactive globe that involves searching for animals, places and people, it has a history class meets playtime vibe.



WWF, "Building a future in which people live in harmony with nature." The World Wildlife Fund has a created a beautiful and important app. Tap on the endangered animal: panda, elephants, tigers, polar bears, whales, snow leopards, turles and more, and you'll adore the beautiful photographs of the animal (great close-ups).

Celebrating Earth Day should be every day, noticing the stars, showing your baby the beautiful moon's glow, taking a walk in the park, playing in the dirt and sand, sharing together the flowers in bloom, the birds and ducks. Phoenix has been saying Daa, Daa, Daa, maybe it's for Daddy, awww, and also from our visit to Central Park and looking at the ducks.

~Isobella & Phoenix

 

HAPPY EARTH DAY, we are reading What a Wonderful World

HAPPY EARTH DAY, we are reading What a Wonderful World by George Weiss and Bob Thiele and illustrated by Ashley Bryan & MAKE EARTH DAY EVERYDAY :)



Tuesday, April 16, 2013

children's books make us smile, laugh & warm the heart

We have a Spring children's book giveaway coming up, it's a book and I think you'll really like reading it in the park with your kids or enjoying reading it yourself on a sunny day or putting it on your coffee table, why not. My thing now is buying my adult friends children's books, whether or not they have kids cause children's books make us smile, laugh & warm the heart, they make us use silly voices and let loose & dive into the moment. ;)

Library children's book reads: cuddle, blink, wink, nod and have peace




This weeks library reads include:
Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin (this is also a great Earth Day read and we will be featuring it again)

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Phoenix and I read Corduroy this morning

Corduroy by Don Freeman is one of our recent library reads and this morning we both enjoyed the sweet story of a bear in a department store searching for his missing button. I especially loved that the girl, Lisa, who ends up buying Corduroy despite his lost button and imperfection, was of darker skin and the book shows character diversity. The girl also represents spending your money on something you REALLY want when she uses her piggy bank money to purchase Corduroy, she lives in a fourth floor want up and has a small bedroom and money is prob tight at times, (I used to live in a fifth floor walk up in Astoria, so I know what that's like) and I'm sure Lisa will treasure Corduroy for always. I regret not reading this to Phoenix sooner and will be purchasing it for him soon.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Library reads: It's Wild!

We love the library, and borrowing books, recently we picked up 3 awesome books. The library is a great place to discover new books to share with your baby and decide which you would like to buy at the bookstore and add to your bookshelf at home.

(Phoenix is wearing a Calvin Klein onesie.)
 
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, a classic and I enjoyed reading this to Phoenix as a story with a male lead character, Max, who gets in trouble and is sent to his room, goes on an adventure in his imagination but finds that being loved and being home and a good boy is best (well, that's what I think Max learned although he was sassy and wanted to boss around the Wild Things and was a little bratty), we also borrowed L,M,N,O Peas by Keith Baker shares the lifestyle and careers of the society of peas through the alphabet, it's a nice book to remind kids that A doesn't just stand for Apple but also for "arcobat, artists and astronaunts." We also borrowed a sweet Penguin Poetry book called Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra and Illustated by Jose Aruego & Arine Dewey, filled with quick and fun poems about penguins you can read the whole book or pick a poem each day to share with your baby.



(Phoenix is wearing his Kenneth Cole Baby get-up, it has a vest that goes with it too)

Does your baby have a library card? Phoenix has one and we hope you get your baby one too!
 

Monday, April 8, 2013

Carseat Adventures: Pics from our road trip to Montreal

 
Opps been so busy almost forgot to post this, we took a quick road trip to Montreal from Central, NY over Easter where we were visiting family. Phoenix turned 6 months on the trip and we had a very memorable time. Some pics.
 
Montreal is an adorable city, only here for a short time but loved seeing the old Montreal and had a nice dinner at Modavie
 
 
 
 


 
We brought with us many to read including Little Noisy Ducklings, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Bear Wants More.
 
 

Reading in the park with your babies

Last time Phoenix was in the park he was a month old. Today had fun checking out the ducks with Phoenix in Central Park and then we went to the Central Park Zoo :) Love being a Mom in NYC


Because Phoenix is on the go, crawling, creeping, rolling around, high energy books are best to bring along when we are out and about these days. Books that involve the reader to bring emotion to the story or make sounds and talk about the tree in the book and the tree right there in front of you! Or the bird, the duck, the grass, the dirt!

So looking forward to the weather in NYC staying warm and having more park reading sessions with Phoenix and playing and relaxing together.

We brought along with us Harold's Purple Crayon, will have a feature up soon on the book.

 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Springtime books to read to your baby

Our create-your-own story time adventures continue after a week Upstate and visiting Lake Placid and Montreal, I'm so behind on posting, I will be posting photos from our trip soon! Here we feature some Springtime reads that we enjoyed reading at the bookstore earlier this week.

 
 Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan and Illustrated by John J. Muth (love that this is a book, love it just like Dr. Martin Luther King' Jr's I Have a Dream speech as a book too.)
 
I Like Bugs By Lorena Siminovich (boardbook) (I plan to bring this book to the park this Spring and Summer and maybe Phoenix and I will find some of these bugs! It's a cool touch and feel book with colors illustrations)


 
And then it's Spring by Julie Fogliano
and illustrated by Erin Stead is a sweet picture book about how the earth goes from brown to green in Springtime.
 
 
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak, reading it again to Phoenix reminded me why this is a favorite from my childhood.  If you want to teach your baby the months of the year this is a good book to have handy, love the rhymes about chicken soup with rice and whenever I say the word chicken soup Phoenix giggles. The illustrations are simple yet very creative and it's a perfect small book to put in the diaper bag this Spring and throughout the year. Quick read too, 12 months 12-ish pages :)

 
Planting a Rainbow Lois Ehlert is a cute boardbook and it's based on colors and about planting seeds for flowers.
 

Bear Wants More byKarma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman is one of the books we picked up from Bookworm.com, we love reading to Phoenix Bear Snores On, so this Springtime read caught my eye as a day-time Bear book. Bear Wants More is a fun story to read to your baby, Bear is awake from hibernation and he is thin and hungry, his friends help him find food to eat because he keeps wanting more.

There are many great Springtime reads and we will be sharing more throughout April and May. Share with us what you are reading on Twitter with the hashtag #bookswelovetoread

Enjoy the changing colors of the trees, the growing flowers, the fresh spring air with your baby and Happy Spring!

~Isobella & Phoenix