Piano for Little Kids: there's an app for that!

By Jill Simeone -

Andrew Ingkavet, the most sought-after music teacher in Brooklyn (and, I'm proud to add, the Cozy Owl Music Contributor), has just released a fabulous educational music app for young kids: Play Piano for Kids, Volume I.

The app, available in the iBookstore for $.99 and for use on the iPad, is really great because it targets very young and pre-literate kids and teaches them to play simple songs on the piano.  Andrew uses a color coding system that makes reading music really simple and intuitive for the early learner.

Play Piano for Kids includes videos of young children playing the songs (so your little one can see how it's done), as well as really helpful teaching notes for parents (so you can fake your way through the lesson if you --like me-- lost your flute in the 4th grade and haven't touched an instrument since). 

As a parent who has sat through many of my daughters' piano lessons, I am incredibly impressed with how well this app captures the warm, fun  and encouraging feel of lessons with Andrew...in a digital medium.

If you are wondering about the benefits of music instruction for little kids, there's a ton of research out there showing that early exposure to music has a wide range of developmental benefits, including:  development of abstract reasoning skills, later success in science and complex math, and spatial-temporal intelligence.

So go check out the app, forward it to your friends, and if you love it like I do, be sure to leave a glowing review.  That's how good apps float to the top of the list at the Apple Store.  Plus...I want to make sure we get to see Volume II. 

Happy playing!

Kindergarteners love fine art too!

By Jill Simeone -

My mother and her team partner, Gail, taught primary school for almost 40 years (each!), and over and over they've been told by their former students that the greatest mark they left on their lives was teaching them to appreciate art and music history.  (I suppose teaching a thousand kids to read was a big deal too.)

This books asks the young artist to sketch herself in van Gogh's hat & coat.

My Mom & Gail designed a program they called "Notes & Strokes", which led early learners through several of the major works of art history and classical music.  By the end of the year, the kids were talking about Picasso's blue period and humming Beethoven's Fifth.  What was most interesting about the program, and what really engaged the young minds, was that the children actually danced and played to the music, and had the chance to make their own works of art inspired by the masters.  My Mom and Gail found a way to scale some truly profound masterpieces, so they could be loved and absorbed by very young kids.

Getting into her "green period"!

Inspired by their program, we have been talking a lot about portraiture in our house lately.  We've been looking at some great works and trying our hands at making portraits and self-portraits.  We even went to Met and sketched.

Looking at art and drawing pictures at the Met.

The next five days have a forecast of rain (at least in NYC), so why not pull out those pastels and your old art history books and share some art love with your little ones?  It's a ton of fun!

A portrait of Mommy.

Robot Birthday Party: fun for a girl & a boy....

By Jill Simeone -

Yup, those are donut legs!I love throwing parties.  I think it's in my DNA. 

My parents always organized tons of events in our home when I was a kid, and planned surprise-filled birthday parties for us.  I remember big pink heart-shaped cakes (I was born in February), pizza-making parties and scavenger hunts.  I definitely grew up believing in the value of celebration.

Now, as a mom, I love it when spring comes...birthday season for my kids!

But kids' birthdays are a mixed bag.  I've seen lots of tears.  And lots of BORED parents.  And tons of money and energy being thrown at activities & themes that miss the mark.  So in planning my kids' parties, I have tried to re-cast the kiddy party into a new formula that is successful (and FUN) for everyone involved.  We've had some really fun parties, so here are the take-aways that I think make kids' parties work...and some pics from the most recent:  A Robot Party!

1.  The Theme -  I like to pick a theme that not only my child will relate to...but that all the kids (boys & girls, younger and older) will enjoy.  Though I have girls, I steer clear of princess-type themes.  Not only are princesses boring to talk about, but the little boy guests (and every adult) will be turned off.  Same is true of "typical" boy themes.  My daughter turns herself into a robot!I also don't pick her "favorite thing" right that moment...because that will invariably change before the party.  Instead, I pick something for us to explore and delve into as we plan the party.  This year, for my younger daughter, we decided to have a robot party. 

2. The Lead Up - For the theme to have relevance, it is important that the kids "get" robots.  To do that, we spent the month before the party learning all about robots.  We got robot books, watched robot movies, made homemade robots, and did robot dances.  It was a TON of fun.  By the time the party rolled around...robots were a BIG DEAL, and really resonated with my daughter, even though she was only turning four.

3. Planning Activities - I like to plan activities that are:

• Not adult led...this allows the kids to play freely.  Little kids have more fun with less structure.  Give them crafts, toys, building sets & manipulables...and perhaps some examples of how to use them...then let them explore & create!
• Accessible across a range of ages - I always invite the whole family, so there are younger and older siblings.  If the activities are open-ended, then both big and little kids will find age-appropriate ways to make fun.
• Don't invite crazy behavior -  Crafts are great.  Dress-up is great.  Dress up with swords...not so much.

A ROBOT LAB with fun wind-up robots proves fun for 3 generations!4. Make the Party Fun for Adults - I'm interested in seeing and entertaining my adult friends (the parents) at the party as much as my kids' friends....so I make sure that the parties always have good food, wine and other adult beverages, and that the cake is delicious. If the activities are child-centered and not adult-led, you'll have plenty of time to chat, too.

Make your own robot!5. Piñatas! - I lived in Mexico for a while, and in Mexico the piñata is such a focal point of a kid's birthday celebration that a child's birthday party is actually called a "piñata"!  I love piñatas because they act as a great "wrap-up" activity. 

For little kids, I convert the piñata into a pull string pinata (a bunch of ribbons taped to the bottom, and one ribbon attached to a trap door at the bottom). 

I don't make up goody bags....but instead decorate brown paper lunch bags with the theme of the party and hand them out to the kids once the piñata breaks.   They use the paper bags to collect their loot...and this ends up much more exciting and engaging than a typical favor bag! 

Happy Roboting!

Lots of craft supplies to encourage creative expression across a range of ages.

Springtime in Brooklyn: walks, crafts and a story to celebrate the season

By Jill Simeone -

Photo: Jill Simeone, Spring in Brooklyn, 2012Living in Brooklyn, we walk a lot.   My kids tend to complain about walking ...even a little...so I always try to keep a running discussion going about what we observe on our trips around town, certainly to edify, but also to distract them from the 12 block walk home.

And these last few days, what we've been talking about is SPRING!

No matter how mild the winter (and this one was mild for us), nothing is more joyous than the sight of pink blooms on the magnolia tree...the first trumpet of spring!

I am a terrible gardener, but somehow over the years I've acquired in my head the names of all of those little flowers that pop up in March and April...grape hyacinths and forsythia and narcissus... and the kids and I have a treasure hunt to see what is in bloom in each neighbor's front garden.

After returning home from one of these great spring walks, my daughter commented that it was probably time to take the snowflakes and hearts down from our windows and work on some spring art projects.

Good point.

A quick survey of the internet revealed a bunch of really beautiful flower crafts...none of which were executable by little kids.  Several of them would have been a stretch for me.  Since the goal was having fun around the theme of spring, I opted for a simple project that both a 3 and a 5 year old could enjoy ...and we could hang in the window to admire and share.

So this is what we came up with...spring paper flowers painted on 2 sides.   And a great springtime story.  What are you doing to celebrate spring this year?

Photo: Jill Simeone - Flower craft project

Spring Flower Craft Project:

Materials:

Construction paper in spring colors

Scissors

Watercolor paints & water

Brushes

Glue sticks

Newspaper (for the floor)

Activity:

In advance of the project, I sketched a bunch of 5 petal flowers free-hand on construction paper.  They should be about the size of your hand, and all a bit different in shape and size. 

I also sketched some circles (small and large) that will be used for the center of the flowers.  You'll need 2 circles for each flower.

Depending on the level of your child's fine motor skills, invite him to participate in cutting out the flowers and circles. 

My younger child was frustrated after one flower, my older child enjoyed the challenging scissor work a bit longer.  On the side, I cut out a bunch of the flower shapes and circles, so the cutting wouldn't impede the fun of the main event.

Next, we all sat on the floor and painted brighly colored circles on the petals.  Once the flowers dried, I flipped them over and we painted circles on the other side, too.  Finally, we glued paper circles in the middle of the flowers (both sides).  The whole project took less than a half hour.

These look great in the window from both inside and out!  The painted parts of the petals have taken on an almost-translucent quality, and they look really pretty in the sun!

Spring Story Time

What better way to wrap up a spring walk and craft activity....than a snuggle with a spring story book?

Here is our favorite spring story book this week:

And Then It's Spring, by Julie Fogliano, Erin Stead - Illustrator

            

"A first-time author and the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011) team up in this beautiful ode to a patient gardener." --Booklist, Starred

Magazines for Kids - From Rags to Reading Riches

By Jill Simeone -

In celebration of March Reading Month, Cozy Owl is focusing on early childhood literacy.  Today's topic:  Magazines!

One of the ways we encourage literacy at home is by offering a range of reading media for our kids.  A favorite in our house, for all of us, is the magazine. 

My tastes run the gamut: highbrow (The New Yorker), midbrow (Vanity Fair) and lowbrow (US Weekly).  My husband is a media hound, and subscribes to a LOT of magazines, including such favorites as NY Magazine (he loves the crossword and the approval matrix - if you haven't seen it, click for a treat!)... to The New Republic (for great political writing)....to Make (he is a handyman, after all).  My kids receive Highlights High Five and the Highlights Puzzle Buzz ...when they arrive, it actually is the highlight of their day.

The Parents' Choice Awards for Magazines just came out, and the list is incredible.  Kids' magazines are not well represented on news stand shelves, so many of these titles are new to me.  I thought I'd select a few of the 2012 award winners that target the Cozy Owl preschool age group, and share them with you.  Let us know what you think of them...and if there are any children's magazines your kids love but that you don't see here.

GOLD MEDAL AWARD WINNERS

Story Box

Ages: 3 - 6 yrs.

Newsstand Price: $9

Subscription Price: $90 / 10 Issues

For all members of my family, this magazine is a 'rarely left on the table' pleasure. The amount of text in each instance was perfect, with a beautiful diversity of content. The artwork is wonderfully different, yet it feels cohesive. The content, from mazes to stories, was age appropriate. It was a joy to read to my young child, as he would easily follow the graphics and track where I was on the page. For my early reader, the amount of text provided was ideal. We very much appreciated the mix of fiction, and world or animal facts. While artwork varied in style, each piece had wide appeal to everyone in our family. The beautiful artwork is highlighted with thick, rich pages and a perfect size for small hands or reading in bed. The length of stories was perfect, and the lovely "Polo" at the end of each issue let my youngest "read to me" telling me the story of the wordless picture story.

Our only hesitation in recommending this beautiful publication is the cost and difficulty of online ordering for U.S. delivery. However, we think it's worth it. Each issue has been read and reread several times.

Barbara Chamberlin   ©2012 Parents' Choice

Big Backyard

Ages: 4 - 7 yrs.

Newsstand Price: $3.50

Subscription Price: $19.95 / 10 Issues

Granted, my children are interested in animals and nature: however, with Big Backyard in the house, any child would be. The spectacular photos immediately draw the reader in, and related stories and activities let children participate in learning in different ways. There is enough consistency for a detailed understanding of different animals (such as several different stories and photo layouts on pandas, or on puffins), yet enough diversity in each piece that a child can find some animal in each issue that is appealing, fun, or brand new. As parents, we learned something new and interesting in each issue, and our children loved learning it before we did! This content stayed with our kids, and we heard about puffins and pandas and honeypot ants, even in the car, far away from the magazine read days earlier. From the clean, simple covers which immediately convey the theme of the issue and invites a child to learn more, to the fun activities throughout the book, this is a magazine that will have my children eagerly anticipating the mail delivery, and rereading previous issues.

Barbara Chamberlin   ©2012 Parents' Choice

SILVER MEDAL AWARD WINNERS

Click

Ages: 3 - 6 yrs.

Newsstand Price: $6.95

Subscription Price: $33.95 / 9 Issues

Click's tagline is "opening windows for young minds," which is an apt description for this children's magazine. Readers of Cricket, Ladybug, and other titles produced by Carus Publishing can expect the same level of quality and child-friendly content here. Each of the nine annual issues focuses on a single theme, such as simple machines, animal partners, or visual art. There are a nice variety of photos, illustrations, short articles, and stories about the theme, and the large print makes it easier for young children to read. Each issue opens with a comic-book-style story to introduce the theme, featuring a recurring cast of characters-children Amy and Martin, their babysitter Liz, Click the mouse, and a guest star such as a prairie dog. The magazine always ends with "Takeout Pages" containing a game or project to extend the theme's content. This is a great choice for tapping into the curiosity of young readers.

Zarina Mullan Plath   ©2012 Parents' Choice

Wild Animal Baby

Ages: 2 - 4 yrs.

Newsstand Price: $3.50

Subscription Price: $19.95 / 10 Issues

Let me introduce this magazine by stating the obvious: children love baby animals. Many children also enjoy finding particular objects and colors in a picture, and counting animals, and matching shapes in the books they read. Wild Animal Baby offers ample opportunities for young readers to exercise all of these interests. Each issue features a particular baby wild animal in its cover story, which discusses the eating habits and living habitats of the animal alongside a few attractive photos. Each issue also presents a few simple learning activities such as matching colors or animal shapes, and a feature called "I Can," which pictures an activity, such as drinking or yawning, that both baby zoo animals and baby human animals do. There are two stories in each magazine: the animated short "Animal Baby Explorers" and the series "Out and About." These are appealing to look at and often deal with interesting topics, but are a bit thin and underdeveloped, sometimes leaving young readers a bit disappointed or confused. Nevertheless, the excitement of the numerous baby animal pictures and facts make up for this minor problem. The magazine is nicely made, with high quality paper and graphics that will appeal to little ones and withstand a bit of rough handling.

Naomi Lesley   ©2012 Parents' Choice

Babybug

Ages: 1 - 3 yrs.

Newsstand Price: $6.95

Subscription Price: $33.95 / 9 Issues

Babybug, from the publishers of Cricket, is a beautifully illustrated, sturdy, highly interest offering for the youngest lap readers. Each issue begins with a seasonally appropriate story about Kim and her bunny Carrots. It also presents a traditional nursery rhyme and a finger play poem that will enrich your own repertoire as a parent while delighting your little one. In between are brief stories and poems that vary in each issue. The artwork is bright and appealing, and the stories (generally about children, animals, parents, and food) highlight topics sure to fascinate small story-lovers, using age-appropriate language and entertaining rhymes. Best of all, the magazines are well built, with stiff glossy pages that are easy to turn but difficult to tear (my own two-year-old has tested this out quite thoroughly), so that previous issues can be passed along to friends, neighbors, and siblings. Essentially, a subscription buys nine paperback books at a far lower price than children's books generally cost. This magazine is a wonderful gift for parents and young children to enjoy together.

Naomi Lesley   ©2012 Parents' Choice