Jazz Baby--a great creative book!

My "bouncin' baby bebops with a clap, clap, clap" over the book Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler, a Harcourt Book.

We checked out Jazz Baby from the New Ulm Public Library a few weeks ago, and Hunter (12 1/2 mos.) was entranced from the first page to the last through several readings a day, no matter how tired or crabby he was! He clap, clap, clapped (and said ca, ca, ca), and when the baby said "Go, man, go," Hunter said, Go, go, go (guh, guh, guh). Perfect for the one-year old!
We found Jazz Baby after story time at the New Ulm Public Library
I strongly encourage you to go to story time with your baby, toddler or preschooler. Even if you send your child to day care and he gets similar opportunities there, and you read at home, story time shows that you value literacy and learning. And many times, librarians teach letters/words/phonics, nursery rhymes and fun activities, all of which give children a leg up on reading.

Check out your local library website to find story hour times and more. If you're in the New Ulm area, toddler story time is at 10 a.m. every Thursday. We'll see you there!

In the meantime, check out our crab penny pal ($4) coin purse that adds a little fun, creative touch to your kid's day. Check out our other penny pals.

Unique shower gift

Our super cute monkey, kangaroo, elephant and lion plastic animal hangers are perfect to organize your new baby's closet or to give as a unique, sweet baby shower gift (along with a fuzzy hoodie or onesie!). The four-pack of hangers (only $10.99) is available in a boys' pack (one of each animal in blue, green, yellow and white), a girls' pack (one of each animal in pink, green, yellow and white), or sets of animals in white, blue, green, yellow or pink.
These hangers are made in the USA.

Encouraging Imagination

Just a few ways parents can encourage imagination in children:

1. Expand on their pretend play. When your kid is pretending to eat something, ask what they’re eating. Ask if you can have dessert with them. Ask if it’s at home or a restaurant, and if it’s a restaurant, there are all kinds of fun things to expand on the fun: draw a menu, set a table with a tablecloth, come up with a uniform.

2. For older children, find fun questions for them to answer. When I taught 7th grade, my favorite question was “What would life be like if air were made of Jello?” Try this as a trick during long drives.

3. Read to your kids EVERY day! Let them read to you or make up what could be on the next page, even if they know what happens. For crazy statistics (Like: For every year you read with your child, average lifetime earnings increase by $50,000!) and ideas, visit the National Children’s Reading Foundation.

4. Be silly. Encourage them to be silly. When your child is small, do the unexpected: put a sock on your hand, carry something in your mouth like the dog, or use a bucket for a hat.

5. Don’t discourage a boy who uses the number seven puzzle piece as a little gun. Better yet, encourage kids who use things in ways they were not intended, like using panty hose as a stretchy water balloon holder, a drum as a chair, or a hat as a basket.

6. Provide your kids with collections of things to spark their imagination. Specific toys may actually dull creativity, but it doesn’t hurt to have some props. A drawer of buttons, paper, scissors, feathers and glue can go a long way. And trunk full of dress-up clothes is always a hit. For a couple of small ideas, see GrowlGearStore.com’s kitty Cutie Clips and bunny, zebra and dog headbands.

7. Watching TV shows that encourage curiosity in the world are great in very limited amounts, but nothing can beat real life. Take the ideas from those shows or from blogs like Brightest Kidz, or Kids Creativity Portal, and do them in your kitchen or your back yard.

8. Buy your toddler a doll. Both girls and boys learn empathy by "taking care of" another baby, real or pretend. A doll will also give your child some encouragement to begin using imaginative play by mimicking actions you and baby do together. My nephew loves taking his little sister's Gloworm for a walk, and my son give lots of kisses to his baby boy with rattle and tactile clothing we found at WalMart (couldn't find it online).

9. Check out another website's ideas for encouraging creativity: Suite 101