Since I started this blog last June, I've posted what I've called "Opinionated Postings" on subjects near and dear to my heart. I called them "opinionated" because they were just that - my thoughts on a particular subject, to be taken with a grain of salt. I thought it might be a good time (more than six months later) to put them back out at the forefront for those who may be new to the blog. Also because my "labels" section to the right has gotten so long that newcomers may not want to scan the entire list to find postings on particular subjects.

On reading aloud to your children I wrote about using your voice to create interest in Your Voice is a Symphony. For parents new to Storytime who are looking around trying to figure out if they should stand or sit, sing or not, or visit with the friend beside them, I wrote What Should Mom Be Doing? Then after those parents figure out what to do with themselves, they get discouraged because their child just sits and watches and doesn't seem interested in doing the songs or sitting up front for the stories. So I wrote My Child Won't Participate! That got me to thinking about expectations - mostly expecting too much from such very young children - but also about what's reasonable for toddlers and preschoolers. More on Expectations is what came of that.

Often a child wants to tell me something, and I feel bad when I have to ask him to repeat it three times and I still can't understand him. That got me thinking about how we model language for them, and I posted Talking to Little Ones. While I was writing these postings I was getting impressed with the labels and how many rhymes and songs there are. Yet these kids, especially the three year olds, probably know almost all of them. I contemplated the power putting words to music and wrote Music and Memorizing. A trip to the grocery store got me thinking about shopping when my daughters rode in the cart, and all the learning that can take place at the store. My Grocery Shopping Buddies came from that daydreaming. Watching boys and girls at the library, and remembering my girls brought Boys and Girls Really Are Different. Watching the kids watching the parents led to They're Listening.

So those postings are a trip through my brain - scary thought! I hope you find something of value there (in the postings, not my brain).