Books to Encourage Listening

May wasn't kind to us here at Wildwood Cottage- everyone except CWH came down with a cold. I nearly had a nervous breakdown when Rose came down with it, but luckily she had the mildest version of all of us. We're all well now, so I'm working on getting life back to normal. After being sick, I'm just happy to have the energy to clean house and update the blog!

CJ is a talker. I mean, she talks a lot. Sometimes, she says the funniest things that make me laugh out loud. Other times, she asks questions she already knows the answer to, which drives me up the wall. In order to work on her listening skills, I gathered a few books (what else?!) to hopefully get my point across in a gentle way.

Nina at Painted Rainbows and Chamomile Tea recommended Quiet in the Garden by Aliki, and we have not been disappointed. It's truly a wonderful book. CJ loves the different sounds in the book, and we've worked on going outside and sitting as still as we can to see what will come along. She was thrilled to see a Tufted Titmouse land on our seed tray not six feet away during one listening exercise. Be sure and check the "Downloads" on the Harper Collins link for some activities connected with the book.

Nina also recommended A Listening Walk by Paul Showers some time ago. The book is illustrated by Aliki, so it has a similar feel to Quiet in the Garden, which is a plus in my opinion! It also nicely points out all of the different sounds you can hear if you just stop and listen- and stop talking. :o)

I wrote about Listen, Listen by Phillis Gershator previously, and it fit nicely with our theme. I adore Alison Jay's illustrations, and the seasonal aspect of the book works well with my renewed interest in Waldorf education.

Finally, we read A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood. I can't recommend this book highly enough. A boy trying to escape grown-ups talking and cleaning up his room finds many different quiet places to escape to in his imagination. The language is amazing- "...far-off thunderheads bloom like sky-flowers over the mesas.", and so are the illustrations. This one is a treasure.

I'll be stopping by to catch up on comments- I'm hoping it won't be another month before I post again!

Comments

[Mom and Kiddo]

These look like great books. I also love Alison Jay's illustrations! Kiddo is not really the biggest talker, but he could still use some practice listening. Especially to his mom. Ha Ha.

[KateinNJ]

Great books..we've tried them too, but it hasn't really quieted our "talker" lol.
Glad you are feeling better..we miss you !

[nina]

I hate to tell you this but this talking is a looonnngggg phase. Cate hasn't stopped talking (like you describe)since she turned four. One day nice little questions and then Bam!, non-stop talk.

Glad you are feeling better. Nothing like illness to make you appreciate just waking up well.

I book marked A Quiet Place to order from the library. Thanks for the recommendations.

Hope to read more soon. And perhaps see a picture of the cute baby. :)