Presley's Corner #1: Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli

As a mom and an avid reader, I love that I can share my passion for books with my son. As I say in my bio, he's my little reader in the making. He loves books! 

Presley, who puts the Bottles in Bottles & Books, spends every Friday morning in the library doing Babytime. Babytime is a weekly program that our local library offers that focuses on babies and development with music, activities, finger puppets and story time. Friday mornings are definitely a blast for him. And after Babytime is over we pick out our weekly selection of books to hold us over until the next Friday. 

As a mom and a reader I love to see how excited he gets over books already. He loves to turn the pages and see the pictures and hear me read to him. At this age, between crawling and walking, he can't sit still for a minute having to explore and discover everything and yet when a book is placed in front of him and he stills.

Presley loves hearing me read but he also likes to participate so Presley and I have been doing some activities with the books. We've found some great read & play kits at our library, but Mommy has been working on coming up with some activities for more recent books.

Which leads us to Presley's Corner.

What is Presley's Corner?

Presley's Corner is where Presley & I share a weekly infant/toddler read that interested him along with some activities and little songs he's learned for the week. 

Presley & I hope that all the moms & babies will enjoy this and try the activities at home :)

This week Presley's pick of the week is:

QUIET LOUD by Leslie Patricelli 

Amazon

Whether you read it quietly or loudly, learning about opposites has never been more fun - or funny - than with this winning board book.

Sniffles are quiet, but sneezes are loud. Amiably illustrated in a bright, graphic style, Leslie Patricelli’s spirited board book, QUIET LOUD, stars an obliging, bald, and very expressive toddler who acts out each pair of opposites with comically dramatic effect.

    Presley and I had a lot of fun with this book and it's activities. I recommend this for children in the pre-reading age and those who are beginning to learn the differences with sounds: Loud, quiet. 

    During Babytime last week we worked with using shakers while saying nursery rhymes. He quite enjoyed shaking his shaker, so to find a book with shaker activities was great.

     Suggested activites for ages 0-12 months include: 

• Place baby in a comfy position to see both you and the book. Hold the book in front of baby so that he can/she can see the pictures and participate in reading. Read the book and say the word "quiet" in a quiet voice. Say the word "loud" in a loud voice.
• Read the book again but this time use no words. For the quiet pages put finger to mouth and say "shhhh". For loud pages make the sound shown. Example: For screaming say "A-a-a" (Not too loud. Don't want to scare baby). For playgrounds say: "Wheeeee!". For pots & pans "Boom bam" and so on. ***Presley LOVED this activity. He laughed heartily each time I would go from "shhhh"ing to making a noise.
• Open the book to the last two pages. Point out the pictures while adding the word "quiet" and saying "shhh". Example: "Pillow is quiet. Shhhh.". For loud pictures, point out the picture and add the word "loud" and make the sound. Example: "Drums are loud. Boom boom."
• Last but not least and one of Presley's favorite age appropriate activity: Shaking the shakers, Introduce the shakers to your child by saying "Look, _______, it's a maraca." Show baby how to shake the maraca. "It makes a sound when you shake it. It can be quiet (shake quietly) or it can be loud (shake loudly)." Give to baby to let him explore and make quiet & loud sounds. 

      Suggested activities for 12-35 months include:

• While reading say the word "quiet" in a quiet voice. Say the word "loud" in a loud voice.
• Read the book again while encouraging your toddler to put their finger to lips and say "shhhh" and make the sounds for the pages. You will need to make the sounds together to help your child. Be creative and interactive. Example: You can scream a-a-a or e-e-e or  "Mommy", "_____" (Child's name).
• Open the book to the last two pages. For the first time begin with the quiet page and ask: "What is this? Pillow. Pillow is quiet." Then go to the loud page to ask what something loud is and the sound that it makes. "What is this? Drum. Drum is loud. It goes boom boom."
• Introduce a maraca. "Look, ________, what is this? This is a maraca. What can you do with it? Shake it.Allow your child to explore it and the quiet/loud noises it can make. Then sing a song with the shaker: "This is the way we shake the maraca. Shake the maraca, shake the maraca. This is the way we shake the maraca. Shake, shake, shake." Sing it both quietly and loudly.

                             All activities above are from the creative mind of Luba Johnson. 

When finished with the book, try using the shakers for some quick songs. I found a few great song choices that Presley could shake his shakers too. 

Popcorn (Shaker rhyme)

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Pour the corn into the pan.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Shake it ‘till it’s hot!

Pop! Pop! Pop!

What have we got?

Popcorn (Shake like crazy!!)

Shake Your Shaker

Shake your shaker in the air, shake it here, shake it there.

Shake your shaker in the air, shake your shaker.

Shake it high and shake it low, shake it yes, shake it no.

Shake it high and shake it low, shake your shaker.

Shake it up and shake it down, rub your shaker on the ground.

Shake it up and shake it down, shake your shaker.

Shake it near and shake it far, drive your shaker like a car.

Shake it near and shake it far, shake your shaker.

Shake it fast and shake it slow, shake it STOP, shake it GO.

Shake it fast and shake it slow, shake your shaker.

Shake My Sillies Out

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out,

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out,

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out,

And wiggle my waggles away.

Gotta bounce, bounce, bounce my giggles out,

Bounce, bounce, bounce my giggles out,

Bounce, bounce, bounce my giggles out,

And wiggle my waggles away.

  Books are a great thing to share with a child, but interacting with the book is great too. That's why Presley's Corner has been created - to share a love of reading with mothers & children and fun ways to bring books to life.

  Join us next week for some more books, interactive fun & games ;)