Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in philadelphia, PA

1, 2, 3... Counting Books!

by Cecily Kellogg

February 04, 2009

My daughter LOVES to count. What is hilarious, however, is how inept she is. She can, occaisionally, get 1, 2, 3 correct but she prefers to start at 5. She can correctly, however, count from 5 to 11. But sometimes when she counts she just says every single number she knows so that her counts sound like, "1, 3, 5, 16, 17, 4, 8, 2!" She always follows such attempts with big smiles and outstretched arms. Hysterical.

In all honesty, my daughter turns EVERY book into a counting book. If she's reading a book with more than one object on a page she will count them whether they are ducklings, cars, dogs, or trains. She's also obsessed with colors, but that's another story.

But when we get serious and like to practice her counting skills, these books are our favorites.

1. Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed by Eileen Christelow. Of course this book involves jumping, which makes it harder to concentrate, but it is a fave.

2.  One, Two, Three by Sandra Boynton. This is also one of my favorites so reading it to my daughter is win-win.

3. My Little Counting Book by Roger Priddy. The bright colors and photographs enchant my daughter regularly.

4. Click Clack, Splish Splash by Doreen Crogin. This book is seriously fun!

 5. Counting Kisses by Karen Katz. Oh my. If you love kissing your kid, you will LOVE this book. Perfect bedtime counting book!

What are your favorites? We are always looking for new ones!

Spring Is Coming!

by Cecily Kellogg

February 02, 2009

No, really, Spring is on it's way. It might seem like we are in the depths of winter, but the truth is that the Spring Solstice is only six weeks away (okay, seven, but still) and you might be surprised to know that a few hardy plants are already starting their life cycles.

Here in Philadelphia, we have some great spots for seeking out wild plants. After all, we do have the largest inner city park system in the United States. My favorite, however, is definitely the Wissahickon creek area in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. This slender section of park curving along with the creek offers both paved (or gravel, anyway) trails and wooded trails as well. For plant watching, I recommend the wooded trails (although they can be both muddy and icy at this time of year, they are so well traveled that kids two and up should be able to handle most of them).

The very first plant you are going to see is an old favorite of mine: Skunkweed. It's an evil looking plant; the flower pokes out of the earth in early February and generates so much heat it actually will melt snow around it. It grows near water or wet areas, and the "blossom" looks pretty much like Satan walked too close to the surface of the earth and one of his horns poked out. No, I'm not kidding! Here's a photo:

See? Disgusting. But hard to hate since it's the very first flower of spring.

Keep your eyes peeled: soon you'll start to see Marsh Marigolds, Spring Beauties, and of course, violets. Chickweed also begins to grow, as does Garlic Mustard. Pennsylvania is one of the best "tiers" in which to see wild plants--we have an amazing variety and can see blooms from February all the way through the Asters of November. We can't be beat for wild flowers!

So dig out those (hopefully waterproof) hiking boots and start thinking about taking your kids outside to greet the coming spring. Because it is certainly on it's way!