My kids and I ADORE books. We’re regulars at the fantastic, huge library right down the road from our new house, and storytime is something we all look forward to each week. It’s not unusual for us to be digging library books out from under beds and closets and toy boxes on library day, so I’m always happy to score a few books for us to keep forever! Our newest forever finds are from author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli.
Baby Happy Baby Sad is a book that even my littlest not-yet-reading readers can read. It goes through the basic emotions of baby – happy and sad – and really, what more is there in life when you’re a toddler? In Higher! Higher!, a little girl swings until her feet seem to touch the sky – one of the greatest and most satisfying experiences for any kid.
Check out these great titles by Leslie Patricelli – she’s authored lots of kids’ books and they’re all full of her great illustrations!
Posted in: Books & Magazines, Kids' Stuff.
Tagged: children's books · team mom
I checked out this CD recently, when I decided I couldn’t listen to one more minute of children’s music in the car. It was on a day when I was out running errands, the girls fell asleep in the car, and we arrived way early to pick up the kids from school, so I had close to half an hour of blissful “alone” time, just me, a magazine, and this CD. It was perfect chillax music. (Can I say “chillax?” I’m not sure if it’s a word I can get away with. It feels weird in my mouth. Maybe I’m too old. I’m not sure. But there you go.)
Corneille’s music has been described as being a mix between John Legend, Tracy Chapman and Marvin Gaye. I can sort of see that, I guess. He’s not big in the US yet, but he will be! Check it out if you’re into soul and R&B. I’ll bet you’ll like it.
Posted in: music.
Tagged: corneille · cornelius · hip hop · music · R&B · soul
I just heard that Nickelodeon is absorbing Noggin and renaming the channel Nick Jr. I sure hope they don’t do away with Moose A. Moose – he’s our favorite! And he represents all things Noggin! According to the press release I read, the change shouldn’t be too big of a deal – mostly in name. We shall see, I guess.
As Nickelodeon enters its landmark 30th anniversary year, the number-one kids’ network will unify the TV channels (Noggin, The N, Nicktoons Network) and web sites (Nick.com, Neopets.com, AddictingGames.com, among others) from its top-ranked portfolio under the single, globally recognized brand “Nickelodeon”—beginning 4Q 2009. This philosophy of ‘one brand’ signals Nickelodeon’s continued move toward serving the whole family through TV, online, consumer products, recreation and theatricals, as well as heightening its ability to seamlessly navigate audiences across its targeted entertainment platforms for everything from Dora, SpongeBob, AddictingGames and iCarly, to George Lopez, Degrassi and ParentsConnect.com.
Bringing together the entire multiplatform portfolio under the single Nickelodeon umbrella will reinforce Nick’s leadership in the marketplace as a global brand serving the whole family, with kids always at the center. A ‘one brand’ philosophy also allows audiences to easily find the content they want across multiple screens, and it anticipates the platform agnostic media environment and single currency that the audience and industry are moving toward.
Noggin will be renamed Nick Jr., retaining its quality schedule of commercial-free, preschool-focused programming. The N assumes the name TEENick and will further develop and deliver on its mission of serving teens and tweens through programming reflecting the breadth and depth of ‘teen-dom’. Nicktoons Network retains its name while continuing to organically grow its boy 6-11 audience through hit, action-oriented animated programming like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Marvel’s Wolverine and the X-Men and the forthcoming Iron Man series. Also, Nick.com will expand to become a hub for Nickelodeon’s entire digital network of properties and brands, and will continue to serve as the leading content destination for kids.
Guess we’ve got a few more months to love on Moose A. Moose and Zee!
Posted in: Kids' TV & Movies.
Tagged: children's television · nick jr. · noggin · TV
Regular readers here know that I’m very mean to my children and don’t let them eat cereal that’s full of sugar. Heck, I even mention that in my “about me” blurb to the right, there! I’ve noticed over the past few months that certain cereal manufacturers have begun to put the nutrition facts right on the front of the box, which I LOVE. I was annoyed, a little, that this little practice hadn’t been put into place by ALL cereal manufacturers. I’m pleased to report, however, that General Mills cereals now report their nutrition facts right at the top of the box, front and center. Yay, General Mills!
It was only because of this, that I realized Lucky Charms is not really as bad as I thought it was, sugar-wise. It has 11 grams of sugar per serving. Still higher than the 10 grams or less that I usually shoot for, but certainly not as bad as, say, RAISIN BRAN. I know I’m probably being lame about the whole sugar thing. It’s not like they aren’t eating yogurt, which has a crapton of sugar in it. What’s my problem, anyway? I guess I just like bossing my children around with my arbitrary, “haha! Mommy says this has too much sugar!” rules.
I probably should focus my attention a bit more on the amount of calcium and Vitamin D my kids are getting. I was told recently that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled the vitamin D recommendation for children. Probably not as big a deal in Colorado, what with our 300+ annual days of sunshine, but there ya go. I just learned that General Mills Big G kid cereals are calcium and vitamin D fortified – this list includes Kix, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and others. They also have at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving.
You can learn more at growupstrong.com.
Posted in: Food & Drink, Kids' Stuff.
Tagged: Breakfast · cereal
LaLaGirl is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism.
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