Reading Mouse Paint a story by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Because my daughters are both so young we have mainly been focusing on reading together. Because there are so very many children's books to choose from I thought I'd start with the library's reading list. I also add books as they attract my daughters' attention.

The past couple of weeks we've been reading Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. The story introduces the idea of mixing colors to create new colors. The mice mix red and yellow to create orange, yellow and blue to create green and blue and red to create purple.

Each color is created twice so that the idea will stick better in the mind of your toddler. The first time the mice mix the colors they use their feet (an idea which my daughter very much enjoyed). The second time the mice use brushes to mix the paint.

The story is simple without being repetitive. The pictures are also simple and easy to follow. I agree with the library that this is a book your little one should hear before kindergarten.

Reading to Children

Why is it so important to read to your child? According to the National Children's Reading Foundation reading aloud with your child strengthens your relationship, encourages listening and language skills, promotes attention and curiosity, and gives your child a strong reading foundation. The Child Literacy Centre says that reading with your child also introduces different types of language, rhythms and sounds, increases educational success, introduces new ideas, helps parent-child bonding and is calming. The Foundation suggests reading 20 minutes a day with your child.

Okay, so you know the importance of reading, but how do you choose what to read? My library had a list of 100 books every child should hear before kindergarten. I've been going through the list with my daughters.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is the book we began with (because we already owned it). It is the story of Little Nut Brown Hare as Big Nut Brown Hare is putting him to bed. The illustrations are simple enough for babies. And because the Big Nut Brown Hare is a daddy rabbit my husband enjoys reading it to our daughters. (Although when I read it my daughter insists the rabbit is a mommy despite the pronouns.) It is a sweet book and there is a reason we already owned it.