Well it's not lifestyles of the rich and famous but I have been working on my gift list for the shower. I'm using www.thingsIwant.com to create the list and just put a big "wish list" icon in the margin.It's really different preparing a list for kids 3-6 than it is for a baby list. I've gotten some great suggestions from other Ethio parents. Thanks, moms!
Any other ideas? I'm not trying to feel their closets with ton of toys. I'm more focused on the necessities right now. But, if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.
4 comments:
I'm a believer, you can't have enough books. Love 'em. PIcture books work well when they can't read or understand English. My daughter (from Taiwan) loved Good Dog Carl books when she first came home. It does look like you had a comprehensive list of books (available in US) in Amharic. I wonder what you can pick up over there? Also, one of my favorites for really good coloring books (historic/science/etc) is Dover Press. (http://store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-children.html) They are hard to find in stores but you can find them online.
Music is another favorite. My kids respond well to music (and it doesn't have to be Kid's stuff). I sometimes make cd's on Walmart.com and pick different types of music so we can listen to them in the car. (I can choose based on lyrics, etc) I usually get a wide range: kids, classical, jazz, blues, rock (really have to check lyrics), country, gospel. This time around, I chose a lot of patriotic songs. I like a variety on one cd, so if they don't like one song, they only have to wait for it to finish to get to a song they do like. This has really helped my son (with Down Syndrome) learn to speak. He's 3. He loves gospel and classical best.
Videos are good if they are visual learners. Leap Frog: Letters is a favorite. Baby Genius, Baby Know-it-all are some mine like. If you have a boy, Thomas the tank engine is good.
Good luck.
Jan
Jan, thanks for the great suggestions. I don't think the books on my list are written in Amharic. They are Ethiopian stories but they are written in English. I want to read and read to book to them that are more in context with their cultural experiences. I would imagine books that I get there would be written in Amharic.
If you can't tell from my blog I am a music fanatic. I usually never listen to the radio and although I listen to different types of music I usually only play gospel music in the car. I didn't know about the Walmart CD thing so I will DEFINITELY check it out!
In terms of toys I've pretty much chosen mostly language learning toys. I know that my friends will buy toys they think are great. As far as the kids I want to see what types of things like (Thomas the Train) that they might be attracted. Thanks again!
I love the Walmart thing. It offers a greater variety on 1 cd. I think I got 11 songs for about $11. They ship it right to your house. Like I said, I like to introduce them to a variety of styles. Sawyer (w/Down Syndrome) also loves the 3 Tenors (not available via the Walmart selection), Elvis and Josh Groban. He's rather high-brow.
I think whatever you decide upon will be great as far as toys and things. I find that less is best though. If mine have too much, it just gets thrown around. So I let them have a few and put up the rest. Then I change them out every so often so they have something 'new' to play with.
My boys especially like building stuffs with blocks (lego as well as the big 'brick' things) Just another suggestion. it can get messy though with all those blocks around.
Jan
Art supplies, Art supplies, Art supplies. I cannot tell you how much we go through (my son is 5 - serious art started around 2.) Many people purchase children's easels (sp?) I don't think they're worth the money. Each child really benefits from their own desk. Our neighbor gave us a huge, ugly plastic little tikes desk. It was the right size at 3 years old and still works at 5. So many children have come by and sat down and started drawing or painting. The parents often say they never do art and are surprised but I think it's the desk. The paper is all there, the pastels, the markers. A child can create art for the entire time it takes to make a family dinner.
Good luck! It's going to be fun!
Oh - lastly - we like artist sketchbooks. They fill them in and then you date them. in a little while you will have a 'library' of their work in chronological order - great fun to see thier progress.
kristine
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