Bibliotherapy

I recently went to a self-reliance seminar that had a great class about helping to instill confidence and self esteem in your children.  The instructor is a counselor in a local school district and has worked with kids for years.  She presented a great lesson, followed by some excellent handouts.  This particular handout focuses on using books to help teach (with some excellent recommendations if you or your child are struggling with a specific scenario).

What is Bibliotherapy?

According to Wikipedia.org, "bibliotherapy" is an expressive therapy that uses an individual's relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy.

Bibliotherapy is an old concept in library science.  In the U.S.it is documented as dating back to the 1930s.  The basic concept behind bibliotherapy is that reading is a healing experience.  It was applied to both general practice and medical care, especially after WWII, because the soldiers had a lot of time on their hands while recuperating.

At its most basic, bibliotherapy consists of the selection of reading material that has relevance to that person's life situation.  The idea of bibliotherapy seems to have grown naturally from the human inclination to identify with others through their expressions in literature and art.  The concept of bibliotherapy has widened over time, to include self help manuals for adults.  Still, the phrase is most often used in reference to children.

Bibliotherapy can give children the confidence they need to deal with anything that comes their way.  It also gives parents an opportunity to discuss it with their children and find out what is going on.  Bibliotherapy can consist solely of reading, or it can be complemented with discussion or play activity.  A child might be asked to draw a scene from the book or asked whether commonality is felt with a particular character in the book.  The book can be used to draw out a child on a subjuect she/he has been hesitant to discuss.

Basically, bibliotherapy can be a way for parents to open communication with children about problems their children may be having.  Books chosen for bibliotherapy should be developmentally appropriate for the child and shared with the child in a caring way.

In my opinion, reading scriptures is the highest form of bibliotherapy!!  Certain stories either told or read in the scriptures can be "likened" to our own children's experiences (see 1 Nephi 19:23).  Other resources for bibliotherapy may include personal histories of ancestors or often told stories about meaningful experiences that family members have had, etc.  You may already have been using bibliotherapy in your family and didn't even know what it was!!

Here are some book titles that are recommended for certain scenarios (along with a link so you can look them over at Amazon.com).

Anxiety / Fear

You've Got Dragons, by Kathryn Cave

Wemberly Worried, by Kevin Henkes (kids refusing school)

The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn (kids refusing school)

Smile a Lot, by Nancy Carlson (school problems)

Thank You, Mr. Falkner, by Patricia Polacco (learning disability)

What if the Shark Wears Tennis Shoes?, by Winifred Morris

The Knight Who Was Afraid of the Dark, by Barbara Hazen

Anger

What are You so Grumpy About?, by Tom Lichtenheld

If You're Angry and You Know It, by Cecily Kaiser

When I Feel Angry, by Cornelia Maude Spelman

Andrew's Angry Words, by Dorothea Lachner

Feeling Angry, by Althea Braithwaite

I'm Not Going to Chase the Cat Today, by Jessica Harper

When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry, by Molly Bang

Alex and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst

Bullying / Friendships

How to Lose All Your Friends, by Nancy Carlson

Some Dogs Do, by Jez Alborough

Charlie the Caterpillar, by Dom De Luise

A Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon

King of the Playground, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, by Patricia Polacco

I Like Myself!, by Karen Beaumont

Feelings

Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day, by Jamie Lee Curtis

How Are You Peeling?  Foods With Moods, by Saxton Freyman & Joost Elffers

My Many Colored Days, by Dr. Seuss

The Feelings Book, by Todd Parr

Honesty / Tattling

Ruthie and the Not So Teeny Tiny Lie, by Lara Rankin

Edward Fudwupper Fibbed Big, by Berkeley Breathed

Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal, by Jeanie Franz, Ransom

Tattlin' Madeline, by Carol Cummings

A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue, by Julia Cook

Miscellaneous

The Dog Poop Initiative, by Kirk Weisler (boy taking initiative)

The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko (assertive girl)

Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wisement (for teenage girls)

The Feeling Good Handbook, by David D. Burns, M.D.

**Patrick K. Hallinan has a whole series of social skills books for very yound children called: My first Day of School, My Teacher's My Friend, That's What a Friend Is, etc.

**Cheri J. Meiners has a whole series of social skills books for young children called: Listen, Follow Instructions, Share and Take Turns, Talk and Work it Out, I'm Afraid, etc.

Personally, we read a lot at our house, and I am excited to try some of these books I haven't heard of before.  I'd love feedback if any of you have great book recommendations!

Reading with Young Children

This is another compiled list of handouts I have accumulated about books and reading with your chidren.

Some of it is obvious, but it does have some good suggestions for improvement.

Reading with Young Children

The goal of reading to children is for them to gain a lifelong love of books.

Make reading out loud to children a daily ritual: 

• 
  
  
  Choose the same time and place, and make it a high priority.
• 
  
  
  Choose a quiet area that is free of distractions; with soft, comfortable, well-lit surroundings.
• 
  
  
  One of our major goals as parents is to teach our children how to communicate effectively. This includes reading, writing, speaking and listening. Reading aloud strenghens these communication skills.

Introduce the book:

• 
  
  
  Introduce the title, author, illustrator, and book cover.
• 
  
  
  Ask questions: What do they thnk the book will be about?

Look at the pictures:

• 
  
  
  What does the picture tell?
• 
  
  
  Have your younger children try and tell you what the story is about simply by looking at the pictures.

Use facial expressions and body movements:

• 
  
  
  Model your excitement for reading.
• 
  
  
  Rather than sitting your child on your lap facing the same direction, turn them around and hold the book under your chin. They still get to see the book, but they also get to see you (your expressions, how you pronounce words, etc.)

Change your voice for different characters:

• 
  
  
  The tone of your voice should express the characters' feelings.
• 
  
  
  Your coice should sound exciting and interesting

Talk about the story:

• 
  
  
  What do they think will happen?
• 
  
  
  Encourage them to ask questions.

Keep children involved and excited:

• 
  
  
  Some children may need to act out the story.
• 
  
  
  Use puppets with children who need to develop their listening skills.

Make sure the book is interesting to the children:

• 
  
  
  Can they relate to the characters?
• 
  
  
  Choose books with limited text and engaging pictures.

Read favorite books over and over again:

• 
  
  
  The repetition supports word recognition.

Why Read to your Child?

• 
  
  
  Strengthen communication skills: reading, writing, speaking.
• 
  
  
  To build a positive relationship with books and reading; giving your child a desire to read
• 
  
  
  To help children learn to read more easily and confidently when the time comes (without pushing)
• 
  
  
  To improve listening skills
• 
  
  
  To expand vocabulary
• 
  
  
  To teach more complex sentence structure
• 
  
  
  To improve memory
• 
  
  
  To provide a setting for warmth, attention, security, and sometimes a calming break in tensions
• 
  
  
  To expand a child's understanding of himself; arousing imagination, emotions and sympathies
• 
  
  
  To expand a child's understanding of his world; promoting discussion of both the commonplace and the extraordinary.
• 
  
  
  To strengthen reader's relationship with the child; helping understand each other through reactions to and discussion of boks.
• 
  
  
  For fun.

Books for Different Ages:

Infants:

• 
  
  
   Sturdy board books babies can chew on
• 
  
  
   Books without words
• 
  
  
   Books of babies
• 
  
  
   Books about everyday objets (food, toys, animals, etc.)
• 
  
  
   Books containing photos of familiar people

Toddlers:

• 
  
  
   Sturdy books that can be carried and dropped
• 
  
  
   Books with few words
• 
  
  
   Books of familiar activities (playing, eating, sleeping, etc.)
• 
  
  
   Bedtime books
• 
  
  
   Books about going places
• 
  
  
   Books with simple rhymes and predicatble texts
• 
  
  
   Books of familiar songs

Pre-Schoolers:

• 
  
  
  Books with more words that tell stories (with lots of pitures but only a few sentences on the page)
• 
  
  
  Books about children with similar experiences (going to preschool, spending the night at a friend's house, going to the doctor, etc.)
• 
  
  
  Books about friends
• 
  
  
  Books about families
• 
  
  
  Books with predictable story lines and repeated phrases

Community Singing and Story Time

There are a group of wonderful mommy's in my community and once a week we get together for singing / story time with all of our kiddo's.

Mom's can sign up to either host, bring a snack, or read stories.

This past week it was at my house.

The kids always have a fun time, and it is good for the mom's to be able to catch up as well.

Each week the person who hosts picks the music activity.

Here are some that we've done in the past:

Putting scraps of paper on the wall with songs written on the back - each child gets a turn to pick the next song.

Introducing instruments: one of my neighbors plays the violin, so she talked about all of the different parts on her violin and accompanied us while we sang.  She even sent the kids home with a paper violin for them to cut out and "practice" with themselves.

Those that have musical toys or mini instruments pass them out to the kids so they can practice playing, as well as setting the beat to different songs.

Other ideas were introducing the kids to rounds, patterns and beats.

Each week it is a little bit different, but we always follow the same pattern.

We sing songs for the first half hour or so,

Then we set out blankets for the kids to sit on.

They get to have snacks while someone reads to them.

After that, they play with whatever toys are available at the hosts' house.

Here is a list of some of the songs that we sing:

• ABC Nursery Rhymes
• Baby Fish
• Beehive
• Bingo
• Book of Mormon Stories
• Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee
• Days of the Week
• Do Your Ears Hang Low
• Fire Truck
• Five Little Ducks
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• Hinges
• I Had a Little Turtle (Tiny Tim)
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• Itsy-Bitsy Spider
• London Bridges
• My Horse and Buggy
• Old McDonald had a Farm
• Poly Put the Kettle On
• Popcorn Popping
• Ring Around the Rosies
• Row Row Row Your Boat
• Speckled Frogs
• Suzie has a hat (Introduction song)
• The Grand Old Duke of York
• Three Little Monkeys
• Thumbkin
• To Market To Market
• Two Little Blackbirds
• Wake Up Me
• When Dogs Wake Up in the Morning
• Will You Stand Up (the welcome song)
• Wise Man and Foolish Man

This has been a huge help for my kids personally on many levels, especially with social skills.

Even if you don't have a group of mom's that want to participate, music is a fun way to play and interact with your kids by yourself.

The more we sing and read at home, the more they want to do it!

Alphabet Snake

Cannon goes through stages of obsession.  Toys, Movies, Food, you name it.  He gets stuck on something and can't live without it until it is replaced with the next best thing.

Right now he is on the alphabet.  He has started to spell out words he sees around the house, so I thought we'd fly with the idea while he was still interested.

Alphabet Snake

Materials Needed:

- green craft or construction paper

- printer or black magic marker

- scissors

- laminating (optional)

Here's How:

- Use your computer or an oval stencil to trace out the ovals

(I used Microsoft Word and positionedeach letter in the center of each oval. 

I have spent a while trying to figure out how to attach a PDF file to a blog post and haven't figured it out yet, so I can't include a link to what I've already done :( 

If you know how to do it let me know and I'll attach a copy, which could save you quiet a bit of time.  Or you can request one from me and I'll email it to you).

- I printed the ovals with letters on them out on two shades of green craft paper

- You can print out the letters or do it free hand with a black marker (or have your kids do it)

(I did the complete alphabet, with additional vowels and other letters so he could spell words, make his name, etc.)

- To make the head of the snake, I used the same size oval and stuck on two smaller black ovals to make the eyes.

- I cut out the tongue from red craft paper.

As always, I like to laminate things so they last longer.

Most of my kid projects are laminated with packaging tape, like this:

- I lay out long strips of packaging tape, sticky side up
- Fold over both edges to secure the lines of tape to the table.
- Stick the snake ovals to the tape

Be sure and put the lettered side face down (on the sticky part).  It will ensure that the good side is smooth and has a nice finished look.
Next, take another strip of tape and lay it on top
- Start by attaching the end of the tape to the table, just above the attached piece of tape.
- Use a credit card to smooth the tape pieces together as you put the top layer of tape on

You will most likely get ridges and bumps, but they will be on the back side of the snake, so it will still look nice.

Then cut them out; make sure the tape is atached around the outside of each oval.

And You're Done!

Now go spell something...

Or write your name...

Or whatever else comes to mind!