Parent/Teacher Collection Archives

Finger Frolics

April 14, 2021 Holly Parent/Teacher Collection 9 comments

Finger Frolics: Fingerplays for Young Children
Cromwell
1983

Submitter: [This] title caught my eye on a list of books that have not circulated in 10+ years. Funny title aside, if there is one thing I know about children’s books, it’s that young’uns don’t take kindly to incorrect depictions of dinosaurs. Trust me!

Holly: Points for diverse characters on the cover. Otherwise, this is full of words and phrases kids don’t generally understand or use (what does “nick, nick, nick new” even mean?? See last image below.) The images are boring too. The fingerplays themselves might not be too bad for seasoned performers, but I’m not sure they’re great choices for “young children” as the title implies.

Alphabetical Baby Care

October 15, 2020 Mary Kelly Parent/Teacher Collection 15 comments

The Modern Encyclopedia of Baby and Child Care
From Prenatal Care to Adolescence
Vol. 6
Le-Nu
1966

Another find from my Swedish Death Cleaning project

I was in first grade or kindergarten when this was published, so I am pretty sure this wasn’t a book I picked up. I am guessing it was from my mother’s death cleaning and since she can’t abide waste, it probably ended up in a pile of stuff she gave me. For clarity, during my mother’s death cleaning she would shove random boxes of stuff into our hands any time she saw us in person. It was always a surprise.

Homeschooling

September 30, 2020 Mary Kelly Parent/Teacher Collection 10 comments

Homeschooling for Excellence
Colfax and Colfax
1988

Today we have a book about homeschooling from the late 1980s. COVID-19 has changed the landscape of instruction for kids across the country. I can imagine that books on homeschooling, teaching, and the companion technologies might be more popular right now.

This book, which was probably fine for the late 1980s and early 90s, probably isn’t going to be helpful for our 2020 connected kids.

Other information might be outdated as well. There are some discussions of legal issues surrounding homeschooling, so that information could be suspect as well.

Parenting in the 1990s

September 14, 2020 Mary Kelly Parent/Teacher Collection 4 comments

Parenting for the 1990s
Osborne
1989

This book is all about combining those past theories of parenting into a new model. It seems as if there is always a “breakthrough” in how we parent. This is more an academic discussion. There is a grid outlining various parenting philosophies that I doubt non academics would find helpful. (I would be lying if I hadn’t thought about putting my kids in a Skinner box, just so everyone would be quiet.)

Parenting is just difficult no matter what. I read parenting books all through the 1990s when my kids were little. I am not sure that I had any particular moments of clarity or insight reading any of these books. The best advice is to keep trying and to keep reading, hoping one of these ideas or books will speak to your family.

Mary

how can I understand my kids? book cover

I don’t understand my kids

July 1, 2020 Mary Kelly Department of God, Parent/Teacher Collection 7 comments

How can I understand my kids?
Bridging the generation gap
Wagemaker
1978

Short answer: you can’t.

I have decided that one of the most popular subsets of parenting books is the understanding/I want to kill my teenager books. Parenting books are kind of a Hail Mary for surviving the drama of teens. Every generation goes through this. The themes are similar, kids don’t listen to parents and all their abundant advice/demands/standards. Kids complain that parents are basically clueless. Both sides are correct. Can this be solved with some scripture and this book? I doubt it.

Although a Christian themed book, it wasn’t overly judgmental and it did put much of the burden of communication on the parents. The examples are interesting, but again assume white, upwardly mobile families with lots of resources and choices. How can they be real problems if you have resources and choices?

Teacher Test

June 23, 2020 Mary Kelly Parent/Teacher Collection 4 comments

Michigan Test for Teacher Certification
REA Editors
2005

Test preparation materials are extremely popular at every library I have worked at. I have been amazed at the vast subjects that need test preparation. Libraries are often the only places to get this type of information. The cost of prep materials, as well as prep courses are often outside a student’s budget. In Michigan, teachers are required to be certified before student teaching. I am not up on the latest details of the test, but I have seen my fair share of students looking for this material and other test preparation items.

Taking Care of Your Child

May 20, 2020 Mary Kelly Health and Safety, Parent/Teacher Collection, Swedish Death Cleaning 6 comments

Taking Care of Your Child
A Parent’s Guide to Medical Care
Pantell, Fries, and Vickery
1992

Yet another entry from my Swedish Death Cleaning project.

Since it has a 1992 publishing date, it has to be when I changed pediatricians and went to a new practice. Old pediatrician yelled at me for not breast feeding enough, even though I told him that I hadn’t had a shower in a month and was walking around topless trying to feed the baby all the time. I wasn’t making enough milk to feed my kid and was tired of crying every time I went to see this guy. I don’t like anyone who is sanctimonious about breastfeeding, but I really didn’t like this guy (yes, a guy) tell me how I just needed to try harder or I would hurt my baby.

When I joined the new practice evidently they gave me this book. (I stayed with that practice until my kids were teens.) No one yelled at me during well baby visits. New pediatrician told me to do bottle feeding and get some sleep. That moment totally changed my life.

As far as the book goes, its okay. I don’t remember using it much. It probably made me feel better to have it around though. Since my kids are grown up, I don’t think I am going to need a baby care book from the early 1990s. Circular file it is!

Library Skills for the Kids

April 20, 2020 Mary Kelly Librarian's Choice, Parent/Teacher Collection 4 comments

Teacher’s Portfolios of Library Skills
Weisburg and Toor
1985

Happy National Library Week, everyone. Over the years, we here at the ALB home office like to use NLW as an annual reminder about professional collections. Yes, I realize most of us are sequestered due to COVID-19, so take a note for when we get back to the books and patrons.

This little gem is from 1985. It was weeded in February 2020. If this is something you are using in 2020, I think it might be time to update your lesson plans. For those of us of a certain age, this is a nice nostalgic visit to libraries of yore. Note the entire chapter on those fun card catalogs.