That's Silly™ (pages 18 and 19)

• If your child points to something that is silly, encourage him or her to describe it. Talking about the illustration will help your child develop a larger vocabulary.
• After you've found the sillies, help your child talk about the scene. Even young children can make inferences if you ask questions like these: What time of day is it? How do you know? Are the people having fun? How can you tell?

Whether you're three years old or 30, finding the sillies in these puzzles is fun. And as your child talks about the scene and looks for small details, he or she is learning how to make sense of visual information—an important early literacy skill.

*Language Development: Speaking & Communicating (Progresses in ability to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.)

*Creative Arts: Art (Begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.)

Can't Sleep, Mama (pages 20 to 24)

• Young children are still learning to distinguish fantasy and reality. So begin this story by introducing the fantasy. Explain that a little girl is not sleepy and she imagines that her bedroom is filled with farm animals. But the animals are not really there.
• The next time your child has difficulty falling asleep, try retelling this story. You take Mama's lines, and your child can take Shawna's. It just might help!

The illustrations, with their ghostly farm animals, will help your child see that the animals live only in Shawna's imagination. Spark your child's imagination. Ask: What would Shawna say if her mama asked her to count cats? Dogs? Birds?

*Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Shows a growing interest in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and nonfiction books and poetry.)

*Approaches to Learning: Initiative & Curiosity (Approaches tasks, activities, and conversations with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.)

Can You Find Me? (bonus pages)

• As you play the game, help your child pay attention to the names on the cards. Ask: Who has the shortest name? Who has the longest name? How many names start with B? How many names start with S?
• Give your child one of the cards and ask him or her to hunt through the magazine to find that name.

As they play this matching game again and again, children will begin to notice more about these characters and their names. Concentration games help children focus and learn to play with others.

*Literacy: Alphabet Knowledge (Begins to notice and name the beginning letters in words.)

*Social & Emotional Development: Cooperation (Develops the ability to take turns in games and interact without being overly submissive or directive.)

*Early childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.