Um. Er. Early Literacy?

The US magazine was issue 947 from April 8, 2013.

I had a whole day with my two girls recently.  Starting with breakfast we had a day full of fun!
Miss E was lingering on (and on) as she was eating her cereal and I grabbed a magazine left on the table.  Okay, I admit it ... I was browsing a less-than-stellar literary masterpiece not full of insight, wisdom and substance.  And when Miss E became curious as to what I was looking at, I went with it as this would test out the five practices of Early Literacy (determined by ALA guidelines):
TALKING
SINGING
READING
WRITING
PLAYING

First, we talked about all the pictures we saw as pages turned in the magazine.  I must clarify that we did not talk specifically about the names and claims to fame.
Yes, there were singers in the magazine. Taylor, Katy, Nikki, Justin...
There were also readers in the magazine because if they are actors they must read scripts.
And writers of the pages.
And, no doubt, players such as Tiger Woods.


Am I a Grandmother worthy of being left alone with these children?
I'd say so with all the teaching I do about pop culture and current events with intentions of
practicing Early Literacy with my two little Sweeties. 
Sign me up for the c-o-o-l Grandmother's Club! 

Now, come along with us as we read US.

While we paged through the magazine, Miss M looks on with minimal interest.

E:  I like her flowers!
Me:  I like that she's carrying more than just flowers and will bloom even more in the next few months! She's pregnant just like your Mommy was with Maja not too long ago - do you remember that?

When we came to this page featuring K. Kardashian here's what happened - I kid you not.
E: I like her because she matches my egg. And then she reached over to the nearby table top and grabbed a blue plastic Easter egg for proof.

I found this page to be quite interesting in noting all the hairstyles J. Timberlake has had (pg. 48), starting in eighth grade when a stylist commented that his curls "were not a perm."
I asked E to choose her favorite style.  She pointed to the bleached look on this top row. 
Me:  Do you like it because it's yellow hair?
E: I like his earrings.
(Interviewer's note: his earrings, in fact, were the flashiest silver hoops in the whole round-up of looks and locks).

Me:  I like this outfit.  I think I might like lime green pants with a denim jacket.
E: I like pink pants.  You can't wear green pants, MeMo.

E (about Taylor Swift):  I don't like her because of sparkles.
Me:  But I thought you liked sparkles?
E: No, I don't.
Interviewer's observation: this has nothing to do with sparkles, actually.  I think E was unimpressed due to the lack of color on Ms. Swift's dress that is actually quite beautiful.

On pages 86-87 we looked at women who have undergone serious chopping-off haircuts.
Me:  E, these are girls who have had long hair and then went to get haircuts...do you have a favorite one?
E: (pointing to Emma Watson with long hair) I like her the best.  She is wearing purple.
Interviewer's comment: At least she was in Harry Potter which is connected to one really good book series.

Two-page spread on 100-111 about women who change their hair color. 
E: I like this girl because she has pink hair and purple hair!
 (No brainer on this one coming from a girl who loves those two colors in a very serious way.)
 

E:  Why is that woman making a face? I can make a face  like her!

There you have it:  early literacy at work!