Early Literacy Connection

Lego Club Magazine

2011-12-21T12:19:00.005-05:00

For children who aren't naturally keen to pick up a book, finding the right motivation to read can be quite difficult. Recently I discovered a FREE magazine for children from Lego. If you know a Lego lover, this magazine is sure to be a hit. The magazine features comics, colouring pages, pictures of children with their Lego creations and steps for building something from Legos.

To subscribe, just go to www.LEGOclub.com and click on the Lego club link shown above.

Playdough Recipes

2011-09-26T10:29:00.003-04:00

I recently found this amazing website that offers a LARGE variety of play dough recipes. Playdough is an amazing material. Children love exploring its texture by poking, squeezing, patting, pushing, rolling, cutting, and so on. Children can develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination by playing with this interesting substance. In addition, think about all the wonderful vocabulary they can learn with proper scaffolding. They can some of the many complexities of language including prepositions like "on top", "beside", "behind", "under", or even labels for their creations like "dog", "table" or develop their understanding of familiar concepts, "What sound does a dog make?", "How many legs do we need on your chair to make it sturdy?"

Check out some playdough recipes here!

Look At Me!

2011-07-14T12:37:00.010-04:00

This post features a new home made book I created as a "make and take" activity at parent support groups. This book has many features that are appealing to young children:

Mirrors - Babies love looking at pictures of other babies, but they enjoy looking at themselves even more! Mirrors are a great way of helping children become self-aware.

Shapes - Children will learn about a variety of shapes by looking at their relection in the shapes. Learning the names of shapes will help you child take their first steps to becoming a math wiz!

Repetition - We all know that children learn best though repetition. This book was written with simple text to help children understand the relationship between what we say and print.

"Look at me! I'm in a square."
"Look at me! I'm in a circle."

TIP: You can buy mirror paper at your local art supply store on a large roll.

Get Ready for a Shock!

2011-07-11T09:37:00.005-04:00

Recently, I picked up this book as a potential read for a book club for child care providers. Since I've picked it up I can barely put it down. It challenges some major assumptions that parents and caregivers can make about "what's best for children".

One of the most interesting chapters for me was the one called ``Why Hannah Talks and Alyssa Doesn`t``. As an Early Literacy Specialist, I often tell parents of young children to read, sing and talk with their children. Well, this chapter really opened my eyes to what new research is telling us. For a while I had been under the impression that talking alone would make a difference in the vocabulary development of young children. Though I was well aware that children learn best through interactions, I had no idea that the vocabulary achievement gap is based on how parents RESPOND to their children, including how immediately they do so.

Everytime a baby looks to their caregiver, babbles, or reaches for a toy, there is an opportunity for a caregiver to respond to the baby. Also, it should be noted that the timing of the response is just as important as the response itself. From the time that a baby gestures towards an interaction with a caregiver, that caregiver has 5 seconds to respond or they have missed a learning opportunity.

If you would like more information on this book, please visit this link. From what I`ve read so far, I believe that it`s something that every parent and caregiver must read.

Seven Days in a Week

2011-05-18T16:56:00.011-04:00

Adults use time to mark and measure time, but for children the task is not as easy. Little evidence exists indicating that calander activities which mark extended periods of time (a month, a week) are meaningful for children below first grade (Friedman, 2000). Before children can make use of a calendar, they need to be able to understand that time is sequential (first comes Sunday, then Monday, and so on).

There are many relevant resources that exist in your child's world that can help them understand the sequence of a week. You can use picture books, songs, and even photographs to help your child understand how to mark and measure time in their own world.

Some books that discuss the concept of a week include:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: A hungry caterpillar eats various foods on each day of the week before turning into a beautiful butterfly.

Hannah and the Seven Dresses by Marthe Jocelyn: A little girl wears a different dress each day of the week until her birthday comes and she can't decide which of the 7 to choose.

Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward and Tomie de Paola: A mischievious cat gets into trouble each day of the week.

Big Week for Little Mouse by Eugenie and Kim Fernandes: A little mouse spends a week getting ready for a special event.

Today is Monday by Eric Carle: Different animals eat their way through the days of the week.

The song Everybody Happy by Sharon Lois and Bram is another great resource to use when teaching your little one about a week.

Everybody Happy:

Today is Monday, Today is Monday
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Tuesday, Today is Tuesday
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Wednesday, Today is Wednesday
Wednesday the gardening’
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Thursday, Today is Thursday
Thursday soup
Wednesday the gardening’
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Friday, Today is Friday
Friday Pay Day!
Thursday soup
Wednesday the gardening’
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Saturday, Today is Saturday
Saturday is shopping!
Friday Pay Day!
Thursday soup
Wednesday the gardening’
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:

Today is Sunday, Today is Sunday
Sunday - Resting!
Saturday is shopping!’
Friday Pay Day!
Thursday soup
Wednesday the gardening’
Tuesday the ironing’
Monday the washing’
Everybody happy? But I should say:
Everybody happy? But I should say!

You can also create a large calander for your child using pictures of them doing activities on each day of the week. For example, on Monday, it could be a rainy day (like lately!), Tuesday is baking cookies, and so on.

Can you think of any books, songs, or activities that help children learn the days of the week?

Tips for Struggling Readers

2011-04-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

If your child has difficulty sequencing syllables and recognizing sound units within words, try this ...

Write your child’s first and last name on a piece of paper. Use a red marker to write the vowels. Glue a pom-pom under each syllable. Have your child say their name, and touch the pompom as they say each syllable.

If your child has difficulty using vowels and consonants to make words, try this ...

Use a set of magnetic letters and an aluminum cookie sheet. Have your child manipulate the letters to form a word. If you don’t have magnetic letters, use index cards for the activity. Have your child make as many words as possible in 1 minute, using just the letters n, f, d, s, and a.

If your child has difficulty hearing vowel sounds, try this ...

On a table, line up a set of index cards with these vowel teams on them: oi, oy, ou, ow, oo. On a different set of index cards write words that contain these vowel sounds, i.e. boil, toy, couch, low. Have your child determine which of the vowel teams each word should be placed under. Try and have 2 -3 words per vowel team. Note that /oo/ can have 2 sounds, such as moon and book. Make sure you keep the words consistent with the sound.

You could also try these vowel teams:
o ee, ea, ai, ay, ie, and oa. Again, make sure you keep the word examples consistent. ea has 3 sounds (eat, bread, great). ie also has 2 sounds (piece, pie).

If your child has difficulty understanding the meaning of what they read, try this ...

Write the text of a story on paper, leaving room for illustrations. Ask your child to draw new picture for the book. Or have your child write stories or short sentences and then illustrate them. Staple them together and turn them into mini-books. Have he or she read them back to you.

Here are some Mini-books that are ready to print: (these ones give you the option of printing with text only, so that your child can draw the illustrations).

Town Mouse Country Mouse

The Ugly Duckling

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Shape and Sound of Letters

2011-04-20T10:47:00.001-04:00

Phonics is back!

In the 60s, when my parents learned to read, they used the “Dick and Jane” basal readers. These focused less on teaching the individual sounds in a word, and more on teaching sight words to be memorized. Just like fashion, this method of teaching reading went out of style, and Phonics has made a comeback.

Vs.

Phonics is making the connection between the letters on a page, and the sounds that are heard. Even though there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there are 44 sounds! This is because each letter may make more than one sound.

Around the age of 4, most children have mastered the alphabet song. However, many children need up to 2 years to learn the shapes of all the letters. Here are some tips for teaching your child how to write their letters, and learn the sounds that go with them.

If your child is in preschool, teach an uppercase set of letters first. They are easier to distinguish than lower case letters.
By kindergarten, your child should start to focus on learning the lower case letters.
Start with simple letters. For instance, t, s, a (short sound, as in tap), m, i (short sound as in pig), r, and d are good to start with.
As you’re reading with your child, have them point out words that start with the same letters or end with the same letters.
Research has shown that it is also helpful to show your child a corresponding picture to go with each letter (Ehri, 1992). If they are practicing the letter /s/, have them draw a snake, or a sun – whatever they associate that letter with.

A Time Line of Alphabet Recognition

Preschool:

- Exposure to letter names
- Recognizes his or her own name

Kindergarten

- Recites most letter names
- Labels most letter shapes (uppercase and lower case)

Grade 1

- Knows all letter names and shapes

School Readiness

2011-04-18T08:58:00.000-04:00

I Know My ABCs

Have a look at some activities you can do with your child, to help them practice their ABCs.

1. Read some ABC books

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Alphabet Soup by Kate Banks

2. Make play-dough letters

3. Play some games

Alphabet Hide and Go Seek: Hide letters from the alphabet around the room and have your child find them one at a time and tell you what letter it is.

Climb the stairs: Put a letter on each step. The child says each letter as they climb the stairs (can lay on floor if there are no stairs).

4.Rhyming Riddles

You: “I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with cat and begins with b”

Child: bat!

5.Check out www.starfall.com

School Readiness

2011-04-16T08:50:00.000-04:00

I Can Write My Name

Here are some activities to try that help your child practice writing their own name.

1. Sing Name Songs:

Bingo Name Song:

There is a child that I know best
And Noah is his name oh,
N O A H, N O A H, N O A H
And Noah is his name oh

Willobee-wallobee

Willobee-wallobee wee, an elephant sat on me.

Willobee-wallobee, woo , an elephant sat on you.
Example. Willobee wallobee winda. (use W for the 1st letter in your child’s name)
an elephant sat on Linda

2. Tracing

Print your child’s first name, showing them slowly how to make each letter. Have them trace over your printed example.

3. Try out this Name Puzzle:

• Write your child’s name on a paper, one in black marker and one in red marker.
• Use the pointer to say each letter aloud. Ask your child to copy you.
• Cut out each letter in the name in red.
• Mix up the pieces.
• Have your child help put the name puzzle back together, using the black strip as a guide.
• Then have your child try the puzzle without the name as a guide.

School Readiness

2011-04-14T15:57:00.000-04:00

I Can Count to 10

Here are some activities to try at home to help your child practice counting to 10.

1. Play Simon Says

You: “Simon says take 2 steps forward”
Child: moves forward 2 steps.

2.Count with books

Try a completion prompt:

You: “Oh wow! There are lots of polar bears on this page. Let’s see, 1, 2, 3, 4, ____”

Child: 5!

3. Practice around the house

Have your child dial a telephone number for you when you need to use the phone. Point to the numbers and read them aloud for your child.

4. Practice out and about

When you are walking or driving, “How many signs on the side of the road are there from here to grandmas (or school)?

5. Songs and poems are great too

One, two, buckle my shoe,
Three, four, shut the door,
Five, six, pick-up sticks,
Seven, eight, lay them straight,
Nine, ten, start over again.

School Readiness

2011-04-12T13:08:00.000-04:00

I Know My Shapes

Try some of these activities to help your child practice naming shapes.

1. Make a Shape Book

Take a few sheets of construction paper and fold them in half, and put together like a book. Have your child search in old magazines and newspapers for shapes. (triangles, circles, squares, rectangles). Cut them out and paste one shape on each page of your book.

2. Tracing Shapes

Cut out a circle, square and triangle from a large piece of cardboard. Give your child a large sheet of paper on which to make a picture or design by tracing the shapes .

3. Making Lunch

When you’re cutting your child’s sandwich, ask them if they want it in squares.

4. Making Shapes with Toothpicks

Put toothpicks on the table and instruct them to make various shapes (ask them to make a circle and see how many actually try!)

School Readiness

2011-04-10T15:37:00.002-04:00

I Know My Colours

Try some of these activities to help your child practice reciting the colours of the rainbow.

1. Sing the Rainbow Song

Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow too.

2. Play “I Spy” with colours

You: “I spy with my little eye, something that is blue”

Child: Looks around the room and guesses what you picked.

3. Read books about colours

Some great ones are: Red is Best by Kathy Stinson, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh and Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert .

5. Everyday

Use colours in daily conversations. For example, tell your child the colour of their snack before eating it, or their clothes before they put them on.

6. Toys

Play with colourful toys like building blocks and balls

Phonemic Awareness

2011-04-08T15:16:00.006-04:00

2 of the best predictors of your child’s success in reading are letter knowledge and phonemic awareness. Here are some ways to help improve your child's phonemic awareness.

2. Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Awareness is being able to hear the individual sounds in the words we say. Children need this skill for learning to read (by blending the sounds of a word together) and when learning to spell (by breaking the word down into its individual letters).

To introduce your child to the basics of phonemic awareness, begin with rhyming and alliteration activities. Most children can successfully complete these by the age of 5, and some as early as 3.

Here are some to try:

Read books that focus on rhyme and alliteration. Some great ones are:

Each Peach Pear Plum by J. and A. Ahlberg

A Giraffe and a half by S. Silverstein

Say 3 rhyming words aloud, such as, cat, mat, and hat. Have your child think of other words that rhyme with those words.

Create a Rhyming Poem. Have your child suggest words to fill in each blank:

Once I Saw
Once I saw a cat,
And it wore a funny little _________ .
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la-la
Silly little cat.
Once I saw a goat,
And it wore a funny little _________ .
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la-la
Silly little goat.

If your child has mastered the rhyming tasks, then try phoneme counting activities. Most children have mastered phoneme counting by the end of the 1st grade.

Here are some to try:

Ask your child to tell you what the first sound is in fun, fly, and friend. Have them tell you other words that begin with /f/.

Write two words on a piece of paper, such as pat and cat, and have your child to tell you which letter is different in each word. If they are really good at this, have them listen for the last sound in each word. For instance, “What’s the last sound in foot, bat, pet?”

Say your child’s name in individual phonemes. Have them repeat it for you.

Letter Knowledge

2011-04-06T10:25:00.010-04:00

Hi, my name is Ms. Brown and this is my first time blogging :)

I have had the pleasure of working with Jenna for almost 3 weeks now. As part of my Bachelor's of Education, I am taking an "alternative" placement in a setting outside of the typical classroom. Using all of the wonderful resources, advice and knowledge from Jenna and the Early Literacy team, I've put together some information that I have found to be useful and relevant to promoting language and literacy at home. Stay tuned for more!

2 of the best predictors of your child’s success in reading are letter knowledge and phonemic awareness. Here are some ways to help improve your child's letter knowledge.

1. Recognizing the Alphabet

Knowing how to identify letters is an important stepping stone for learning how to read. Further, if your child can name all the letters, he or she will be better able to understand the alphabetic principle – knowing that each letter stands for a specific sound.

The “Elemeno” Problem:

The Alphabet song is usually our first introduction to this alphabetic principal. However, about half way through the song, most children tend to combine the l, m, n, and o, to make "elemeno.” It can be difficult for your child to understand that each letter makes its own sound, when these 4 letters are made into one big nonsense word.

To make sure your child has a solid alphabetic foundation, try some of these suggestions:

- Listen to several versions of the alphabet song.

“ZYXs” was featured on the Big Comfy Couch, and challenges your child to sing the ABCs backwards.

Preview this great CD of ABC songs with a twist. Bonus- they leave out the “elemeno” lyric.

- On tongue depressors, or popsicle sticks, make a set of alphabet sticks. Have your child arrange them in order.

- Provide many forms of the alphabet – sandpaper letters, for instance, are great tactile forms of the alphabet (see below). Or something they’re sure to love – eewy gooey letters! Place some clear hair gel in a bag, and add some food colouring. Make sure the bag is zipped tight! Have your child form letters with their finger on the outside of the bag.

- Read lots of Alphabet Books. Alphabet Books are Great Because They ...

Help children learn letter sequence
Help children connect a sound with a letter
Support oral language development in beginning readers

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Alphabeasts by Wallace Edwards

Video Clips

2011-02-02T12:23:00.004-05:00

One of my colleagues, Martha Kovack, has completed a set of training videos on early literacy. Each video clip speaks to an important component of early literacy. After watching all the videos and completing a survey, you can receive a certificate of professional development.

To get started, go to:

Early Literacy 101: The Basics

Math and Children's Literature

2011-01-18T16:31:00.003-05:00

Using literature to connect with a math lesson is a wonderful way to involve students in both literacy and mathematical thinking (Whitin & Wilde, 1992, 1995).

When teachers link children’s literature with mathematics, children are better at explaining their reasoning and strategies, enjoy mathematics more, show greater overall persistence on difficult tasks, think more about what they learn, and experience a level of success (Clarke, 2002).

When children’s literature and numeracy are connected in an interactive and meaningful way, students will understand the mathematics concepts readily and will sustain the knowledge (Raymond, 1995).

Many experts have stated that combining mathematics and literacy development will lead to a child's improvement in both.

“How children experience math has a profound effect on what they are able to learn. If we want our children to be successful in math, it is important that we create a learning environment that supports the development of understanding, positive attitudes and habits of mind that cause children to be interested, curious and eager to learn new mathematical ideas” (Kathy Richardson, Math Time).

At first glance, the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears may seem like any other story, but if you look at it using a mathematics lens, something should immediately come to mind - the number 3! Not only is the number 3 part of the title, but the entire story is based around collections of 3 (bears, bowls, chairs, beds). Also, the number is continually reinforced.

Not just numbers...

Also, the story exposes children to ordering (small, medium, large and cold, warm, hot), correspondences between ordered sets (smallest bed for smallest bear, next for the next larger bear), patterning (repeated phrases – too little, too big, just right). WOW! What a great math book!

Books provide a great starting point for rich, authentic mathematical thinking and mathematics lessons. Children’s literature also motivates children to explore concepts in greater depth, and encourages them to make connections among and between mathematics topics. Books also help to stimulate interest and provide real-world contexts for problem solving. Children are very quick to relate to fictional characters and situations.

A word of advice...

Before you talk about the math content in a story with children, make sure that they are very familiar with the story. You can't expand on anything without a solid foundation. Once a child has built up a good schema, you can begin drawing attention to the math in the stories you share.

The Role of Early Math

2011-01-17T17:55:00.007-05:00

In Canada, more than 49% of people lack basic numeracy skills (Statistics Canada, OECD, 2005). Isn't this astounding?!? Math development starts long before children enter adulthood. A large body of research indicates that the foundation of these skills start even before children enter school - before they reach 4 years of age.

Early arithmetic abilities have been found to be the strongest predictor for later school achievement (Dunan et al., 2007).

Counting ability is the best predictor for the initial level of math performance (from a longitudinal study from preschool to second grade by Aunola, Leskinen, Lerkkanen, and Nurmi, 2004).

The graph above is a visual representation of the Matthew Effect (Source: www.balancedreading.com). Basically, it explains that people who "have" will continue to "have" and even get more, while the "have nots" will always stay at the same level and never catch up to the latter group.

Sounds like a good reason to start building a solid foundation from birth, right?

Peter Penguin

2010-12-14T13:55:00.002-05:00

Meet my friend Peter Penguin. He is a very picky eater and he will only eat things that begin with the sound /p/. Can you help me feed him?

Doing activities like this with your child will help them develop phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is hearing the small sounds in words. In this case, it's the /p/ sound. You can make this activity suit any sound you would like to work on with your child.

Can you think of any other animal friends who are picky eaters?

Letters to Santa

2010-12-06T11:15:00.002-05:00

Canada Post is in its 29th year of the Santa Letter-Writing program. This offers a fantastic opportunity for you to practice writing and mailing letters with your child. Please visit the link below to find out how you can write a letter or email to Santa with your child.

http://www.canadapost.ca/dec/santa/writesanta/default-e.asp

Holiday Baking!

2010-12-04T10:28:00.004-05:00

Looking back to my younger days, I fondly remember the time I spent with my aunt making cookies on Sunday afternoons. Baking is an excellent activity you can do with your child to help them prepare to learn to read, among other things.

For younger children, pouring ingredients into bowls and mixing help them understand the concept of cause and effect. They learn to understand the concept of "hot" when something hot comes out of the oven.

Baking helps children learn new vocabulary. Your child can try new foods to expand their palate. Also, baking serves as a fun way to explore mathematical concepts like quantity through measuring and counting. Your child will learn about the concepts "more" and "less". They can learn to read print by matching words in recipes to words on store containers like "eggs", "baking powder", "suagr", and so on.

Bake something special with your child today. The recipe can be as simple as rice krispy squares. Spending time with your child doing something they will enjoy is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Do you have a simple recipe you can share?

Mitten Weather

2010-11-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Thumb in the thumb hole, fingers all together.
This is the song we sing in mitten weather.

It's the time of year that we begin wearing heavier layers to keep warm. Talking, singing, and reading about layering our clothing will help children understand how to stay warm. This time of year brings out many new vocabulary words.

As a simple activity, make a paper mitten in each colour from construction paper. Children can help you tell the story, "Red Mitten, Red Mitten" which models Eric Carle's story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Fostering creativity in children

2010-11-29T12:07:00.005-05:00

Here is an interesting story...

The Little Boy
Adapted from Helen E. Buckley

Once a little boy went to school. He was quite a little boy and it was quite a big school.

One morning, when the little boy had been in school a while the teacher said, "Today we are going to make a picture". The little boy was happy. He liked to make pictures. He could make all kinds: lions and tigers, chickens and cows, trains and boats. He took out his box of crayons and he began to draw.

But the teacher said, "Wait, it is not time to begin" and she waited until everyone looked ready. "Now", said the teacher, "We are going to make flowers". The little boy was happy. He liked to make flowers so he began to make beautiful ones with his pink, orange and blue crayons.

But the teacher said "Wait, I will show you how." She drew a flower on the board. It was red, with a green stem. "There, now you may begin", said the teacher.

The little boy looked at the teacher's flower, then he looked at his own flower. He liked his flower better than the teacher's, but he did not say anything. He just turned his paper over and made a flower like the teacher's. It was red with a green stem.

On another day, the teacher said, "Today we are going to make something with clay". The little boy was happy. He liked clay. He could make all kinds of things with clay: snakes and snowmen, elephants and mice, cars and trucks. He began to pull and pinch his ball of clay.

But the teacher said, "Wait, it is not time to begin". She waited until everyone looked ready. "Now, we are going to make a dish," said the teacher. The little boy was happy. He liked to make dishes. He began to make some that were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said, "Wait, I will show you how". She showed everyone how to make one deep dish. "There, now you may begin," said the teacher.

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish. Then he looked at his own dish. He liked his better than the teacher's, but he did not say anything. He just rolled his clay into a big ball again and made a dish like the teacher's. It was a deep dish.

Pretty soon the little boy learned to wait, to watch, and to make things just like the teacher.

Then, it happened that the boy's family moved to another city. On the first day at his new school, the teacher said, "Today we are going to make a picture." The boy thought about how much fun it would be to draw a picture, and he waited.

The teacher didn't say anything. She just walked around the room. When she came to the little boy, she asked him if he wanted to draw a picture. He said yes and asked her what he should draw. She said he could draw anything he wanted to. He asked her what colour he should use. She said he could use any colour he wanted to.

The little boy looked at his blank paper and thought hard for several moments. Then, he picked up his crayons and started to draw.

Can you guess what he drew?

For more information on children and creativity, please visit:

Children and Creativity

Process, Not Product

Sparkle Box!

2010-11-25T14:21:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for a great website with free resources that you can use with children? I suggest you try
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/cll/story/

I have given you link to the literacy page on stories, rhymes, and reading, but there is lots more for you to browse once you get to the website.

Please post a comment if you find something worth sharing!

Storytelling for Babies and Toddlers

2010-11-22T13:27:00.004-05:00

"Children need lots of experience listening to many kinds of stories such as stories about people's real life experiences, and stories that are made up. Stories that are never written down as just as valuable as stories told from books. Experience with stories helps children understand how words go together, both in sound and in print, to help build meaning".

Source: Macaulay Child Development Centre, From Lullabies to Literacy

We all know that younger children have smaller attention spans. Expecting an infant or toddler to sit through a long fairy tale is setting oneself up for failure. Instead, try developmentally appropriate stories to HELP THEM develop their attention span.

Stories for babies can be as simple as nursery rhymes such as "Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Jack and Jill". You can also tell your baby what you are doing while you do it, "First we'll get the diaper, and then we'll put it on".

Stories for toddlers can be repetitive songs or stories such as "Eensy Weensy Spider" or "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" Alternatively, you can tell stories about when your child was born and how you felt, something you did or liked when you were very young, or when you learned to do something such as tie your shoelaces.

What is Print Motivation?

2010-11-19T13:42:00.001-05:00

Print motivation is an interest in and enjoyment of books. Researchers suggest that children who are more fluent and positive about reading came from parent-child pairs who viewed reading as fun and encouraged questions and humour while reading. Children who learn that reading can be fun despite its challenges may be more motivated to persist in their efforts in learning to read.

Family influence carries a lot of weight in literacy. A study of parents reading with toddlers found that when the interaction with the parent in negative, it carries over to the activity of reading. Children will avoid reading because of the negative experiences they associate with it (Bus et al., 1997). This tells us that it is important to promote a fun, positive, and stress-free environment when sharing books with our children.

A child with print motivation enjoys being read to, plays with books, pretends to write, asks to be read to, and enjoys visiting the local library.

Early Childhood Brain Insights

2010-11-18T16:39:00.002-05:00

This blog provides information on the importance of brain development in the early years and how easy it is to provide for your children. Check it out!

http://braininsights.blogspot.com/

STORY EXTENSION: 10 Little Rubber Ducks

2010-11-15T14:30:00.003-05:00

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle is based on a news story that the author saw in a newspaper about rubber ducks falling off a container ship during a storm. Each of the 10 rubber ducks in the story follow their own unique path.

Here are some activities you can use to extend this book:

- Put rubber ducks into you water play area

- Sing 5 Little Ducks at Circle Time - provide a felt board in your reading area with 5 little ducks and a mother duck

- Encourage counting and matching by asking children to match the number of loose ducks to the number of ducks on enveloppes.

Click here for more ideas!

Do you have an idea you can share in the comments?

Let's Pretend...

2010-11-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

The connection between pretending and literacy is strong. When pretending, children learn to use imaginary objects or simple objects to stand for real objects (e.g., a child may pretend a broom is a horse, or pretend that a paper towel roll is a fire hose).

In addition, children learn that words are symbols that represent what we want to communicate when first learning to talk. It's similar to learning to read in that a child must understand that letters are symbols that represent the sounds in words.

Children learn reading skills when we encourage them to “make believe”. For example, when children pretend play, they learn how to use their imagination. This will be an important tool for your child to use when they are older and they begin to read chapter books that don't have pictures.

Research has also found that children who pretend on a regular basis have a better understanding of stories, develop more complex language skills, get along better with their friends, solve problems more easily, develop better self– control, and are more creative.

Did you know that children start pretending between 13-18 months? They begin by pretending on themself. You may notice a child at this age who will feed themself with cup/spoon and pretends by making eating actions and sounds. Alternatively, you may notice your child pretending by sleeping on doll’s bed/pillow, sitting on doll’s chair, or dressing themself with doll’s clothes!

Understanding Remembrance Day

2010-11-10T10:19:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. We will honour those who have risked their lives and those who give so much to serve our country. To help your young child understand Remembrance Day, read books. Soldiers fight for peace. Talk about what peace means with your children.

Here are some good books to read for Remembrance Day:

- A Poppy is to Remember by Heather Patterson

- In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae by Linda Granfield (suitable for older children)

- The Peace Book by Todd Parr

The poppy is worn over the heart as a symbol of tribute and support for war veterans. Here is a song and a poem to teach your children:

Poppy Song
(Tune: BINGO)

There is a flower that we wear to show that we remember:
P-O-P-P-Y, P-O-P-P-Y, P-O-P-P-Y
and poppy is its name-o.

Little Poppy

Little poppy given to me,
help keep Canada safe and free.
I'll wear a poppy as red as can be,
to show that I remember those who fought for me.

Remembrance Day facts

10 Tips for Talking Together

2010-11-09T10:55:00.001-05:00

1. Read and talk about books with your children.

2. Tell your children the names of things and describe how they look, feel, smell or sound.

3. Take turns talking about the things you do.

4. Take turns talking about the places you go.

5. Take turns talking out the things you see.

6. Tell stories together.

7. Talk about how things are the same and different.

8. Give reasons for what is happening.

9. Take turns talking about feelings and opinions.

10. Take turns talking about the future and what may happen.

Stories are Gifts...Share!

2010-11-08T10:35:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a drink at Starbucks for two reasons:

(1) the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is back!

(2) the cup is a vessel for tasty drinks and LITERACY!

Above is a picture of the sleeve on my cup. It is so wonderful because it reminds us that people can be brought together through simple conversation. Conversation is where literacy starts. Children do not learn to use and understand language on their own - they learn by listening and speaking to their parents and other people around them. Conversations make meaning from everything we see in the world.

When we spend time taking turns talking about the people, places, and things in our world, we are teaching our children new words (vocabulary) to add to their sentences, how to talk about the past and the future, and how to concentrate and stay on topic!

Research is clear—learning becomes easier when children have strong vocabulary skills and strong oral skills.

In today’s fast-paced world where electronics are everywhere we turn, there are many forces that can keep us from having daily conversations with our children. Sit down, get cozy, and talk with your child over a nice warm hot chocolate. Tell them something real about your childhood. The cup below says,

"My sister and I would just stare up at the sky, trying to see where the snowflakes were born."

Tomorrow: 10 Tips for Talking Together

Resilience (part 2)

2010-11-04T11:25:00.002-04:00

"Developmental neuroscience is telling us that we have a special window to enhance the development of self-regulation between the ages of three and five when the part of the brain that supports executive functions is undergoing a critical growth spurt" (Posner and Rothbart, 2006).

Yesterday I wrote about resilience. After posting, I found another reference to the importance of developing this skill in children.

According to Every Child, Every Opportunity: Curriculum and Pedagogy for the Early Learning Program (A compendium report to "With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario),

"Over the past decade, scientists have begun to acquire a much better understanding of why it has been so difficult to change educational trajectories, and it turns out that the explanation to this phenomenon has little to do with IQ; rather, the reason lies primarily in the child's ability to self-regulate: to monitor and modify emotions, focus or shift attention, control impulses, tolerate frustration, delay gratification, do-regulate in social interactions" (p. ii - Blair and Diamond, 2008).

Charles E. Pascal, the Special Advisor to the Premier on Early Learning, stresses the principle that early development launches children's trajectories for learning. On pages 4 and 5 of the Every Child, Every Opportunity, he explains the concept of self-regulation and its relevance in the early years.

As a parent or educator, one way to promote resilience in your children is by reading picture books with them. Highlight storybook characters' resiliency abilities by commenting as you read.

Resilence

2010-11-03T14:35:00.000-04:00

"Resilient" people have been shown to have happier relationships and are less prone to depression, more successful in school and jobs, and even live healthier and longer lives (from "The Resilence Factor" by K. Reivich and A.J. Shatte). Research shows that children can start to develop resilience skills as early as 2-3 years old, so why not start early?

In Spring 2008, Ontario's Ministry of Child and Youth Services published a document called Realizing Our Potential: Our Children, Our Youth, Our Future. This document identifies several strategic goals for our province. Goal number 4 is as follows: Every Child and Youth is Resilient.

Resiliency is also highlighted in the Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program. Page 2 indicates that the program aims to provide each child with the support they will need to develop self-regulation. Self-regulation is a critical skill in resilience.

Resilience is not something we are born with - it is developped through practice. Some critical abilities associated with resilience include:

- emotional regulation
- impulse control
- causal analysis
- realistic optimism
- empathy
- self-efficacy
- reaching out

One way for children to learn these abilities is to see them modelled through the adults in their lives. In order to be good role models, we must develop our own resilency abilities. Please follow the links below to find out more about how you can do to support resilence in children. Start with Reaching IN...Reaching OUT (RIRO) is an evidence-based program that teaches resiliency thinking skills to young children so they can Reach IN to face life's challenges and Reach OUT to others and opportunities that encourage healthy development.

Resilence in Development: The Importance of Early Childhood

Play and Self-Regulation in Preschool

Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten

Resilence Bounce Back

Fine Motor Skills (3 1/2 - 5 1/2 years)

2010-11-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Below is a list of developmental milestones related to fine motor skills for 3 1/2 - 5 1/2 year olds. Please see yesterday's entry if you are looking for information on younger children.

Your child from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years.

Typically can:
- Put large jigsaws together
- Cut with children's scissors
- Paint with a paint brush on large paper
- Manipulate clay
- Draw a person with three parts
- Fold paper

Emerging skills:
- Buttons and unbuttons buttons
- Cuts on line with scissors
- Carries cup without spilling liquid in it
- Strings small beads to make a necklace

Your child from 4 ½ to 5 ½ years.

Typically can:
- Draw a person with most parts included
- Copy, square, circle and rectangle
- Building 10 cube tower
- Do seven- to eight-piece puzzle
- Hold pencil between thumb and forefinger
- Use same hand consistently
- Draw letters and numbers
- Cut and paste
- Wash hands and face
- Dress if he or she has plenty of time
- Print name
- Feed self with little mess using fork and spoon

Emerging skills:
- Ties shoelaces and bows
- Does up buttons and fastners
- Copies triangles

SOURCE: Invest in Kids: What a chilg will be depends on you and me: A resource kit for a child's first five years

Developmental Milestones (Ages 3 Through 5)

Fine Motor Skills (birth - 3 1/2 years)

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

In order to be able to write, children need to develop their fine motor skills. Here is a developmental continuum which describes a predictable sequence of fine motor development.

Your child from 6 to 18 months.

Typically can:
- Place 10 cubes in a cup
- Grasp items with thumb and forefinger
- Target small objects
- Stack three to four blocks
- Turn page of a book
- Scribble
- Fill and empty containers

Emerging skills:
- Folds paper
- Attempts Simple Puzzles
- Copies simple lines drawn on paper

Your child from 1 ½ to 2 ½ years.

Typically can:
- Take lids off jars
- Fit jars and squares inside of each other
- Draw vertical line
- Build tower of five blocks
- Complete simple puzzle

Emerging skills:
- Clutches pencil with whole hand
- Holds brush and paints on paper
- Uses small scissors to cut
- Strings beads
- Imitates folding paper in half

Your child from 2 ½ to 3 ½ years.

Typically can:
- Copy a circle from a drawing
- Build a tower of nine blocks
- Place round, square and triangular blocks in a form board
- Complete easy puzzle
- Copy bridge of blocks from model

Emerging skills:
- Handles scissors and cuts out
- Copies a cross
- Pulls up a zipper but can not do buttons
- Screws lids on jars
- Carries liquids in a cup
- Puts on shoes by can not tie laces

TOMORROW: 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 years & 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 years

SOURCE: Invest In Kids: What a child will be depends on you and me: A resource kit for a child's first five years.

For activity ideas, explore the websites below.

Developing Fine Motor Skills

Activities for Fine Motor Skills

Activities to Develop Fine Motor Skills

Best Halloween Book: Haunted House!

2010-10-29T16:22:00.003-04:00

This book highlights most of the six ready to read skills . Visally, the book is appealing because of the shiny orange colour on the cover. The cover is also covered in a fuzzy purple material, which makes it fun to touch. The story itself is written in rhyme and features many favourite Halloween spooks. In the end, children will be surprised by a shrieking witch! Don't worry though, it's not scary.

Find it at your local public library or check in out in a bookstore this weekend!

Perfect Read Alouds for Halloween

2010-10-27T14:51:00.000-04:00

Halloween is just around the corner! Yesterday I mentioned some ideas to incorporate literacy into Halloween celebrations from ABC Life Literacy Canada. Below, I have listed some Halloween books that build literacy skills.

Winnie the Witch by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas: This story is very funny. Winnie the Witch has a problem. Everything in her house is black, including her cat. She is always tripping on her cat, so she decides to wave her wand and make him a different colour. This book offers lots of opportunities to develop vocabulary by discussing colours and how to think of solutions to problems.

Boo! by Robert Munsch: This is a funny story about a boy who paints his face instead of wearing a costume for Halloween, but his face is too scary! This story has lots of repetition which will help your child develop their narrative skills.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro: Find out why an old lady would swallow a bat. This silly story will help children develop their narrative skills and vocabulary!

The Three Bears' Halloween by Kathy Duval: This story is a spin off of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It is a great story for retelling because of the repetition. Compare it to the original classic story with your child.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler: This story is about a skeleton with hiccups. Skeleton's friend Ghost helps him get rid of his hiccups using a very creative solution that will give children a laugh.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda White: This is a spectacular spooky story with lots of repetition and actions for children to follow along with.

Are there any other great Halloween books you have read lately?

Halloween Literacy Fun

2010-10-26T16:42:00.004-04:00

Last Friday, ABC Life Literacy Canada released an article with tips to incorporate literacy into Halloween celebrations. Here are their suggested tricks and treats to practice literacy skills:

1.Tell ghost stories on Halloween night. Make up your own stories or read a classic scary book together.

2.Have a costume party and write your own unique invitations. Once guests have arrived, why not play a word game using only Halloween-related words!

3.Organize Halloween candy in different ways. Organize by shape, size, candy name, or even candy type, and then trade! This activity helps to reinforce the importance of math in everyday life.

4.Bake a pumpkin pie. Following recipes is a great way to improve both reading and math skills. Children can read the instructions out loud to help measure the ingredients when making a treat for the family.

5.Research the history of Halloween, and share spooky statistics!

SOURCE: Life Literacy Canada

What other ways can you bring integrate literacy in your Halloween celebrations?

Free Resources at Wintergreen

2010-10-25T16:13:00.000-04:00

Go to Wintergreen's website for free printable teaching resources. Most seem to apply to school-aged children, but maybe you will find something worthwhile.

Go Away, Big Green Monster!

2010-10-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

Halloween is just around the corner. If you celebrate Halloween, and even if you don't I would like to suggest the book Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley as a read aloud to your child.

Go Away,Big Green Monster! is a book of cut-out pages that page by page reveal a monster and then page by page make it disappear. The simple cuts and the bold colors appeal to both young children and old. It is as much of a delight to read to groups of children as it is to just one child snuggled up on your lap.

You can get a free printable pattern here that you can use to make pieces for a craft, or to create your own feltboard story. See craft example below.

Storytelling

2010-10-20T17:41:00.005-04:00

Telling stories to children helps them to be ready to learn to read at school. Children need lots of experience listening to stories of many different varieties. Stories can be made up or true. They can be written down to told orally. Either way, they are a valuable component of early literacy development. They help children learn to:

- concentrate and focus their attention
- make predictions and comparisons - how does this story compare to other stories your child has heard or their real life experiences?
- use their imagination - they may need to picture the story in their mind if there are no props
- recognize new words - build vocabulary

Here are some tips you can use to keep your child's interest while you're reading:

- be enthusiastic
- use facial expressions
- give voices to characters
- change the tone in your voice (quiet, loud)
- use gestures
- add dramatic sounds ("and the door shut, BANG!"
- pause for effect
- ask your child to help you tell the story by filling in spots or making sounds
- add a surpirse to the ending
- keep it short
- make the story about your child or something they are interested in

Here is the story of The Gingerbread Boy. It is a perfect story for oral storytelling!

SOURCE: Macaulay Child Development Centre, Lullabies to Literacy

Hearing Individual Sounds in Words

2010-10-19T14:46:00.005-04:00

I recently recieved an email from one of my readers:

"I am noticing that my students often know the beginning sounds and end sounds of words but nothing in between...how do you develop this skill?"

Becoming aware of individual sounds in words is the most difficult level of phonological awareness. However, it is also the area of phonological awareness that research infdicates is the most predictive of success in using sound knowledge in reading.

Here are some activities I suggest:

1) Word of the day/week. As an oral activity, ask children to listen to a simple work. For example, sat. Say listen to each sound /s/ /a/ /t/. How many sounds do you hear? (3)

2) Using Songs
For example, “If you know my Word” to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”

The sounds in my word are /f/ /i/ /sh/, /f/ /i/ /sh/, /f/ /i/ /sh/,
The sounds in my word are /f/ /i/ /sh/
Do you know my word?

3) Say It Slow, Say It Fast game

Choose three letter words (e.g., cat). Show your child a picture that represents the word so that they have a visual. Have your child say the word with you, normally. Then say, “I’m going to say his word slowly. I’m going to break it apart.” Slow down and say each sound in the word. Ask your child to repeat after you e.g. /c/ /a/ /t/). Once they say it slowly, ask them to speed up the word and say it normally again. Once they succeed, give them the picture to hold onto as a reward.

4) Penny Push Directions
During the activity the children say, hear and push a penny for each sound they hear in a word. There are no symbols or letters involved. Research shows that the more senses you use to teach something, the more likely it is that the learner will grasp the concept.

Follow this link to a video that gives an example of how to segment words into individual sounds.

Here is a video of a child using coloured tiles to represent sounds in words.

Does anyone have any additional suggestions?

Growing Vegetable Soup

2010-10-18T13:23:00.005-04:00

Fall is the time of year where we harvest food. Once the weather starts to cool down, it's natural to grab for a sweater and start up a pot of soup for warmth. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert presents the perfect opportunity to talk about the things that we naturally do at this time of year. Children benefit by learning from relevant events in their lives. Read this book with your child. There are SO MANY ways that you can extend this book into so much more than it is alone. You can develop vocabulary by talking about the names of vegetables, develop tastebuds by sampling different kinds of vegetables, develop narrative skills and numeracy skills by making a pot of soup, and so on.

More information on skills addressed in this book:

• Print motivation – at the end of the story there is a recipe for vegetable soup (shows children practical use of books – they show us how to do things)

• Print awareness – not all sentences finish on the same page they started on. This could start up conversations on how we know when a sentence is done (along with other aspects of punctuation) with older children.

• Vocabulary – vegetables, gardening tools and kitchen supplies are labeled throughout the book, including when they are seeds

• Narrative skills – tells children the process of making vegetable soup from seeds.

Here is an activity you can do with this book:

From the Garden to Soup

o Create vegetables using craft foam.

o Place vegetables in some dirt you may have left over from your garden. You can also use a blanket to simulate earth.

o Invite one child to be a “sounder” and another to be a “matcher”. Have the sounder secretly choose an item from the “dirt” and say the first sound of the item. For example, say “C-c-c” for carrot. Depending on your children’s ability level, you should be the sounder for the first few times that you model the game.

o Once the sound has been heard, the matcher finds an item in the “dirt” that starts with the same sound. If that item is not the item the sounder has chosen, you can help the matcher by giving clues. Continue until the matcher holds up the correct item. When the matcher selects the correct item, he can put it into a soup pot. Play again using another set of children as a sounder and a matcher.

o This activity can help younger children label things that grow in a garden. If you are working with younger children, you could ask them to find colours, “Can you please find me the white onion, orange carrot, red tomato…..

o You could also add some foam alphabet letters to the soup to work on letter recognition. Say, “Can anyone find me a letter “A” and or the letter that starts with the sound /a/ to add to our soup?”

What else would you do with this book?

The Grouchy Ladybug

2010-10-13T14:38:00.003-04:00

This Eric Carle book is about an arrogant ladybug who challenges another ladybug to a fight over some aphids. Then, he decides his opponent isn't large enough to be worth fighting, so the ladybug travels around the world looking for larger animals to fight. Eventually, he encounters a blue whale, who slaps him with his tail and sends him flying back to where he started. The ladybug decides to be nice and share the aphids with the fellow ladybug.

Throughout the book, the size of the pages starts small and get bigger as the size of the animals increase. Also, the blue whale's tail takes up a page in itself and turning it is meant to represent the slapping motion. The time of day is also shown at the side of each page. Note: Many children will not be prepared to graps the complex concept of time until they are approximately 7-10 years old.

Here is a link if you would like to browse the inside of the book.

The ladybug above was made using black and red felt. First, I cut out a body, then, the wings, then the spots. The wings were secured on using hot glue. Here are two ways you can use the ladybug:

1) Phonemic Awareness: At age fix to six years children can identify different sounds at the beginnings of words (rock, sock), as well as different sounds at the ends of words (stem, step). Give each child a black dot. Say a word that begins or ends with a letter (e.g., the letter “g”). If they hear the /g/ in the beginning of the word, they put their dot on one half of the ladybug. If they hear the /g/ at the end of the word, they put the dot on the other half of the ladybug. When each child has had a turn, they can remove the dots and listen for a sound in another word.

2) Mathematics: Between age two and three years children know that when one candy is taken away from two candies, one candy is left. Similarly, they know that when one candy is added to two candies, there should be three candies altogether. Roll a number cube with your child and have them match the number of spot on ladybug to the number of spots on the cube. This will help them build a foundation for 1:1 correspondance of numbers.

Links

Let's Talk about the Grouchy Ladybug

Website full of resources and ideas to use with this book

Ideas for Using the Grouchy Ladybug in the Classroom

Wonderopolis

2010-10-12T16:04:00.002-04:00

Introducing Wonderopolis...the National Centre for Family Literacy's (NCFL) latest contribution to family literacy. Wonderopolis is a place where parents nurture a brighter world for their children through discovery, creativity, learning and imagination.

Wonderopolis is new website that offers families a Wonder of the Day. Each day. Every day. Educational success comes from a little learning every day. And now, NCFL helps bring learning into the home on a daily basis in bite-size bits that fit into everyday life.

Each Wonder of the Day sparks parents to ignite their child’s curiosity and love of learning.
• Have you ever wondered why flamingos are pink?
• Have you ever wondered what ice cream headaches are really all about?
• Have you ever wondered why bees buzz?

Visit www.wonderopolis.org to find out!

The Old Lady is Indulging Again...

2010-10-08T14:13:00.000-04:00

I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson is a cumulative book that mirrors the story I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. This book differs in that it is centred around the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Remember to explain the rich vocabulary offered along with the rich foods in this story to your child.

Here is a video of a boy reading the story.

Here is a link to the words in the story so you can recite it without the book.

Enjoy the long weekend! Don't eat as much as the old lady!

Terrific Turkey Book

2010-10-07T14:21:00.001-04:00

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston isn't really a Thanksgiving book in itself, but I am featuring it this week because many families will sit down and enjoy a tasty turkey feast this weekend. This simple subtraction book counts down from 10 to 0 turkeys with funny rhyming text and playful illustrations.

Here is an example of a kit created to link math and literature which uses this book:

If you are looking for some additional activities to accompany this book, try these:

Do the turkey pokey - Sing the Hokey Pokey like normal, but then the last line goes as follows: "You do the Turkey Pokey and you gobble all around, that's what it's all about."

Handprint Turkey with Poem

Interesting Turkey Facts

Turkey Cut-Out Pattern - can be used with some of the rhymes below or to help retell the story. I would resize them to 1/2 the size of the paper.

Songs and Rhymes

NINE LITTLE TURKEYS (A Counting Rhyme)
One little, two little, three little turkeys
Four little, five little, six little turkeys
Seven little, eight little, nine little turkeys
Out in the barnyard.

Gobble, gobble, little turkeys
Gobble, gobble, little turkeys,
Gobble, gobble, little turkeys.
Out in the barnyard.
by Jean Warren

TURKEY, TURKEY (A Number & Color Rhyme)
Turkey, turkey number one
Strutting under the yellow sun.

Turkey, turkey number two
Strutting under skies of blue.

Turkey, turkey number three
Strutting under a big green tree.

Turkey, turkey number four
Strutting past the red barn door.
by Jean Warren

MR. TURKEY
Mr. Turkey's tail is big and wide. (spread hands)
He swings it when he walks. (swing hands)
His neck is long, his chin is red. (point)
He gobbles when he talks. (open and close hand like a mouth)

Grateful for great books!

2010-10-06T13:53:00.005-04:00

Lately, I spent some time reviewing my collection of Thanksgiving books. Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. Here's why:

- families get together
- there is no gift giving expectation
- fantastic fall weather
- delicious food

The book Thanks for Thanksgiving by Heather Patterson really captures the beauty of Thanksgiving, which is really just being mindful of all simple things that bring us pleasure at this wonderful time of year.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Thanks for the warm fall sun.

Thanks for the outdoor fun.

Thanks for the blue fall sky

and the sound of the birds' good-bye.

Thanks for the golden trees.

Thanks for the crunch of leaves.

Borrow it from your local public library and share it with your child today :)

Does anyone have any other great suggestions for Thanksgiving books?

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

2010-10-05T16:17:00.003-04:00

I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly is a great song/poem for children. It is super silly with plenty of repetition for children to join in. All the talking that children do during songs helps prepare them develop their oral language skills, which in turn help them become amazing readers.

I made the resource below using a felt board story pattern I found on the Preschool Printables website. I modified it a bit though. Instead of making a felt board story, I turned it into more of a puppet. I photocopied the patterns onto thick cardstock and coloured them with markers. Then I coloured them in and laminated all the pieces. I changed the old lady by enlarging then cutting her roughly in half where her arms fall. I taped half of a milk bag to her upper half and lower half to make a stomach (it is a bit hard to see with the glare). Children can feed the old lady as they sing the song!

Thanks for this great idea, Peggy! :)

Something from Nothing

2010-10-04T14:09:00.004-04:00

Recently, I have started a storytime at Indigo Books for children birth to six years old. Our first story together was Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman.

For those of you who arent' familiar with the story...it's the retelling of a Jewish folktale. A boy recieves a blanket from his grandfather when he is born. Eventually, it starts to wear so grandpa fixes it by making it into a jacket. When the jacket gets worn it becomes a vest, then a tie, then a handkerchief, and finally a button. One day Joseph loses his button. He is so sad. Even his amazing grandfather can't make something from nothing. The next day Joseph goes to school and writes a story (presumably about his blanket and its many transformations).

It is a truly a beautiful story with plenty of repetition for youngsters to join in. To make my storytime interesting, I tried to provide many opportunities for children to interact with the book. I brought a measuring tape for them to touch (just like the one on the grandfather's neck on the cover of the book and related the book to their lives by asking if they have something special like Joseph's blanket.

I used feltboard pieces to help tell the story and encourage children to fill in the blanks, "There's just enough material here to make...a wonderful jacket".

After the story, I made a connection to the book Owen by Kevin Henkes, but we did not have time to read it. This book is somewhat similar because both have a blanket that carry a lot of sentiment. It differs in that Owen is not allowed to bring his blanet to school because he is too old. The resolution is that they make a handkerchief for him to keep in his pocket.

Before leaving, I pulled out a bunch of items I am recycling (a tin can, mesh from oranges, a piece of cardboard) and asked the children if they could make "something from nothing". There were some very creative ideas! The CCCF handout Creating Toys and Activities for Children from Beautiful Junk was given to parents to give suggestions that can be used at home.

Here is a suggestion on how you can use this story in big book format to teach.

We're Going on a Leaf Hunt...

2010-09-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

Follow this link to the story/song/rhyme, "We're Going on a Leaf Hunt"!

Take your child outside to hunt for some leaves today!

Are you Leafing Around for a Great Fall Book???

2010-09-27T14:50:00.004-04:00

If you find yourself leafing around for a great fall book, look no further than one of the beautiful books above all about LEAVES!

When the Leaf Blew In by Steve Metzger

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Leaf Season by Quintan B. Lee

The Leaves are Falling One by One by Steve Metzger

Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves by Melvin and Gilda Berger

Of course, there are likely many other great leaf books out there. I have merely listed are ones that I own. When looking for books consider a few things: do you want fiction or non-fiction? Children may not understand that books are about the world we live in because they get used to seeing illustrations instead of pictures. Does the book have a great rhyme? Does it have rich vocabulary? Does your child enjoy it?

Please share the names of any other great fall books. I will have more fall book lists as the weeks pass.

Home-made Fall Book

2010-09-24T13:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a book you can make with your child to celebrate the arrival of fall (or even use the fancier word...autumn!) This book is made using shapes cut from fall colours, as well as the letter that each shape begins with. This book can be used to teach colours, vocabulary, letter sounds, and so on.

You can even extend the activity with your child by making a complete alphabet book. Find fall pictures with your child using magazines, the newspaper, and flyers.

Hello, Fall!

2010-09-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Red leaves, yellow leaves,
Brown leaves, orange leaves,
See them fall, One and all.

Bare trees gently swaying,
Everybody’s saying.
Hello, fall! Hello, fall!

Today, September 23, 2010 is the first day of fall or autumn. It is also the fall equinox! Many farmers call this time of year harvest. Wow, today really lends itself naturally to teaching new vocabulary!

Take time out of your busy day to day routine to go for a walk with your child. Look for and talk about signs of fall together. You'll be surprised at the richness of language you can use with your child when observing the natural world. You can talk about leaves (colours, textures, sizes, the trees they come from), animals, temperature, clothes we wear, and so on. Also, these types of activites encourage healthy lifestyles that are good to start practicing early in your child's life.

When you get home from your walk, stretch the activity further and read a great fall book. Compare what you saw outside to what is going on in the book. This will help your child make a connection between books and the world that they live in. If you can find a book with real pictures it will help them to bridge the gap even moreso than a book with illustrations.

As an aside, if you are wondering...we say fall equinox because it is around this time of year, as well as in the spring, that the day and night are approximately equally long.

Scientific Inquiry in Preschool

2010-09-21T00:30:00.004-04:00

Early science exploration is a wonderful opportunity to develop vocabulary in the preschool years. Simple experiments like the one shown above can help children develop their vocabulary and general knowledge in a playful setting.

Let me explain how we got to what you see in the picture above...

At circle time, I created an environment to help children become excited about science and the scientific method (ask question, create hypothesis, test, draw conclusions). First, I put on a pair of goggles to hook the children into the topic.

I wanted to see how well children in the group understood colours. To do this, I froze ice cubes in the primary colours - I think I made about one icecube tray of each colour. Then, I asked children to name the colours. After, I asked if they could guess what would happen if we mix certain colours together. With help from the audience, we had several bags of mixed ice cubes together. Once I collected their guesses (the hypotheses can be graphed!), we put the bags on display for the children to monitor. When the icecubes melted, they became a secondary colour (so cool!)

Once the bags finished melting, we checked on the results and I asked the children to write about what happened using pictures and or words. See what rich vocabulary you can use to describe what happened.

Felt Board Story Bag

2010-09-16T17:04:00.000-04:00

Today is a rainy and gloomy day. Here's a project that can help you make the best of staying inside!

Find a canvas grocery bag to transform into your felt board story bag.

Find a piece of cardboard and cut it down to fit your canvas bag. Use whole sheets and scraps of felt to design a scene for your story bag.

Glue a piece of blue felt (the sky) onto your cardboard. The piece I used was 8 1/2" x 11".

Glue green felt (grass) onto your scene (you can choose a different scene, this is just what I thought would be most useful to me).

Using hot glue, glue your scene/background onto your canvas grocery bag.

You can make animals or objects of any kind to use with your felt board story bag. The possibilities are endless!

You can use the animals you make to sing songs (For example, Six Little Ducks).

The animals you make can be used to help tell a familiar or made up story.

Here is a beehive...

2010-09-15T12:58:00.001-04:00

Here is a very simple prop that you can use to demonstrate a short finger play. The rhyme "Here is a beehive" is easy to remember, involves counting, and most importantly is fun. You don't need to make the prop, though. You can use your hand as a beehive and your fingers as bees.

The prop is made from one tan piece of felt folded over (hamburger - the two shorter sides should be touching) and cut into the shape of a beehive. I used hot glue to fasten the two sides of the hive together since I am not a into sewing. Then, draw a design on your beehive to make it more realistic.

The bees are made from small black pom poms and larger yellow pom poms glued together. I drew their stripes on with a sharpie. To make your bees stick to the hive, stick a small piece of velrco on each bee (the sticky side goes on the bees - the felt on the hive will act like the other half of the velcro).

Here is a Beehive

Here is a beehive, but where are the bees?
Hidden inside where nobody sees.
Watch them come out of the hive...

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...BUZZZZZzzzzzzz!!!! (Gently tickle your child on the sounds buzz!)

Literacy is delicious

2010-09-13T11:14:00.001-04:00

Introducing...MULTI-GRAIN ALPHABET PRETZLES!!!

If you haven't seen these delightful snacks yet, you must go to your local President's Choice (PC) grocier and pick up a bag. I was introduced to these at a staff retreat on Friday and have been raving about them since then. I am impressed with PC for comming out with such a fun and healthy snack (they are blue menu - low fat)!

These pretzles offer a great jumping off point for talking about letters and the sounds they make. Also, can you think of a better way to work on name recognition???

What do you think?

Preschool Printables

2010-09-10T08:32:00.003-04:00

Preschool Printables is a great website where you can find teaching resources. Since I think parents are a child's first and most important teacher, this website is for you, too, if you're a parent reading.

Check out the felt board stories on Preschool Printables. Print some off in black and white or in colour and tell one with your child today. Oral language is the foundation of literacy. The more practice your child gets talking, the better they will get with their reading.

Happy International Literacy Day!!!

2010-09-08T14:34:00.001-04:00

September 8th is International Literacy Day. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. Here are some statistics that suggest just how important literacy is.

- 42% of Canadians, age 16-65, do not have the minimum literacy skills for coping with everyday life and work. Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey (Statistics Canada and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2005).

Justice
- Offenders experience literacy problems at a rate 3 times that of the general population. Select Committee of Experts on Education in Prison (Council of Europe, 1989)

- The average education level of newly admitted offenders serving two years or more is Grade 7. Correctional Education Year-end Report (Correctional Service of Canada, 1995)

Health
- Canadians classified among the most healthy have the higher average literacy and numeracy skills, while those among the least healthy have the lowest average skills. Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey (Statistics Canada and OECD, 2005).

- Some direct effects of living with low literacy levels include increased hospitalization and misinterpreted medication instructions. Baker, D.W. et al., Functional Health Literacy and the risk of hospital admission among Medicare managed care enrolees (2002)

Work
- People with low literacy skills 42% of adult Canadians) are about twice as likely to be unemployed for 6 months or more than those with higher skills. Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey (Statistics Canada and OECD, 2005)

- 50% of Canadian adults score low numeracy levels and are 2.5 times more likely to receive social assistance, compared with those scoring higher levels. Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey (Statistics Canada and OECD, 2005)

Poverty
- Between 22% and 50% of adults with lower levels of literacy live in low-income households, compared with only 8% of those with high-level literacy skills. The Value of Words: Literacy and Economic Security in Canada (Statistics Canada, 1998)

Adult and workplace literacy myths.

Name printing

2010-09-07T16:58:00.001-04:00

The most important word to your child is their name. For this reason, your child's name is a great place to start with letter recognition and eventually, printing. Recognizing and writing one's own name are not only important skills, but they are also something your child's kindergarten teacher will appreciate!

Practice doesn't have to be boring! Here are some fun suggestions on helping your child learn to print their name.

- Start by talking about the letters in your child's name. Does your child know all the letters? Make sure you talk about the sounds the letters make. ("Sarah starts with the sound Ssssss, just like snake. Can you hear it? Ssssssarah...")

- Make sure your child knows how to form the letters in their name. Talk about circles and lines in letters. Once they know how to make the letters, practice by having them make the shapes of the letters with their fingers. For example, they can write the letters in the air, on the floor, on your back, in water in the tub, in rice, shaving cream, flour, playdough (using stamps), or by tracing sandpaper letters with their fingers.

- Your child should feel comfortable holding writing implements in his or her hand before he or she will be able to write. This takes strength! Help your child build the muscles in their hands by engaging them in fine motor skills like cutting, playing with playdough,
using icepick tongs to sort,playing with lego, and so on. Once they have build up some strength, encourage them to practice using chalk, paint markers, and smelly markers (washable of course).

- Encourage your child to take pride in their name. Show them it is important. Label their belongings with their help (lunch containers, clothes). Give them plenty of exposure to their name in their world.

Please post any suggestions you have on helping children learn to write their name.

An apple poem a day keeps illiteracy at bay...

2010-09-06T13:05:00.000-04:00

Here's another apple poem to share with your child:

Eat an Apple

Eat an apple; (Bring right hand to mouth)
Save the core. (Close right hand in fist)
Plant the seeds. (Bend down touch hand to ground)
And grow some more. (Extend both arms out)

Magazines for Children

2010-09-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

I found myself in Chapters this past weekend looking for a good book for one of my favourite youngsters. Instead of immediately making my way back to the children's section, I decided to change it up and see what is available for children in the magazine aisle. I remember getting Highlights in the mail as a child. I enjoyed this monthly treat for two reasons:

(1) I got MY very own magazine in the mail (so cool in grade 2); and

(2) Who doesn't love getting mail (as long as it's not a bill, but what eight year old gets bills?)

Anyway, after carefully flipping through all the magazines and evaluating them for their age-appropriateness, interestingness, and general appeal I chose this:

National Geographic Little Kids is for children 3-6. I was really impressed by the issue I picked up. It had great activities that children can sit and look at with adults, as well as amazing pictures of animals with brief sentences to describe the pictures.

For those of you with young boys (and girls, too!), I would advise checking this out.

Has anyone seen good children's magazines they would like to mention?

Apples for Circle Time

2010-09-02T16:04:00.001-04:00

Props are a fantastic addition to circle time. Stimulating thought and conversation, they can be a very positive and highly anticipated part of the daily routine.

Concrete objects are the gateway to learning and understanding for young children and should be used when presenting new concepts, themes and other information. Props, pictures, toys and sensory materials are essential tools for children's learning. Capture children's interest with these props and objects and encourage them to explore and experiment with many different materials.

With that said, apple picking season is here! Here is a rhyme with an accompanying prop that will help children develop their schema of apples, as well as numbers. The apples are made from red craft foam (cut using a die cutter), large popsicle sticks, and hot glue...that's it!

Here is a copy of the poem:

5 Red Apples

Five red apples sweet to the core;
One fell down and then there were four.

Four red apples sitting in a tree;
One fell down and then there were three.

Three red apples one for you, and you, and you;
One fell down and then there were two.

Two red apples shining in the sun;
One fell down and then there was one.

One red apple left all alone;
It fell down and then there were none.

Here is another version:

Five Little Apples

Five little apples, not any more.(Count on fingers)
I give one to________(Child’s name)
And now there are four.

Four little apples are what I see
I give one to _____________,
And now there are three.

Three little apples for me and you.
I give one to_____________,
And now there are two.

Two little apples: oh, what fun!
I give one to ___________,
And now there is one.

One little apple, only one.
I give one to _________,
Now there are none.

Note: I would post the poem somewhere with the apples for your child to play with once you have said the rhyme with them multiple times. Also, after you have done the rhyme several times together, leave off the end of each line and allow your child to fill in the blank. This will help your child become a confident reader! Lastly, you don't need to make the apples - you can use your fingers on one of your hands if it's easier for you.

Do you have an apple song or poem to share?

Make Up Your Own Story

2010-08-31T17:16:00.000-04:00

Becoming known as an "author" can be a very motivating reason to write. Perhaps that is why so many elementary school teachers have created an "author's chair" in their classroom.

Make your child feel good about writing by:

- helping them talk and write about what interests them
- letting them see that writing is important to you
- praising their attempts to write
- displaying samples of what they write (you can do this on your fridge or by placing their homemade books in your home library).

Shown your child how books often have pictures and words. Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman is a great book that nicely separates the pictures and text (see below).

Encourage your child to write a book just like the way Something from Nothing is formatted (with the pictures above and the words below). You can even design a template for them like the one shown below to give them structure. Not only will this be a fun activity for your child, but it will also help build their awareness of print. By separating the pictures and text, the child is called to take notice to the print below.

You Can Help Your Child Learn to Write

2010-08-26T14:20:00.000-04:00

Children need experience to have something to write about. To learn to write, children need an opportunity to play and to practice the necessary coordination for hand writing. Writing takes physical strength in the dominant writing hand. Sometimes these activities need parent supervision.

You Can Help Your Child by:

- giving them opportunities for painting, drawing, and using play dough
- taking them along on everyday trips which give them other experiences to write about
- providing them with toys such as puzzles, blocks, pegboards, small cars and trucks
- letting them help you with everyday activities such as setting the table and putting things away
- encouraging them to play house and dress-up
- helping them practice buttoning, zipping, and tying

Idea to Increase Hand Strength:

Sorting cotton balls or pom poms with ice cube tongs (from the dollar store!)

SEEing print

2010-08-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

Children also need to see lots of words in print and to watch other people write. You can provide such experience for your children by:

- helping them write their names on their pictures and belongings - "Sandy, you make an 'S' and I'll make the rest of your name"
- reading books to them
- writing messages to them - "Today is your birthday!"
- writing down what your children tell you about their drawings (you can help them make books by writing down a story to go with the pictures they have drawn)
- pointing out letters and words on street signs, food containers, store fronts, etc. - "Let's look for signs that begin with 'S'"
- letting them watch you write letters or shopping lists \

Below are some books where children can see print (aside from the text in the story).

Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells

Chester by Melanie Watt

CLick, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin

More book ideas will follow this week, but be sure to suggest a title if you know of one.

Write on!

2010-08-24T16:40:00.000-04:00

The next few posts will be dedicated to writing. Writing is an important literacy skill that develops at the same time as reading. So much of our everyday life is based on print and the written word and it is important for all adults to be able to read and write well.

As children grow and develop they learn to communicate their ideas and experiences. They learn to get along with other children, to take care of themselves, and to use language. Much of their learning in school takes place through reading and writing. Children who have time to make their own discoveries about words are more likely to be successful in school.

How Do Children Learn to Write?

Writing doesn't start in the first grade. Most children experiment with it long before they enter school. Like everything else they do however, children begin to write only when they are ready. While some children are eager to write at an early age, others may not show the slightest interest in writing until they are almost ready to start elementary school.

Children learn writing by:

- seeing words in print
- watching other people write
- using crayons, scissors, play dough, and other things
- trying to write

Are there any questions or specific concerns you would like me to address over the next few days?

The Crafty Crow

2010-08-23T16:42:00.000-04:00

The Crafty Crow is a children's craft collective. A friend passed along this website to me. It has really cool craft ideas and most of them are eco-friendly. Doing crafts is a great past time for children. Crafts allow children to be creative (depending on the type of craft - some don't always favour process over product, but that's ok sometimes!), practice fine motor skills, practice listening to and following directions, attention to detail, and so on.

Go to The Crafty Crow and let me know what you think.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2010-08-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

The nights are getting shorter, the malls are packed, and teachers and children everywhere are wondering how it is possoble that the summer is almost over. Soon, it will be time for children to go back to school for another year of learning. You can help prepare your child for the transition by reading "school" books with them.

Will this be your child's first time to school? If so, please see kindergarten books.

Above is a picture of some school books from my personal collection.

If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
A Monster Followed Me to School by Mercer Mayer
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard
I Want to be a Teacher by Michaela Muntean
Welcome Back to Pokeweed Public School by John Bianchi
Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard
My School's a Zoo by Stu Smith
The Berenstain Bears and the Substitute Teacher by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
David Goes to School by David Shannon

What book(s) do you read to get your child ready for school?

Stop and Go Fun!

2010-08-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

I recently used the props above with the song below at a storytime. The preschoolers loved it. The idea is that they pedal their hands like they would pedal their feet on a bike while we sing. When we get to the word "stop", they have to stop right away (which they always get a kick out of). The second verse is fun because when we get to the word "go" the speed up the song and their hand pedals!

I bought a new bicycle, I got it from the shop.
When I see the big red light I know it's time to STOP!

I bought a new bicycle, I ride it to and fro.
When I see the big green light I know it's time to GO...GO...GO...GO...GO...GO...GO...GO...GO!!!

I introduced the song by talking about my favourite summer sport - biking. Most, if not all the children knew what biking is and would have loved to share a personal biking story with me. Then, I asked if anyone knew what the props were. We talked about traffic lights and where we would see them outside. I explained that the colours in the light (red means stop, green means go).

You can also use these props to play "Red Light, Green Light".

Matching Game

2010-08-17T21:06:00.000-04:00

Matching is a very important skill in early literacy. In fact, it is one of the corner stones of letter recognition (learning the names and sounds of the letters). Being able to tell similarities and differences between two items or pictures can help your child learn to discriminate between the different letters of the alphabet.

I made the game above using glue, paper plates and fruit cut outs (made with a die cutter and construction paper). If you don't have access to a die cutter, you can do the same at home using hand cut simple shapes.

This game also provides an opportunity to talk about colours and nutrition.

Can you think of any easy to prepare sorting activities for your child?

More on feelings...

2010-08-16T12:19:00.000-04:00

This posting was inspired by this article about colour, happiness and depression: Different Colours Describe Happiness vs Depression

My Many Coloured Days, by Dr. Seuss, is a beautiful book that uses colour to express feelings. By reading and discussing this book with your child, you can help them understand that we all have moods. Our moods can change day to day, and that`s ok.

The book is also a great tool for talking about print awareness. Print awareness is noticing print everywhere.The text is written to reflect the illustrations/moods.

Here are two previous posts I wrote on print awareness.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Point them in the right direction...

Don't throw out the box!!!

2010-08-13T14:29:00.002-04:00

What can you do with an old box? Well, it depends on the size really. The idea shown below is for smaller cube-like boxes. Below you'll see an example of a baby toy I made with some young moms.

First, we put some bells inside the boxes with some paper (to keep it from sounding too hollow). Then, we taped up the boxes really well using packing tape to keep the bell from coming out. Next, we chose what to put on the sides of our cube. There was:

- mirror paper (what baby doesn't love admiring their cuteness in a mirror?)
- a picture of baby
- baby's first name initial
- a picture of mommy and daddy
- a nursery rhyme
- a handprint

Once we got all the sides on, we used packing tape to secure all the sides. It also helped to "laminate" the cube, making it easier to clean when baby chews on it. Babies learn through their senses and this toy is a great way to engage almost all of them!

Taste - Mmm...
Touch - you can roll the cube to your baby, they will touch it!
Hear - hear the bell as the toy rolls
Sight - we chose vibrant (primary colours - blue, red, yellow) and contrasting colours (black and white)

For more information on the 5 senses, click here and you'll link to an older posting.

What are some other things you can do with an old box? It can be of any size.

Did you Know???

2010-08-12T16:55:00.000-04:00

Current research shows that some children have a receptive (listening) vocabulary as early as 9 months of age and they start producing words around 12 months (Fenson et al., 1994).

Talk to your child as much as you can to help them develop their vocabulary, starting from birth!

Five Fat Peas

2010-08-11T15:57:00.007-04:00

What can you make with a green gardening glove, 5 green pom poms, some green felt, hot glue and scissors? An adorable circle time/storytime/playtime prop! If you would like more information on how I made my prop, please contact me.

Here is the rhyme:

Five fat peas in a pea pod pressed.

One grew.

Two grew.

And so did all the rest.
They grew and they grew and the would not stop,
Until one day the pod went POP! (clap your hands together as you say pop)

How to Teach a Rhyme

2010-08-10T16:47:00.002-04:00

Rhymes encourage learning the names of things, hearing smaller sounds in words, and telling stories. Teach your child your favourite nursery rhyme (or little diddy) today!

Here's how:

Say the rhyme through, demonstrating the actions with a child. Children love having their faces touched and the eye contact.

Focus on the words - say each line and have your child repeat after you. Make sure to repeat the rhyme lots!

Focus on the actions - actions will help your child remember the rhyme.

Remember, some rhymes will be easy to learn and other will be hard. You will need lots of patience when teaching new rhymes.

Does anyone have a cute rhyme to share with blog readers?

How are you feeling?

2010-08-09T14:14:00.006-04:00

This morning I was preparing for a special storytime visit at a local child care centre. When brainstorming what songs I would like to sing I considered the topic of feelings. Feelings are very complex and can be difficult to understand. Even though I am well beyond childhood I sometimes don't have the words I need to describe how I am feeling! With this in mind, I bring the song "If You're Happy and You Know It" into the spotlight.

This song is an excellent springboard for talking about feelings. There are so many feelings that you can bring into this song aside from being happy and sad.

Here is the original song:

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.

You can also sing:

If you're sad and you know it keep on crying.
If you're mad and you know it give a frown.
If you're sleepy and you know it give a yawn.
If you're sick and you know it cough and sneeze.
If you're surprised and you know it open your mouth.

Fun-loving songs like this can help your child build their vocabulary. Even though it is seems so simple, sometimes it can be difficult for your child to find the words to describe how they feel. You can further develop feelings using children's picture books.

Are there any other suggestions for song verses or picture books?

Choosing Home Library Books

2010-08-05T20:03:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about creating home libraries on a budget. At the end of the posting I suggested that it is important to choose quality books over quantity. Perhaps you're wondering what type of books to look for in a balanced home library? Well, here are some suggestions:

- alphabet books
- number books
- fiction
- non-fiction
- poetry
- nursery rhymes
- books you can sing
- fairy tales
- wordless picture books
- predictable books
- science books

Are there any other suggestions?

Pinch pennies and build a home library

2010-08-04T10:01:00.001-04:00

With all the new toys and gadgets for kids, books are in tough competition for your child's time. However, books are perhaps THE most important toys you will ever give your child. Starting a home library for your child shows him/her how important books are. Having books of his/her own in a special place boosts the chance that your child will want to read even more. Here's the trouble: having a good collection of children's books can be costly. At $10-$20 per book, with a collection of 30 books (at least!) you're looking at spending $300-$600!!! That adds up quickly. Here are some ideas for creating your own inexpensive home library.

- Borrow books from your local library on a regular basis. In addition, find out what services your local library provides such as children's story time, workshops, and so on. Who didn't enjoy going to the library to listen to stories as a child?

- Teach children to handle books appropriately so books last for years and years (and so books can be responsibly borrowed from the library). When you do buy books, their initial cost will seem a whole lot less if you can use them for a long time rather than having to replace scribbled-in, beat up, or worn books.

- Organize a children's book swap with friends, community groups, or your day care.

- If you're a child care provider, start a tradition. Tell parents that you think that reading to children each day (and having lots of interesting books available for children) is important. Ask parents to bring in one book "each Monday" or "the first day of the month." Make good use of these extra books (for the day, for a week, or whatever you and parents decide).

- If you're a child care provider, start another tradition. Ask parents to donate books their children have "outgrown" to your program. Their children may no longer be reading certain simple books but children in your care now (or at some time in the future) will enjoy them.

- If you're a parent, start a family tradition. Ask friends and relatives to consider giving your children books as gifts for their birthdays and on holidays.

- The price of children's paperbacks is low compared to the retail cost of hard-cover versions of the same book. Buy paperbacks when you can.

- Buy children's books on sale at book fairs (Scholastic).

- Buy some children's books at library sales. Call the library in your county and libraries in surrounding counties to see if they hold annual library fund-raising sales of books. If so, you can support a good cause and pick up some real bargains.

- Buy some books at second-hand bookstores and local yard sales.

One last thing

Remember, it's not quantity, but quality books you are looking for in your library.

Please suggest the name of a quality children's book in the comments.

Watch this video review on the book Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia.

Television - a controversial issue

2010-07-30T11:40:00.002-04:00

Did you know that children six and under spend an average of two hours a day with screen media, mostly TV and videos? (Kaiser Family Foundation)

The current recommendation from the Canadian Pediatric Society is to limit screen use (TV, videos and computer games) to one hour per day or less. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under age two, saying that parents should focus on interacting with their children instead. France's broadcast authority has banned French channels from airing TV shows aimed at children under three years old, to shield them from developmental risks it says television viewing poses at that age. "Television viewing hurts the development of children under three years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens," the ruling said.

A television doesn’t talk to children, it talks at them. A television can’t talk back to a child and talking back is what learning language is all about (Mem Fox)

There are so many other fun things your child could be doing.

Gotta Keep Reading

2010-07-28T11:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I know I work in early literacy, and perhaps this video doesn't completely fit the bill, but I just love it. It gives reading such a positive image. Check it out!

Click here.

Tell Me a Story - Fingerplays, Rhymes and Songs

2010-07-26T13:03:00.002-04:00

Go to this website for a very large collection of fingerplays, rhymes, and songs.

It's great for Early Childhood Educators and parents. If your child has taken an interest into a theme, follow their lead. Find a ditty that goes along with their interest to get them ready to read! :)

Narrative Skills (3/3)

2010-07-22T17:30:00.000-04:00

This is the last posting in my "mini series" on narrative skills. For the past couple of days I have been giving suggestions on what parents and caregivers can do to help children develop narrative skills. Here is my last suggestion:

Talk with children

I know it seems simple, but as adults, we often take for granted the conversations we have with young children. By talking with your child, you are helping them develop the comprehension skills that will help them understand what they read. After all, isn't that what reading is all about - getting an understanding of what the author is saying. It's not just about pronouncing all the squiggles on the page properly.

As an example, think of yourself learning another language. If you don't know the word for something, it can make it really challenging to keep up with a conversation. You may find yourself pointing and using gestures the same way your child does. Also, as your child gets older, all this practice in talking will pay off. They will be great speakers (remember dreaded public speaking?), great readers, and generally more confident. With babies, sometimes you may feel weird doing all the talking because they aren't speaking back to you, but you are helping them understand the world around when you talk to them.

Here are some examples of when you can talk with your child during your day:

- when they wake up (good morning)
- getting dressed (first your head, then your arms)
- eating (Mmmm....is BLANK your favourite food?)
- on the change table (tell them what you're doing - you can even throw in a song or rhyme if your baby gets fussy)
- bath time (wash this arm first, then the other one...)
- at the grocery store (we need to get carrots, onion and chicken)
- Tell your children stories. Allow time for your children to reply.
- Encourage your children to tell you about things.
- Listen patiently and carefully as they talk. Ask questions.
- Ask your children to tell you about something that happened during the day.
- Talk about new words with your children.
- Let him tell you about a picture he drew.

Narrative Skills (2/3)

2010-07-21T12:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I gave one suggestion on what parents and caregivers can do to help children learn narrative skills. Here is another suggestion:

Repeat rhymes with your children to help them remember.
Talk about what’s happening with all rhymes, even the simplest ones. This gives children more words to know (vocabulary). Ask questions they can respond to, to further develop their narrative skills.

Here are some sunny summer rhymes you can teach your child today.

Circle of the Sun
Babies are born in the circle of the sun,
Circle of the Sun on the birthin' day.
Babies are born in the circle of the sun,
Circle of the sun on the birthin' day.

Clouds to the east, clouds to the west,
Wind and rain to the north and south;
Babies are born in the circle of the sun,
Circle of the sun on the birthin' day.

Oh, Mr. Sun
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Hiding behind a tree.

These little children are asking you
To please come out so we can play with you.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me.

If All the Sunbeams
If all the sunbeams
Were bubblegum and ice cream
Oh, what a sun that would be!

Standing outside, with my mouth open wide
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

If all the sunbeams
Were bubblegum and ice cream
Oh, what a sun that would be!

You are my Sunshine
You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

The Eensy Weensy Spider
The eensy weensy spider
Crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain.
So the eensy weensy spider
Crawled up the spout again.

Rain is Falling Down
Rain is falling down...SPLASH!
Rain is falling down...SPLASH!
Pitter, patter, Pitter, patter.
Rain is falling down...SPLASH!

Sun is peeking out, peek-a-boo!
Sun is peeking out, peek-a-boo!
Peeking here, peeking there,
Sun is peeking out, peek-a-boo!

NOTE: Perform this rhyme with your baby on your lap. Your child will enjoy watching your hands and listening to the words.

What the heck are narrative skills?

2010-07-20T13:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about finger puppet pouches. I mentioned that they are great for building your child's narrative skills, but didn't elaborate. Well, narrative skills are one of the six essential skills children need before they can learn to read.

What are Narrative Skills?

Learning to tell a story helps children develop thinking and comprehension skills. Picture book sharing can play a huge role in a child’s ability to describe things and events and to tell stories. Reading storybooks helps children gain a sense of story structure: a beginning, a middle (or problem) and an end (or resolution). Narrative Skills involve the ability to describe things and events, and to tell stories. They help children understand what they read.

It's about…

- Retelling stories.
- Retelling events.
- Adding descriptions.
- Telling stories or events in sequence.

What can parents and caregivers do to help children learn narrative skills?

Read favourite books again and again.

Stories help children understand that things happen in order first, next, last. Being able to tell or retell a story help children understand what they read.

- Use props from around home to help your child remember and retell stories.
- Encourage your children to say repeated words along with you as you read.
- Have your child do actions as they repeat a phrase along with you as you read.
- Use fewer books and expand on the more.
- Use the dialogic reading. Click here or here for more information.

Why do we do a story retell? Click here.

What book does your child like to read again and again?

3 Bags Full - Finger Puppet Pouches

2010-07-19T14:44:00.008-04:00

For those of you who don't read the comments....

Recently I recieved a comment from Sue Berlove. I met her at a literacy conference last spring. Sue sells "3 Bags Full Finger Puppet Pouches" (fair trade early literacy resources). They are all hand knit by indigenous women in Bolivia. The pouches can be used to act out songs or books. Using puppets to tell stories is a great way to encourage narrative skills with your child.

The pouches come in 6 themes:
- arctic
- garden
- woods
- jungle
- ocean
- farm

I advise going to her website to check them out (they are sooo cute!)

www.craftsfrombolivia.com

Additionaly, on the website, Sue provides examples of books that can be used with eachc pouch.

Suggested Storybook Ideas

Here is a video of an Ontario Early Years Centre staff using a pouch at circle time.

I bought the woods pouch for myself.

For more inforation, contact:

Sue Berlove
Indigenous Crafts from Bolivia
416-481-4064

The List of AWESOME...literacy style

2010-07-16T21:54:00.005-04:00

The Book of AWESOME by Neil Pasricha is all about big celebrations of life's little moments. I have been reading it lately and finding humour and appreciation in all the little things that can add up to make one great day. With this in mind, I got thinking about how childhood can be filled with many AWESOME things, especially in respect to early literacy milestones. It's these small things children do, that make us smile, that prepare them for lifelong reading success.

Some AWESOME things I have thought about are:

- books available in public places that welcome children to read them (Doctor's offices, the hairdressers, and so forth)

- the first time your child writes their name

- free early learning programs (Ontario Early Years Centres, public libraries)

- father involvement - seeing Daddies and children reading together

Child Reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle

- listening to your child "read" the first book they memorize

- your child recognizing a sign (i.e., McDonalds!)

For more information on The Book of Awesome or the blog 1000 Awesome Things, visit

www.1000awesomethings.com

If you have any suggestions that I can add to my list, please add comments below!

Thanks!

baby books

2010-07-15T01:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about giving books to friends as baby shower gifts. Today, I would like to highlight some of my favourite quality baby books. Before I list them though, I'd like to point out some of the criteria I use when I am picking them out. Here are some things to look for when buying or borrowing books for your baby:

General
- bright colours
- stiff cardboard, “chunky” books, or fold out books (board books - these can be wiped clean after touching and tasting.)
- cloth and soft vinyl books can go in the bath or get washed
- small size for little hands

Pictures
- simple, large pictures or designs
- simple geometric shapes
- photos of other babies or reflective surfaces that your baby can see themself in
- pictures of familiar objects like balls and bottles

Text
- few words
- good rhythm
- good rhyme

Here are the books I purchased for my friends

Are there any other recommendtions or personal favourites?

Starting the day they're born...

2010-07-14T16:00:00.009-04:00

This past weekend, I was invited to a baby shower for some close friends. Naturally, as an Early Literacy Specialist, I found it most appropriate to give books. In the words of Mem Fox,

"The best time to start reading aloud to a baby is the day it is born. The lilting rhythm of a simple bedtime book on that first thrilling, exhausting day is soothing for the tremulous parents and the new child and adds to the bonding between them. It gives them something to "talk about" together. And much to the surprise of most adults, babies love books. They respond to the brightness of the pictures, to the rhythm of the words, and to the presence of a loving adult."

- Reading Magic

I highly recommend reading the book cover to cover if you're got the time. It talks about early literacy in plain and simple language and explains how you can change your child's life by reading to them everyday.

Reading problems are difficult to fix but very easy to prevent. According to Mem Fox, "Children's brains are only 25 percent developed at birth. From that moment, whenever a baby is fed, cuddled, played with, talked to, sung to, or read to, the other 75 percent of its brain begins to develop. And the more stimulation the baby has through its senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing, the more rapidly that development will occur. Reading aloud to children early in life also rapidly develops their speaking skills. Children can not learn to speak unless they are spoken to."

Leave a comnment if you've read the book.

Storytime Share blog

2010-07-13T15:54:00.004-04:00

Are you an early learning professional who presents a storytime program on a regular basis? Are you a parent looking for ideas on what to do when you're reading/what books are best for your child? Go to:

Storytime Share

Storytime Share, by Early Childhood Literacy Consultant Saroj Ghoting, is available to, "offer and to exchange ideas regarding storytimes that ARTICULATE early literacy information to adults. See Submit an Idea to submit your ideas and/or documents of handouts and/or whole storytime plans. You can search, or browse by category or date."

Let me know what you think. :)

Why is Early Literacy Important?

2010-07-08T16:11:00.006-04:00

Statistics Canada reports that more than 42% of Canadians lack the basic literacy skills required to succeed in today’s society (Statistics Canada & Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development [OECD], 2005). Low literacy impacts all aspects of life: adults with poor literacy skills work less, are unemployed longer and more frequently, require more social assistance, and are in poorer health (Statistics Canada & OECD, 2005).

Problems with literacy arise long before individuals reach adulthood. Annually, Ontario’s Educational Quality Assurance Office (EQAO) measures reading, writing, and mathematics literacy in all children in Grades 3 and 6. According to recent test results, a large percentage of children – approximately 30% – of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students in Ontario – lack the expected reading, writing, and mathematics skills, even at this early age (EQAO, 2009). Even more astounding, the Ontario Ministry of Child and Youth Services (2007) found that by just four and five years of age, approximately one-fifth of all children show delays in vocabulary development.

Around this same age, communities of children are evaluated on readiness to learn using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). It specifically measures outcomes of children’s early years as they influence children’s readiness to learn before entry into Grade 1. Kindergarten teachers use a questionnaire which measures school-readiness-to-learn across five learning domains: emotional maturity, social competence, physical health and well being, language and cognitive development, communication skills and general knowledge. According to a Community Profiles Report (2007), about 25% of children in Ontario's South East Region are considered low in one or more domains (I only have access to local data).

This demonstrates that the first three years of a child’s life have enormous impacts on the development of basic language and cognitive skills. Truly, they lay the foundation for literacy development. In fact, the influence of a child’s home language environment can be observed within the first few months after birth. Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, and so they need to be aware of the importance of creating a language and literacy rich environment in the home. They need simple, common sense strategies they can use to help their children get ready to learn for the rest of their lives.

Please share this blog with a parent or child care provider you know today.

Shape Monster Booklet

2010-07-06T15:13:00.007-04:00

Help your child notice shapes by pointing them out and talking about them. Seeing and recognizing shapes is a very important step children must take before learning their letters of the alphabet. When you think of an upper case A, there is a triangle shape in it.

Go to the website below to find a printable Shape Monster booklet. Your child can colour the shapes in it. Afterwards, you can read it together!

Click here for the Shape Monster Booklet!

Another Idea...

Look at the book Colour Zoo by Lois Ehlert. It is really fascinating how you can see the animals just using basic shapes. Ask your child, "What animals do you see?"

Read the book. Talk about the shapes as well as the animals. The back of the book has separate shapes which you can also point out or refer to from time to time as you read the book.

It's Berry Season!!!

2010-07-05T17:03:00.001-04:00

Berry picking with young children is a great way to spend a summer day. Try to expose your child to many new events to help them understand the world around them. Many children love to eat berries as a snack, so it's a great idea to take them to the berry patch where they can see how berries are grown. You'll be amazed at the new vocabulary your child will be learning! Remember to talk with your children as they are picking so they have a chance to learn new words. Ask them questions and encourage them to explore. Isn't that what being a child is all about?

Here are some tips for taking children berry picking:

1. Take a bottle of water for each person. Hard working pickers get thirsty!

2. Expect them to eat as they pick!

3. Take pictures of your kids when you first arrive. Be sure you squat down to your child's level to get the best pictures. You could use these pictures to write a home made book with your child on a rainy day.

4. Wear hats and sunscreen. The sun can be brutal in an open field.

5. EVERYONE should wear red shirts. Little hands WILL get wiped on their shirts and yours, too! And strawberry juice STAINS!

Once you arrive home and have had a chance to enjoy some of your berries, curl up and read a book together.

Here are some suggested titles:

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

Here is a YouTube link to someone telling the story!

Clapping Rhymes

2010-06-30T16:14:00.002-04:00

A Sailor Went to Sea
A sailor went to
Sea, sea, sea
To see what he could
See, see, see.

But all that he could
See, see, see.
Was the bottom of the deep blue
Sea, sea, sea.

How to clap:
A— Clap your own hands
sai—clap right hands with a partner
lor—Clap your own hands
went —clap left hands with partner
to—clap your own hands
sea—clap your partner’s hands three times…
Repeat movements

I Had a little Sister

I had a little sister,
Her name was Sally Sue.
I put her in the bathtub
To see what she would do.

She drank up all the water.
She ate up all the soap.
She tried to eat the bathtub,
But it wouldn’t fit down her throat.

I called the doctor.
I called the nurse.
I called the lady
With the alligator purse.

“Mumps” said the doctor.
“Measles” said the nurse.
“Pizza” said the lady
With the alligator purse.

How to clap:
I—clap own hands
had—clap right hand with partner
a—clap own hands
lit—clap left hand with partner
tle—clap own hands
sis—clap partner’s hands
ter—clap own hands
Pause—clap won hands behind back
Repeat movements

25 Ways to Use Magnetic Letters at Home

2010-06-28T14:28:00.000-04:00

Here are some suggestions on how you can use magnetic letters at home (or in child care). Enjoy!

SOURCE: http://www.olentangy.k12.oh.us/pdf/kinder/magblocks.pdf

1. LETTER PLAY Encourage children to play with the magnetic letters on the refrigerator or on a table. Playing with letters allows children to learn more about how they look.

2. MAKING NAMES A child’s name is their most important word. Have children make their names several times, mixing up the letters, making their names and checking them with their names written on a card.

3. LETTER MATCH Invite children to find other letters that look exactly the same as a letter in their name (e.g., place an m on the refrigerator and have the child find all the ones that look like it). They don’t need to know the letter name.

4. NAME GAME Have children make names of friends or family. Have them make the name, mix the letters, and make the names several times.

5. MAKING WORDS Make a simple word like mom or dad or sun and have your child make the same word by matching each letter below the model (sun – s-u-n).

6. ALPHABET TRAIN Have your child put the lowercase magnetic letters in the order of the alphabet. Then they can point to them and sing the alphabet son. Have them repeat the process with uppercase letters.

7. CONSONANT/VOWEL SORT Have children sort the consonant letters and the vowel letters.

8. FEATURE SORT Have children sort letters in a variety of ways – e.g., letters with long sticks and letters with short sticks, letters with circles and letters with no circles, letters with tunnels and letters with dots, letters with slanted sticks and letters with straight sticks.

9. COLOR SORT Have children sort all the red, blue, green, yellow letters.

10. UPPERCASE/LOWERCASE MATCH Have children match the uppercase letters with the lowercase form.

11. WRITING LETTERS Have children select ten different letters and write each letter on a paper. They can use the magnetic letter as a model.

12. WRITING WORDS Have children make five simple words (such as dog, fun, big, hat, like, sit)and then write them on a sheet of paper.

13. MAKING FOOD WORDS Make some words that identify food – e.g., bun, corn, rice. Have children draw pictures of each, mix the letters, and make the words again.

14. MAKING COLOR WORDS Give children a list of color words with an item made in that coloras a picture support (for example, a red ball). Have children make the color word with magnetic letters using the model, mix the letters, and make it again several times.

15. MAKING NUMBER WORDS Give children a list of numerals with the number word next to each. Have children make the word and mix the letters two or three times.

16. LETTER NAMES Specify a color and have children take one colored letter at a time and say the letter name.

17. MAGAZINE MATCH Look through a magazine or newspaper with children, cutting out some larger print simple words (such as man, box, boy). Glue them on a sheet of paper with plenty of space below each. Have children make each word below the printed one.

18. FIND THE LETTER Make a set of alphabet letters, upper-or lowercase, on a set of index cards. Shuffle the “deck” and take turns drawing a card and finding the magnetic letter that corresponds to it.

19. LETTER IN THE CIRCLE Draw two circles and place an h in one and an o in the other. Have children put letters in the h circle and say how they are like the h. Do the same with the o. This activity will help children learn to look at features of letters. Vary the letters in the circles; accept their explanations about what they are noticing.

20. CHANGE THE WORD Build several simple words and show the children how to change, add, or take away a letter to make a new word. Examples are: me, he, we; me, my: at, hat, sat. After the demonstration put the needed letters in a special place in an empty container for them to practice.

21. ALPHABET SEQUENCE Place the letter a on the table and have the child find the next letter (b)and place the letter c next to the b and have the child look for the next letter (d). Continue through the alphabet with lowercase letters. Repeat the uppercase letters.

22. LETTER SORT Place a pile of magnetic letters on the table for the child to spread out. Have the child put all letters that are the same together in a pile. Then if appropriate, have the child give the letter name for each pile.

23. LETTER CHAINS Make a five letter chain (for example, pfrmo). Have children find the sameletters and make the same chain below your model. Then have the children make a chain that you copy.

24. LETTER BINGO Make two cards with a grid of three boxes across and three down. Trace one lowercase letter in each box. Put a pile of magnetic letters that are representing the letters on the cards and some that are not in a plastic bowl. Play a Letter Bingo game. Take turns taking a letter, saying its name, and then placing the letter in the box if there is a match. If there is not match, put the letter back in the bowl. The first to fill three boxes across, down, or diagonally says, “Bingo” and wins the game.Play the same game with uppercase letters.

25. RHYMING PAIRS Use a magnetic cookie sheet. Make a simple three letter word such as dog, but, cat, fan, can, hot, man, net, pan, rat, sit. Say the word and then say a second word that rhymes (dog-log, bug-mug, cat-fat, fan-man). Ask the child to make the rhyming word below each.

Forest of Reading

2010-06-23T11:11:00.008-04:00

Even though this year's program wrapped dup in April, I'd like to take some time to talk about the Forest of Reading program. Each year, the Ontario Library Association offers 7 reading programs that encourage people of all ages in their love of reading. All Ontarians/Canadians are invited to participate via their local public or school library. More than 250,000 readers across Canada, mainly Ontario, participate each year. The culmination of the program is an amazing two-day awards event attended by more than 8,000 guests and all of the nominated authors/illustrators called the ‘Festival of Trees™’.

Here are the reading programs:

For younger readers:
Blue Spruce™Awards Reading Program (primary–grade 2 picture books)
Silver Birch® Awards Reading Program (grades 3–6 fiction, non-fiction)
Silver Birch Express™ Awards Reading Program (grades 3–4 fiction, non-fiction)
Red Maple™ Awards Reading Program (grades 7–8 fiction, non-fiction)
White Pine™ Awards Reading Program (high school fiction)
Le Prix Tamarack™ (french fiction, non-fiction grades 3–6)

For Adults:
Golden Oak™ Awards Reading Program (adults learning to read; ESL, fiction)
Evergreen™ Award Reading Program (adults of any age, fiction)

For each program, readers are encouraged to read all or a selection of the books, and then vote on their favourite.

How are books chosen for the 'Forest of Reading'?

This program celebrates Canadian books and author/illustrators. Titles selects must be written by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. They must be commercially available in Canada. Books are available from participating school and public libraries.

Here is a link to the Blue Spruce (Kindergarten-Grade 2) books that were nominated for 2010:
http://www.accessola.com/forest2010/BlueSpruce/

Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard was the 2010 Blue Spruce winner.

For more information, go to
http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=92-2884

Stories and Summer Solstice

2010-06-22T16:46:00.007-04:00

Say that 10 times fast!

Yesterday, June 21, was the summer solstice. For many of the ancients, the summer solstice was essential to their well-being. Associated with agriculture, the summer solstice was a reminder that a turning point in the growing season had been reached. As a modern day parent, you can use this analogy to think of it as a turning point in the way you nurture your child's growth. Starting today, try to do one thing each day to prepare your child for later reading achievement.

Oral language is the basis of literacy. This summer, encourage your child to develop and grow their oral language through storytelling with you. Think of all the great things you do together in the summer that they can tell stories about, like going to the beach, picking berries, visiting relatives, riding bicycles, and so on. There are lots of new experiences your child will enjoy talking about. Research tells us that preschool children will tell their best stories about personal experiences. Storytelling gives your child the opportunity to both tell and hear stories, which encourages them to develop active speaking and listening skills. It fuels the imagination and allows your child to develop their own mental images of the story.

Here’s what you can do to help your child become a successful storyteller:

- Find time to have a good conversation with your child, every day. Storytelling requires us to explore or elaborate on each event rather than jumping from one topic to another. It requires a good description of all the small details.
- Talk with your child about things that happened in the past (i.e., earlier today, yesterday, last week).
- Tell stories that have a sequence of events so that there is a clear beginning, middle and end. Fairy tales are great for this! Talk about the sequence of special events or even daily routines. Use words like: first, then and after. (i.e., First we will wake up, and then eat breakfast. After we will get dressed.)
- Read stories with simple plots aloud to your child.
- Talk about the things your child wants to talk about. Follow their lead!

Great summer stories to read with your child:

Fun Dog, Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
Spot Goes to the Beach by Eric Hill

Initial Sound Clothesline Activity

2010-06-21T14:57:00.012-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I co-facilitated another make and take workshop. This month's theme was CAMPING! Camping is a fun family activity. Many children enjoy using it as a theme for their pretend play. Here is an idea for an activity you can make at home. If you would like an electronic copy of the colour pictures, please just post a message and I will get back to you.

Here are the necessary supplies:
- 18 colour picture cards
- 18 clothespins
- permanent marker
- mac tac
- scissors
- construction paper
- glue

Directions

1. Cut out the colour picture cards.

2. Create a template t-shirt. You could also make pants, but I was trying to keep it simple.

3. Using your template cut out 18 t-shirts from the contruction paper. I fit 4 onto each piece of construction paper.

4. Glue the colour pictures onto the t-shirts.

5. Use mac tac to help improve the life span of your activity.

6. Using your permanent marker, write letters onto the end of the clothespin that opens (see picture below).

To play, your child needs to match the initial sound of the word with the corresponding picture. Once they have made a match, they can hang the shirts on a clotheslines (I made mine with a piece of yarn). Remember to keep this activity developmentally appropriate. Children tend to be able to do this type of activity when they around five- and six-years-old.

You can increase the level of difficulty of this game by having more letters available then necessary for your child to choose from. You can also have them mix up the beginning letter and say the new word.

"If your put the letter W on bug (instead of B), it says WUG!"

You can decrease the level of difficulty by using only one letter sound at a time to reinforce a particular sound.

www.theroadmap.ca

2010-06-18T14:21:00.004-04:00

Looking for a holistic resource on children's language and literacy development?

Check out the website listed above. It focuses on children birth to 60 months, discussing language and literacy development around topics such as hearing, computers, children's literature, narrative, numeracy, reading, social emotional development, speech-language, spelling, writing, vision and vocabulary.

Please feel free to leave any comments about the website.