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Whole Child Development

How to Improve Your Read-Alouds with Young Children

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

 

It’s hard to disagree with the evidence that reading aloud to young children yields great benefits throughout life.  And that’s just the factors that are easily tested – language skills, reading readiness, comprehension, and so on.  Add to that the relationship building aspect that comes along with a positive shared experience.  I still remember snuggling up in my dad’s lap and listening to him read some of my favorite stories and the “funny page” in the Sunday paper.  It was a real treat to get that one-on-one time, not to mention getting to hear his hilariously animated voices as well.

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A Book Like Me

by Filed Under: Building Readers 6 Comments

In case you didn’t know it, February is Black History Month.  Seeing many of the books and articles marketed toward this time of year has caused me to think a bit about the  use of ethnicity in children’s books.  I really am a big fan of ethnic books for children….and I’m not.  Let me explain. 

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A Culture of Literacy: Teaching Preschoolers the ABC’s and More

by Filed Under: Building Readers 4 Comments

blocks

Ask your average parents what they hope their child will learn in preschool, and most have learning the ABC’s somewhere in their tops 5 goals.  Many preschool teachers respond to this by implementing a “letter-of-the-week” curriculum.  One week may be the letter “M”, so we eat marshmallows, draw maps, read books about monkeys, and write letters to our moms.  While this certainly gives a lot of exposure to the letter “M” and invites a variety of activities and learning opportunities, it creates a very incoherent curriculum.  Children learn by making connections.  It is a little difficult to make a quick connection between a white, sweet, gooey marshmallow and a folded up map of the nearest bus stops.   (Though my own children could probably make some great connections between “monkeys” and “Mom”!)  Additionally, when the  primary focus is on the almighty “letter-of-the-week”, it is easy to lose sight of other important literacy goals or to begin teaching them in isolation as well.  That is not how reading happens.  The whole purpose of reading and writing is to obtain and convey meaning.  Therefore, reading and writing should be taught through coherent, meaningful experiences.

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A Culture of Literacy: Teaching Preschoolers the ABC's and More

by Filed Under: Building Readers 9 Comments

blocks

Ask your average parents what they hope their child will learn in preschool, and most have learning the ABC’s somewhere in their tops 5 goals.  Many preschool teachers respond to this by implementing a “letter-of-the-week” curriculum.  One week may be the letter “M”, so we eat marshmallows, draw maps, read books about monkeys, and write letters to our moms.  While this certainly gives a lot of exposure to the letter “M” and invites a variety of activities and learning opportunities, it creates a very incoherent curriculum.  Children learn by making connections.  It is a little difficult to make a quick connection between a white, sweet, gooey marshmallow and a folded up map of the nearest bus stops.   (Though my own children could probably make some great connections between “monkeys” and “Mom”!)  Additionally, when the  primary focus is on the almighty “letter-of-the-week”, it is easy to lose sight of other important literacy goals or to begin teaching them in isolation as well.  That is not how reading happens.  The whole purpose of reading and writing is to obtain and convey meaning.  Therefore, reading and writing should be taught through coherent, meaningful experiences.

[Read more…]

10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Story Time with Your Preschoolers

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

books It’s well known that being read to is one of the best ways a child gets ready to read.  But the benefits of story time come from more than just hearing words.  Here are 10 ways to make story time meaningful for your early readers.

1 Get Familiar– Before diving right in to your next read, take a minute to look at the cover with your children.  Talk about the title, what could it mean?  What can you guess from the pictures on the cover?  What might this book be about? In addition to getting them interested in the book, this gives your children the opportunity to make inferences and think creatively.  They may ask questions that will be answered in the story.  What a great tool for building comprehension!

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Language & Literacy

by Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience 14 Comments

Photo provided by Bies

“A bandaid feel me better.”  We relish the quirky sayings our children devise as they wade through the task of decoding the furtive rules we use as we communicate.  Our children’s faulty contrivances are not only endearing, but give us some insight into their progress as they decipher our mysterious code. 

The development of language and literacy skills are key to success not only academically, but in life.  Brilliance of thought or tenderness of feelings can easily go unnoticed without the ability to properly and effectively communicate.  In the words of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, “A word devoid of thought is a dead thing, and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow.”  Moreover, language serves as the channel for most learning, as it involves the ability to receive information whether it be instructional, social, or otherwise.

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Language & Literacy

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience 22 Comments

Photo provided by Bies

“A bandaid feel me better.”  We relish the quirky sayings our children devise as they wade through the task of decoding the furtive rules we use as we communicate.  Our children’s faulty contrivances are not only endearing, but give us some insight into their progress as they decipher our mysterious code. 

The development of language and literacy skills are key to success not only academically, but in life.  Brilliance of thought or tenderness of feelings can easily go unnoticed without the ability to properly and effectively communicate.  In the words of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, “A word devoid of thought is a dead thing, and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow.”  Moreover, language serves as the channel for most learning, as it involves the ability to receive information whether it be instructional, social, or otherwise.

[Read more…]

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