The dog days of summer may be behind us, but there’s no better time for a good book! Dog stories are frequently requested at our house, so I thought I’d share some of our favorites with you!
Presenting: DIY Puppet Theaters
Today I’m over at my friend Steph’s place, Modern Parents Messy Kids, sharing some fun and easy ways to create your own puppet show theaters. Here’s a taste:
Speak UP! Why We Should Use Big Words with Little Kids
The following is a repost from July of last year. Also, don’t forget to enter the Literacy Beginnings giveaway. Entries end Tuesday at 11:59pm MST.
Have you ever overheard someone talking to an infant, and they use that high, sing-songy voice? That’s called “parentese” and it’s been shown in research to support language development in infants.
Now, have you ever heard someone use that same voice and watered-down words with a preschooler? That’s called patronizing, and it shows a gross underestimation of a child’s capacity for vocabulary building.
A child between the ages of 2 and 6 has the ability to learn between 6 and 10 words per day(1). That’s up to 70 words a week! But there’s no way a child can reach those kinds of numbers if she isn’t exposed to language in meaningful, interactive ways. [Read more…]
Literacy Beginnings — A Book with a Bonus (and a Giveaway!)
This week, I’ve written about the Importance of a Good Foundation and introduced you to Literacy Beginnings — A Prekindergarten Handbook, a resource I truly believe will become a new standard resource for early literacy. After Wednesday’s post outlining the wealth of information in this great book, you might be surprised to know there’s even MORE!
Literacy Beginnings – A Prekindergarten Handbook
Just one page into Fountas and Pinnell’s new book, Literacy Beginnings: A Prekindergarten Handbook, I turned to my husband and said, “There’s a good chance I’m going to like any book that starts a discussion of early literacy with a diagram of a classroom that includes things like a sensory table, art supplies, and a dramatic play corner.”
Book Activity: Mouse Paint
I’m sharing a few old favorites while I’m away this week. This one was originally posted January 19, 2010.
Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is one of my very favorite books for teaching about primary and secondary colors. The children absolutely love it as well. In the story, three mice climb into three jars of paint (red, yellow, and blue) and then begin dancing, stirring and mixing with their feet as they blend the primary colors together to create secondary colors. (Incidently, White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker is also fantastic and follows a very similar format. Just in case one is easier for you to get your hands on than the other!)
Celebrating Good Books
My boys really enjoy a good read-aloud. And I enjoy any time my boys are getting into literature. In a desire to make literacy experiences a part of the memorable scenes of their childhood we’ve started celebrating each family read-aloud with activities that not only increase their comprehension and extend the learning, but also make the reading experience more fun and memorable.
Stretching Words – Playful Ways to Practice Phonemic Awareness
Do you remember as an early reader, struggling with a word and being told to “sound it out”? Well, the act of breaking a written word into its various parts requires several skills, but none of them do the reader any good unless that child has a strong sense of phonemic awareness.
Make Story Time Hands-On with Flannel Boards
Flannel boards are a great way to really bring children into a story. They can help move the pieces around as you spin your tale, and later they can retell the story (or create their own new and improved version). It’s a simple hands-on tool for supporting the language and comprehension skills that build solid readers.
Weekend Reads 5.14.11
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