Recently I was indulging in my craft addiction trying not to buy out the store visiting a fabric/craft store, and noticed they had those plastic easter eggs on sale. I snapped up a couple of packages, because, as you know, they can be used in a variety of fun ways to promote early literacy and … Continue reading
We Pause for this Brief Commercial Interruption…
Sorry I’ve been awol for a while. I recently sold my house and moved, and packing/unpacking etc. has consumed my life. But I WILL be back soon, I promise! In the meantime, chew on this. While I’m not advocating for a lot of screen time (nor ANY before age 2), I do love Sesame Street … Continue reading
Getting ready to write
Learning to write is about a lot more than learning one’s letters and how to put them together into words. It’s also about MUSCLES. Yes, you heard that right: I said MUSCLES. Young children need to develop the muscles needed to hold a crayon or pencil before they can write properly. Fine motor skills! Those little … Continue reading
Books with a Beat
Did you know that SINGING helps children develop the skills they need to read? No, REALLY. So even if you don’t think you can carry a tune in a basket, you should SING with your kids often – young children are not at all judgemental about your singing ability (it’s when they get to be … Continue reading
What Kids Learn about Reading and Writing
When kids learn to read and write, it’s not just about putting letters together and forming words. Kids need to learn three things about reading to be successful readers: HOW WE READ AND WRITE: This is learning the “code” of reading and writing: the letters, what sounds they make, how to put them together to sound … Continue reading
Puppets! An Early Literacy Tool
I love puppets. I am fortunate enough to have a nice collection of puppets to use in my children’s librarian work, and the kids I get to share them with really enjoy interacting with them. Puppets are a GREAT early literacy skills builder: In my experience, children often interact with puppets in a different way … Continue reading
Why I’m Passionate about Early Literacy
Pretty sure this video, from the Ounce of Prevention Fund, explains why I’m passionate about this read aloud revolution. Early childhood education, as well as educating parents about the importance of the first five years of a child’s life, changes lives, especially the lives of children living in poverty. THIS is how we will break … Continue reading
Fill ‘er Up!
Over the past couple of weekends I’ve been training, with a colleague, future library volunteers on how to perform a successful storytime. Included in that training is some basic early literacy information, so that volunteers will understand the importance of what they’re doing and what children are getting out of it (and why we do … Continue reading
Talk About Books! Good News Bad News by Jeff Mack
We used to think that it was bad to interrupt the “integrity” of a picture book story by stopping to talk about the action, identify objects in the pictures, or generally have any kind of conversation that stopped the story’s flow. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE! Dialogic, or “conversational”, reading is the way to REALLY get … Continue reading
Every Child Ready to Read
READ. TALK. SING. WRITE. PLAY. 5 little words that pack a BIG punch when it comes to early literacy learning. These are the 5 practices that the Every Child Ready to Read curriculum recommends parents engage in with their young children in order to encourage early literacy skills learning. When I present early literacy information … Continue reading
Revolution Read Aloud! 