Little Readers

I did not have a specific title to give away so I let families choose from a variety of books. I let families pick their book as they came in. It was really great to see that some of the children, especially some boys, were SO in love with their books that they just carried them on the play structure and held them throughout the class, stopped doing the project to read, and just sat down immediately to read their book as soon as they picked one.

-Laura Hecht

One on the way...

Grecia is my only student turning three before the start of next semester, which means she will be graduating and moving on :(. She has been with us for the three years I have been teaching. I jokingly asked her mother if she had thought about having another baby so she could keep coming to my classes. Turns out, there is indeed another baby on the way! (Here she is by the way - this year, getting ready to turn three, and three years ago in our Babies class with mom.)

-Dawn Noelle

Prints

We had a fun time making print using a variety of tools. We used cookie cutters, spoons, forks, corks and paper cups. We only used three colors, but the prints created by the children were interesting.

I read aloud ¿De que esta hecho el Arco Iris?, which I thought fit nicely since we did prints with colors and have had rainy days. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a rainbow in the sky that day.

-Laura Hecht

Signature Songs

Some teachers seem to have a signature song. Norma's Tick-Tock class at City College is named for the song in which each mother lifts up their baby at the "cuckoo" chime, once, then twice, and finally three times in the third verse. Margaret starts her class in the Tenderloin, with uno-dos-tres CHO! separating the syllables of the word cho-co-la-te as each child gets to hold the mexican molinillo, the kind that is actually used to mix or wisk chocolate in Mexico. The wooden wisk spins when it's handle is held between flat palms that are rubbing together, back and forth, in opposite directions. Rubbing our hands together with an imaginary wisk can even help to warm us up on cool days.

Over my three years of teaching Growing with Books classes, I have settled on my own signature song that I use as a cue to get babies and toddlers ready for storytime. We sing "Ahora Vamos a Leer / Now we're going to Read a Book" as we get ready to "sit right down...use our eyes...use our ears". The last verse about listening is sung in almost a whisper, and now that my students are used to it, it really helps them to quiet down and be ready to engage in the story. (We also start off our circle time with the same tune: "Now we're going to sing a song...")

-Dawn Noelle

Main Library Visit

We went to the San Francisco Main Library two weeks ago. Many of the families with toddlers have been in the program for some time so they already have library cards, which is a good thing. I did help a few adults and children get their first library cards. We had a good turnout and the parents really liked the Main Library.

Story time was great. Jim, the librarian, had a great energy about him and had some really cute songs. He read several funny animal books, which are always popular with my own and most children. Hopefully the families will go to visit again when our class is not in session.

-Laura Hecht

Vegetable Faces

Getting children to eat their vegetables can always be a challenge, but it is up to us to make sure children are offered and have the opportunity to eat healthy foods. The project was to make faces with vegetable so the children would be more excited about eating them. I had peas, carrots, corn, cucumbers, olives and broccoli. The corn was very popular. It was all gone by the end. The broccoli was also very popular with one child. The idea of eating little trees really made the broccoli very appealing.

-Laura Hecht

It just keeps getting better!

I get a strange thrill out of helping the mothers in our classes get library cards for the first time. I'm not sure what it is, but walking with them through this process, knowing that I am helping them get a late start on a lifetime of reading, is a very rewarding part of what we call family literacy. The children's cards are much easier to come by. They fill out the form, I turn them in as a group, and I pick up the cards - no verification necessary. But the adult cards require a bit of footwork, including photo ID and address verification, and I would like to think that this process is empowering for them.

This was the best part of my day today, and that is really saying something, because our Baby Rhyme Time with Jim at the Main Library was really something. Take a look at these pictures to see how captivated the babies were listening to a male voice reading them a story, rolling over to the tune of "There were ten in the bed", and gathering to explore the new toys that were brought out at the end. The money spent on our public library system in this city is very well invested in my opinion. The story and rhyme times have only gotten better over the years!

I'll Fly Away...

It's amazing how some colored cardstock, a craft stick, crayons, glue, and brightly colored feathers can bring a smile to a child's face. Those feathers in our bird on a stick craft really move with the wind as the kids make the birds "fly". I also found an interesting new book to read for today called: "The day the birds fell from the sky" by Federico Krafft V. Its got a great environmental lesson to boot, and with lots of expression added, kept our toddler students' attention as they waited for the birds to come back to the newly cleaned up city. We had a fun class.

-Dawn Noelle

Music and Movement Workshop

I went to an Early Childhood Educators workshop on Music, Movement and Learning this weekend. Our instructor was an energetic musician and mother who does trainings for educators and has many performances for families and the public. She had us all get up and dance so it was a lot of fun and a good way to start a Saturday morning!

One thing I liked about the workshop was the idea of incorporating scarves into dancing. Last week we made a bracelet that children could use to dance with. Like the bracelet, the scarf could be used to enhance the movement. The cross body movements that children can do with the scarves or bracelets will help them cross the midline of their body, which in turn will help them when it comes to writing and reading. Another thought I had was that the scarf (or bracelet) could be used when it comes to letter formation. Making a big and correct version with the whole arm helps children familiarize themselves with the movements so it will help when it comes time to write it down on paper.

-Laura Hecht