Tiny Ones

We had two new babies in one of our classes this week. They are both only 2 months old. It has been a while since I've been around such tiny babies. Mothers don't tend to get out of the house to a program like ours until their babies have turned at least 3 months old. As these mothers worked on their projects, leaving their babies on the mats, I had the privilege of reading to each one individually - lying on the mat beside them. At this age, the most response I get from reading them a book is simply a head turned in the direction of the voice that is reading to them. It is a great feeling to be getting such an early start with these babies.

-Dawn Noelle

Egg Shakers

Today we made egg shaker instruments. There were a few problems. The glue did not work as well as I had planned so we also used tape. The pearlized plastic eggs, which everyone loved, had little holes at the bottom so if rice was used, it started coming out. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun using them when we sang. It was nice to have instruments to accompany our singing and for the families to make and take home.

-Laura Hecht

Flexibility

Having taught Growing with Books classes in four different locations, I have learned that the class dynamics in each group varies greatly. Usually we put away the toys in our toddler classes before we start circle time. This promotes less distraction, and more participation in songs and more attention paid at story time. Recently, however, this practice seemed to backfire as one student in particular became the ring leader running the rest of the kids around the room. This has happened before in larger classes, but it usually only a couple of kids following the pattern. This class is smaller, and I was losing all of them unable to engage them in songs or storytime. So, I tried a new tactic...leaving a few toys out during circle time. This allowed my ringleader to occupy himself with the cars, and the rest of the children participated eagerly in singing and listening to the story. I was overjoyed to find a solution to what seemed like an overwhelming issue in this particular class.

-Dawn Noelle

Peek-A-Boo Books

We made peek-a-boo books in class. We used recycled holiday cards I had found for free at SCRAP a few years ago. Besides having a surprise for the children when they lift the flap, the adult can say so many different things when they read the book to the child. For example, in the book ¿Qué es?/What is it?, the parent might say, "This is an animal that has four legs and makes the noise 'woof, woof'." Another day they might say, "This animal is a pet, likes to run and does not usually like cats." The families were also invited to take a few pages home to use photos of the children or other family members. A book that is fun, has many ways to increase vocabulary, and that families will enjoy for a long time since it has such a personal connection!

-Laura Hecht

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

Even after three years of story telling to infants, toddlers, and their families I struggle in finding the right book and the right tone to really capture their attention. This week, three times in a row, I was able to maintain a captive audience with the book by Don & Audrey Wood about a little mouse trying to save his strawberry from the big hungry bear (who never actually makes an appearance in the book). The interactive nature of the story (the narrator is actually speaking to the mouse the entire time, so the voice is second person, I guess) the vivid pictures, suspense filled moments, and the familiar centerpiece of a larger than life strawberry really made for a great time as the toddlers, their families, and I all helped the mouse to eat up his strawberry at the end of the tale. I highly recommend this book. Stories that can keep the attention of 10 toddlers all at once until the last line is read...they are hard to come by.

-Dawn Noelle

The Early Literacy Crisis

I was very pleased to see the exclusive report in the March 2010 "Parenting Early Years" magazine on "The Early Literacy Crisis". It speaks specifically to the need we are addressing through our Growing with Books Classes. According to the report by Lisa Moran:

"Research has repeatedly shown that access to books and one-on-one reading time is an important predictor of future literacy skills. Reading to your baby from infancy on exposes her to the alphabet, to the sounds that words make, and to the idea that print letters translate into spoken words. Talking to your child about a story boosts understanding and vocabulary. In contrast, not having this language and literacy exposure can quickly set kids up for failure. Many children who enter kindergarten without pre-reading skills in place never catch up, according to "America's Early Childhood Literacy Gap," a 2009 report from Jumpstart, a national early education organization dedicated to advancing school readiness in low-income communities. "By second grade, we can predict with reasonable accuracy who will go on to higher education and who will not, based on their literacy skills," says Jumpstart board member Laura Berk, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Illinois State University."

You can read the full report here:
Exclusive Report

-Dawn Noelle