Valentine’s Day Finger Painting

Last week we worked on Valentine’s Day cards. The toddlers made one to give away by finger painting on a piece of paper that would later be cut out in the shape of a heart.  Of course, some of the children did not want to get their hands messy so I gave them a paintbrush. Some of the children that did use their fingers spent a long time spreading the paint around. All of the children had fun and all of the results were very unique!

-Laura Hecht 

Full Class

"I had been meaning to give you a call!"  I hadn't seen this family in a while and I had two library cards that were delivered during last semester's librarian visit waiting for them.  Apparently they had a round of illness toward the end of last semester and were unable to attend for a number of weeks.  "My daughter loves the books so much, we are happy to be back!"  Not only did she bring both her little girls to class yestereday, but her nephew as well.  We are up to 15 families in the toddler class at Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in only our third week of class.  Word is getting around!

-Dawn Noelle

First Day of Spring 2012 Semester

Our classes have started again. There are some familiar faces and some new ones. I was able to take a photo of this little girl enjoying a book. She has one that is a favorite with a lot of the children. It is a touch and feel book about puppies. It is hard for anyone to resist the soft fur and the cute faces.  I always enjoy the opportunity to capture these moments that show how much the children enjoy the books. 

-Laura Hecht

Librarian Visit and Drawings

The librarian came to visit us last Tuesday. The children had a fun time. She taught us new songs that were a lot of fun! At one point we sang “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” and at the end came the part about going to sleep. One boy that really enjoyed acting out the going to sleep part and was down on the mat. It was very cute.


I’ve also included a few photos of some of the drawing the children did that day. In the first one, the girl proudly displays her picture. She spent a long time drawing her family and the car. Unfortunately, I don’t think the details are very clear in the photo. The other photo is of some of the drawings the others made. A couple of the these children also spent a long time on them since they would leave and then come back to keep working on their drawing.

-Laura Hecht

Friendships

Besides the parents becoming friends and supporting each other, the children in our classes also develop great friendships. I have noticed that there are two girls that are very good friends. The families don’t always arrive at the same time. Usually one of the girls gets there first. Last Tuesday when the second girl arrived, I could see her at the door. She tapped on the glass and waved to her friend. Then she did a little dance and twirled her skirt. Her friend, sitting at a table with me, noticed and smiled a big smile. Of course, I had to smile also. There was so much sweetness in the moment. As usual, the two had a lot of fun playing together for the rest of the class.

While these two in the picture are different friends, it is also so great to see such affection towards each other with their hand holding. They started off in the baby class together. Now they are 1 ½ years old and are in the toddler class together. At this age there is a lot of parallel play between friends so it is always nice to capture moments that show they care for each other.

-Laura Hecht

Water Play

We went to the park last week. It was a great day to be outside. It was a warm day and the planned activity was to make bath toys to use in tubs of water. What a fun activity! Here are the toddlers enjoying the water play.

-Laura Hecht

¡Vamos a Leer!

After our first class of the semester at Good Samaritan Family Resource Center I met Christina in the hallway. She is one of the new teachers in the preschool program upstairs and she was taking her lunchbreak within earshot of our babies' class. She asked about the song I sing to the children as we transition into story time. In English (I sing it bilingually at the Tenderloin Children's Playground) it goes: "Now we're going to read a book, read a book, read a book. Now we're going to read a book, read a book, read a book." It is the same tune used as we transition from free exploration time into circle time singing "Now we're going to sing a song, sing a song..." (etc.) In my four years with The Reading Tree I have learned that having a familiar tune as a signal to transitions is highly effective. The last line of our song, after "...use our eyes..." is "...use our ears..." (or "vamos a escuchar" in Spanish) - and it is sung in a whisper. It is amazing how well this can quiet a group of toddlers - it is a well known (though often forgotten) secret among teachers - lowering rather than raising our voices to capture the attention of the young ones we teach. It is also great fun and sets the tone for something so special you have whisper about it: reading a book together! It can be like the smallest treasure held in the palm of your hand - a sunflower seed that will eventually grow into a beautifully tall and strong flower or an apple seed that will eventually grow into a tree to bear fruit of it's own. This is the magic of The Reading Tree. Each book read together can be a magical experience in the form of a seed settling into the fertile soil of memory and giving birth to a love of reading that will open uncounted pathways to future growth.

-Dawn Noelle