An Good Option for a Rainy Day

It was good to hear my families say this week that getting out of the house to attend a Growing with Books class, even on rainy days, is their preference to staying cooped up in doors.  This attitude was reflected in the comments by my students in the Toddlers' class at Good Samaritan Family Resource Center yesterday as a storm swept through San Francisco.  Our numbers were somewhat lower than usual, as is to be expected on a rainy day.   I was pleasantly surprised, however, that our Babies' was almost as full as it had been the week before - which had been the most so far for this year.  Getting out of the house to a warm and dry play space is an added benefit to our Growing with Books classes on a rainy day.  Then, with their new book in hand, families are given yet another option to continue their rainy day a cozy reading time together at home.

-Dawn Noelle

New Year = New Approach

After a semester of low attendance in our Good Samaritan Babies class, we have upped our outreach efforts with a particular focus on some of the organizations nearby.  I visited the Bryant School food bank one Tuesday morning with some of our leftover inventory books to pass out to families, together with a flyer and a personal invitation to our Tuesday classes later in the morning.

Our communal "Reading Tree" in 2012

In the Tenderloin, with the varied ages and higher numbers in attendance, I have shifted the focus away from project making and instead now have a book table where kids can come and read, and put a leaf on their own tree, which I bring with me each week.  During circle time, I congratulate the children, with a round of applause from all the families, who have come to read on their own, with me, or with their adult.  This has really helped to get the kids reading and cut down on the chaos on the project offering when there are so many kids that want to participate.  It gives me more time to model reading, and to ask children to tell the story back to me when they are ready to read the same book a second time, partially motivated by the extra leaf they will get to put on their "Reading Tree" when they are done.

Individual "Reading Trees" for 2013

-Dawn Noelle