Posted in Be a PhD, Headlines, Literacy

Read Read Read to your kids!

I brought home a book from my office that we haven’t read with the kids before (The Mitten by Jan Brett). I told Miss H that we would read it after breakfast. She asked to hold it and said “Mommy I’m going to read it first.” She then sat down on the floor in front of her little brother in the bouncy seat and began to “read” the book to him. And what a story it was! It was a story of animals and snow and some made up words in between. Mr. M watched and listened intently, and added his own “words” when he felt it was necessary. They created their own “Shared Book Experience” all on their own. Continue reading “Read Read Read to your kids!”

Posted in Be a PhD, Headlines, Letter and Word Recognition, Literacy, Oral Language, Parenting, Preschooler, Toddler

Linking Children’s Literature with Cooking

Children’s literature is an obvious part of early childhood classrooms. Children learn about and come to understand the world through their experiences with fictional and nonfictional stories. Cooking is another part of early childhood classrooms that I feel should be just as obvious. The skills that children learn when participating in a cooking experience are too many to list: Math, Science, Literacy, Social/Emotional…and on and on. Continue reading “Linking Children’s Literature with Cooking”

Posted in Blog, Literacy, Teaching Strategies

The Value of Book Talks and Author Studies

Book Talks and Author Studies are wonderful ways to explore and learn about children’s literature. I highly recommend doing them with the children you teach. They are also excellent additions to teacher education classes. I started doing these activities with my undergraduate students for two reasons:

1. I wanted my students to discover as many children’s books as possible and learn about different authors and genres of books.

2. I had done both with children in the past and found them so enjoyable, that I thought young adults should have some fun too.

Continue reading “The Value of Book Talks and Author Studies”

Posted in Quick Tips

The First Day of School

Starting Kindergarten is an exciting (and scary) time for parents and children. Here is a great book to read to your child if s/he is heading to Kindergarten this year. It will give them an idea of what to expect when they enter the classroom:

This book can be read before the first day of school in preschool or Kindergarten – it reminds children that their parents are always with them as they go out and explore the world of school: