What I've Learned From Reading to Preschoolers

As many of us know, the act of teaching often leads to us learning much ourselves. And here's some of what I've learned from all the reading to preschoolers I've done over the past 4 yrs. of Literacy Launchpad.

1. Attitude is everything.

I can make a story time sparkle, or completely kill it, all by the attitude I come into it with.

2. A good story can turn a bad day around instantly.

Crabby kiddo? A sad morning? Story time to the rescue! and this magic is not limited to children.

3. Preparation does not necessarily lead to success; in fact, it sometimes hinders it.

Some of my best lessons have been the ones that felt the most thrown together at the last minute. Seriously! And conversely, many of my most well thought out, perfectly planned lessons have totally flopped. Go figure.

4. Go with it.

Things don't always go as planned. Kids don't always sit as still as you want. Sometimes supplies get left at home. Book discussions go down unexpected bunny trails... These can turn out to be good things. Go with it!

5. Don't worry about what other people think.

Man, if I had a co-teacher in class with me each week, I probably would be too embarrassed to do a lot of the silly things I do during my read alouds: the voices, the dramatic emphasizing, the crazy facial expressions... My story times would be nothing without them. So who cares what other grown-ups might think? The students live for it. It's all about being zany!

6. First impressions don't matter much.

I've had quite a few students start class with me that had me wondering, "Oh lordy, how's this going to work?" But they always end up pleasantly surprising me (there was one rare exception, but it was a parent issue and not a student issue). Often they're the ones that bring so much life to class that I'm distraught when they graduate onto kindergarten.

7. Never give up.

Not with students. Not with a dream for a business... or a cause. Not with a lesson that seems to be going nowhere fast. Never give up.

50 Cents A Cap!

I always love reading Caps for Sale! It's definitely one of my favorites, especially when it comes to a read-aloud. It's always an engaging crowd pleaser. Children are mesmerized by it. It's like magic really. And I think there is a lesson to be learned in that. Because it is the simplest of stories, with simple illustrations. It's a traditional tale, re-told in a book that was published decades ago. There's nothing gimicky, or flashy about it. No rhymes or predictable repeating texts (not that there's anything wrong with that). No familiar characters or borderline offensive humor. It's just a good story. And there's power in that. It's appeal probably lies somewhat in the fact that it's a bit refreshing!

So anyway, we read it and all enjoyed it!

When I asked my students what they would do if monkeys stole their hats (or anything else), most of them responded with violent solutions. Yikes! Where does that come from? Is that just a kids thing, or is this generation just exposed to more of that (violence, that is)? I don't want to sound like a farty, old person here... Were we like that when we were little too?

You can get back to me on that. In the meantime, check out what we did after reading our story:

This Is My Life...

Missed a post last week. Did you notice? If you're wondering why I missed a post, visit here and find out. This has been my life lately. Things will return to "normal" eventually though, I hope. If my missing posts make you sad, click on the donate button on the right here :) This will help "normal" return quicker!

What's Your Favorite Toddler Lit Toy/Activity?

I just realized what a weird question that is as I was typing it. But I do want to know! I touched on what My Little Reader, Isaac, has been up to in a recent post. And I wanted to share a little more about what he is liking these days, as promised.

Isaac has changed a bunch even just from last week. He grabs books and drags them over to us to read. All day he does this! I love it! And I will drop whatever it is I'm doing if he comes to me with a book (and so will his Daddy). And he's probably catching onto this. I think this is a great association for him to form: Mom and Dad will stop whatever they're busy doing to read with me!

There are a few books that we have started doing silly actions with as we read them. He loves this! With Kitty Up he likes to touch the fire on the last page, and I'll pull his hand away and yell, "Ouch! Hot!" He giggles and then does it again... and again... and again. He also likes it when I take his hand and make him pet the dog on the last page. I make a cute little doggy noise as he does this, and he thinks it's great! Also, Ten Little Ladybugs is a current favorite. He likes to stick his finger through the little holes in each page, and have me grab onto them from underneath. This also gets big laughs. None of these silly things seem to distract him from the story though. He still sits and listens to the text (much longer than he had been doing last week) and still turns all the pages with me.

I have introduced a few new books into his listening repertoire this week, and he's warming up to them. He gets attached to his favorites and I'm working to find a good balance between repeating his favorites, and introducing new stuff.

I almost put his fridge phonics magnets away, 'cause it seemed like he wasn't playing with them much, and that very day they suddenly became his favorite toy again. Maybe this kid is learning to read my thoughts... and/or my blog posts. :) It makes me smile to find these magnets scattered all over the kitchen floor again though.

This foam alphabet/number puzzle has become a new favorite. Isaac got it for his birthday a few months ago, but I didn't bust it out till just the other week. I wasn't sure how interested he would really be in it, but he loves it. He loves pulling the pieces out of the box, he loves stamping all over the pieces when I assemble them together, and he loves to pull the letter pieces out and carry them around.

I have to admit, I haven't done a lot of "teaching" with these toys. I'm usually busy washing dishes or folding laundry while he plays. I have lots of guilt about that, and I would like to change that (play with him more that is). And I need to come up with some more cool ideas to add to the learning fun. Looking for suggestions for toddler literacy toys and/or activities. Help out a first time mom out here! What did your kids play with, enjoy, and learn from?

Reading Role Models

Photo by The U.S. Army

We always hear how important it is for children to have reading role models. And when we think of our child's reading role models, we usually think of us, their parents. We should. We are their primary reading role models! But what about all those other reading role models in their life? Or the reading role models that have yet to enter their life?

How big of an impact do you suppose others have on your child's reading journey? I'm guessing a pretty big one. As I look back on my childhood, there are a handful of reading role models I can think of. Unfortunately, I can't say there are many that especially stick out. As you may recall from previous posts, I wasn't a big reader when I was younger. Perhaps this lack of significant reading role models in my childhood was a contributing factor to that.

My parents were readers, but didn't involve us much in their reading. I saw them reading from time to time, but never heard them talk much about what they read, or remember them suggesting books to me (their were a few exceptions to that as I got into my teen years).

I do have an aunt (she lived next door) that was/is a big reader. She did an awesome Grover voice while reading Sesame Street stories when we were little, always had books on tape on during road trips, and read books like A Wrinkle In Time aloud to us.

There were a few others along the way. Librarians, siblings, some friends...

Can reading role models make or break a reading future? As I'm writing this, I'm realizing just how much of a difference having strong reading models makes. So how do we ensure our children have strong reading role models?

- Read yourself! Read around your children. Encourage them to read. Share interesting things you read with them. Recommend good books to them.

- Talk about books with others, especially when your children are around. Ask your friends what they're reading. Ask them what their children are reading. How about creating a book club/play group? The kiddos play and the parents discuss a book!

- Take your child to the library and the bookstore. Buy them books on special occasions and for no reason at all. Show them how much you value reading.

- Meet your local librarian. Ask them for book suggestions. Become their friend! :)

- Encourage others' children to read, not only your own. We need to be role models for many! Ask your children's friends what they're reading. Volunteer to read at your child's school. Host storytime playdates. Be seen reading!

Being a reading role model is easy. Just be intentional (but not forceful) and share your passion!

Who was a reading role model for you?

My Little Reader Update

I haven't posted in a while on what my little guy, Isaac, is reading these days. To be honest, it's because I keep forgetting to take photos of him. But the other day he was being so adorable with his books, and the camera was handy so I was able to snap a few shots.

He's at kind of an awkward (or at least it feels awkward to me) stage when it comes to books and reading. He can't sit still!! I don't think he's sat and listened to an entire story in MONTHS! It's so frustrating, even though I know it's completely normal for his age (14 months).

I'm encouraged by the fact that he is still very much interested in books. He'll pick one up, carry it over to a chair (or couch) and then ask to be lifted up onto the chair (by patting on it) so he can flip through the pages of his book in comfort. :) That's what's going on in the photos above.

Sometimes he'll bring me the book and then back-up into my lap and sit with me while he flips through the pages. He's never still very long though, and so I usually end up reading the rest of the book to him while he walks around and plays.

I don't pressure him. I keep it all laid back and fun, and I think that has helped him continue enjoying books. He still has favorites that he asks for over and over again (Owl Babies has been a favorite for quite some time). It's interesting how his tastes subtly change and evolve though. He develops new favorites, and gets tired of some he used to want to read all the time. I love that! He's just like me!

I have a lot more I would love to tell you about my little reader, but I only have time for a brief post today. I'll try to take more photos of my guy, and tell you more about what he's been up to soon!

And We're Off!

Another school year of Literacy Launchpad began this week! Yay!!

As most of you probably know, I create all my own lessons for Literacy Launchpad. And I'm finally getting to the point where I LOVE just about every one of the lessons in my arsenal. Of course, I still can't stop from reading new books, creating new lessons, and trying new ideas. But being able to go to my closet and have this week's super fun lesson all ready and waiting for me was awesome!

We read a book that always turns out to be a favorite - The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. This is the perfect read to kick-off the year, but sometimes I regret starting the year off with this one, because it sets a high standard, and my students ask about it the entire rest of the year. A good problem to have, I suppose?

The Incredible Book Eating Boy is about Henry, a boy who begins eating books (by mistake) and then discovers that he likes them, and that the more books he eats, the smarter her gets! But all good things must come to an end. Henry begins eating too many books, and all the info he learns gets scrambled in his brain and he suddenly doesn't feel so smart anymore. Then he even gets sick from eating too many books! What's Henry to do? In the end, he decides to read books instead of eating them, and discovers that he can still learn things that way!

I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes my students fall so in love with this book. Perhaps it's the puking part? Whatever it is, it sticks with 'em. And I'm sure I'll be hearing requests for an encore of this one for many months to come!

Check out the photos of the fun we had!