Our final meeting for the 2014 Spring Session was about Reading. The Association for Library Services to Children recommends that you try to make time every day to Talk, Sing, Play, Write, and Read with your children so that they will be ready to learn how to read in school. These are considered the Five Early Literacy Skills, and the key thing to remember is that they all encourage the development of vocabulary and imagination.
Many parents feel a need to push their kids to learn to read independently, as early as kindergarten or preschool. That is not what early literacy is about. Early literacy is about helping your preschool-aged children to develop a large vocabulary and imagination, so that when they are in school, where they will learn the mechanics of phonics and decoding and pronunciation, their minds will be ready for the work. As long as you are reading to them every day, your child will have all the exposure they need to books and will become a successful independent reader in due time.
Our letter of the day was R:
Our first book was Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr. His bright, bold illustrations are really accessible for babies and toddlers, and you can’t argue with the fact that knowing how to read makes you not only empowered to do anything you want, and it makes you feel great about yourself too.
We also read Read to Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells. It’s a sweet rhyme that explores all the ways you and your child will benefit from reading together for twenty minutes every day!
I also told a story based on a funny book called Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss. I had a little help from some cute stuffed animals and hand puppets. 🙂
We did a tickle that goes like this:
You be the ice cream,
(Shiver/tickle your fingers around child)
And I’ll be the freezer.
(Put your arms around her)
You be the lemon,
(Touch her on the chin, lick your finger and make “sour” face)
And I’ll be the squeezer.
(A nice hug)
You be the hot dog,
(Pretend to take a bite somewhere)
And I’ll be the bun.
(Another hug!)
You be the baby (or child’s name),
And we’ll both have fun!
(End with a tickle)
I hope you all had a fun experience the past couple of months–I know I did! Thank you for being such great participants. It was truly a joy getting to know you and your beautiful babies.
And if you haven’t had the opportunity yet to sign up for our Summer Reading Challenge, the signup is online now! Go to http://pasadenasr.evanced.info and click on Children Summer Reading Challenge 2014. Then click “Sign Me Up” to sign your child up, and afterward you can add members such as yourself, your spouse, or your other children. If you want assistance signing up, we are happy to help you at the Children’s Desk.
I hope to see you at our various programs and events throughout the summer!