Month: February 2017

Toddler Literacy

2 Comments

Last week I discussed literacy in the first year, so today I want to share some information for toddler literacy. In preparing for this class, a lot of my research for toddlers overlapped my baby research information. Many of the same materials we use with babies can also be used with toddlers.

This post is for parents and early childhood educators on literacy in toddler years (from my Facebook class). It includes toddler development information, stages of learning and book suggestions.

get-dressed-max-and-millieYoung Toddlers (12-24 months)

  • Books with children doing familiar things
  • Books about daily routines/customs

Toddlers (2-3 years old)

  • Simple rhyming books that can be memorized
    • Kids this age can say 150-300 words so they can recobig-book-of-colorsgnize those used in rhymes
    • It helps them learn sentence structure and expressing a complete thought
  • Books about counting, shapes, colors, and size

    • Kids this age can distinguish the difference between sizes and colors
    • Foundational skills are developing at this age (numbers and letters)

 

Motor Skillsvery-first-fingertrail-playbook-garden

  • Gross Motor Skills– larger movements
    • Crawling, running, etc.
  • Fine Motor Skills– small movements
    • Using fingers, toes, lips, and tongue
    • These are skills that can be practiced with books

Potty Training

  • Many parents say this is the most stressful part about having a toddler. It’s important to talk to talk to your toddler about going to the bathroom and use books to help him or her get familiar with going potty. potty-training-books

New Siblings

  • Some children have a rough adjustment to welcoming a new sibling. You can help ease the transition by including your toddler in discussing the new baby and by reading books about family.

Special Interests

  • By two years old many children have a special interest. This can be animals, trains, trucks, ballet, etc. Make sure to have plenty of texts to reflect your child’s interests. little-ballerina-dancing-book

Strategies

  • Talk or sing about pictures. This helps with comprehension skills. Some examples include:
    • Who or what is in the picture?
    • What are it/they doing?
    • What color are they? Etc.
  • Show children the words.
    • Point while reading
    • Books with labels
    • Feel free to spell the words out as well
  • Ask Questions.
    • While reading ask comprehension questions that include why, how, and what. Focus on feelings and actions from the story.
    • Encourage your child to ask questions while reading.
  • Let child tell the story.
    • By around 2 ½ or 3, children can memorize a text. Use this to their advantage by letting them “read” stories they memorized so they can embellish and make it their own.
      • This helps with creativity and processing skills.

For more information on toddler books, feel free to follow my Facebook page or check out Usborne Books and More.

 

Literacy in the First Year

3 Comments

I got an idea last week to do Facebook classes for parents on literacy tips for different age groups. My goal is to educate and provide parents with ideas about how to effectively teach their children literacy from birth through childhood. Most of my experience teaching literacy is grades 6-8, but now that Miss Molly has entered the picture, I have been doing a lot of research on infancy literacy.

This post is for parents and early childhood educators on literacy in the first year (from my Facebook class).  It includes infant development information, stages of learning, and book suggestions.

New parents know that reading is important, but many don’t realize that reading to a child from birth is extremely beneficial. I found this great YouTube video from CNN about The Importance of Reading to Babies and used this to get my class started. Some of the highlights from the video include:

*Language, reading and writing skills develop at the same time and go hand in hand.

*Birth-3 years is when 90% of the brain develops

*Language and cognitive outcomes increase when reading to children

*Two biggest benefits of early literacy: the ability to learn and succeed later and strengthens emotional bond with parents

These are great ideas to keep in mind during a little one’s first year.

Literacy During Pregnancy:

*Talk to baby, play music, read to belly

*Create a baby library with a variety of texts (NB-preschool)

*Create a literate environment

-Warm and inviting (colors, pictures, etc.)

-Music (CD player, iPod)

-Texts around the house (magazines, books)

*Usborne has a fabulous Home Library Starter Collection that is perfect for a new baby!

home-library-starter-collection

Newborn-3 Months

*Baby senses are developing, especially sight and sound, so it’s importacloth-baby-booksnt to nurture with literacy
-Sing to baby

-Talk to baby

-Read books with pictures and little to no text on the page

3-6 Months

*Babies start to sit with assistance (makes reading to them so much easier), start to reach and hold objects very-first-playbook(which makes reading more interactive)

-Allow your baby to hold books, help turn pages, etc.

-Use books with common objects

–helps them get familiar with objects and language development

 

6-12 Months

*Babies are more independentvery-first-bus-book

-Let them “play” with books (mix among toys)

-If he/she brings you a book read it to them.

-Have he/she help during reading time (hold book, turn pages)

Tips for All Ages

*Read every day!

-Set reading time (part of bedtime routine)

-On the go reading (doctor’s office, parties, etc.)

*You don’t have to finish the book every time!

*Make the story come alive!

-Use voices, different tones, etc.

For more book options click here.

 

Damaged Goods Book Review

Leave a comment

I have always been a huge reader, especially with young adult literature. Over the last few years I have followed The YA Gal (Jennifer Bardsley) on Facebook. I always find her posts honest, which is one of the reasons why I like her. She just released her new book, Damaged Goods, a few weeks ago and sent free copies to those interested in writing a review. I totally took advantage of this opportunity and want to share my thoughts about her book. Damaged Goods is a sequel.

damaged-goods

This post is for teachers of middle and high school and parents.

This is from my review on Amazon:

I’m an avid reader of young adult literature and a teacher, so it can take a lot to impress me with a new book. I found Damaged Goods to be an interesting futuristic read that really makes the reader reflect on current trends in society. I read the book in two sittings because it was that good I had to read past my bedtime.
The plot was not as predictable as I thought it would be. It jumps right into the story and the plot moves along at a steady speed. There were a couple of twists that really accelerated the plot in the right parts, especially towards the end, that felt very natural. I loved the theme of social media and how it can change society, which is something we don’t always think about. The extremes that Bardsley went to were risky, but worked in her favor and got her message across clearly.
I really enjoyed the character of Blanca in this novel because of her realness. Her emotions and reactions to the events are realistic and relatable to girls of all ages. She’s a strong young woman, but is still very vulnerable.
Overall, I would recommend Damaged Goods to any lover of young adult literature. The plot is great and the characters are relatable and likable. I can’t wait to read more about Blanca and the next chapter of her life.

For Teachers:

*This book would be a fabulous literature circle option for science fiction for grades 7-12. It falls under themes such as: futuristic, good vs. evil, friendship, and technology.

For Parents:

This book is great for a child:

* reading at a seventh grade reading level and up

*with an interest in science fiction and social media

*who likes books such as The Uglies and Divergent

 

Touchy-Feely and Sight Words in One Book

1 Comment

Having a child can be expensive, so when I see a product that can grow with my daughter I get excited. I’m very picky with choosing books for Molly because I want texts that she can use for years instead of a month or two.

As a new mom, I do a lot of research on how to give my baby a strong start and the most popular suggestion is reading to your child (see previous post for more ideas on this). However, I’ve noticed that as Molly gets older she sometimes needs a little more stimulation, so we have introduced touchy-feely books in our house.

Molly is constantly drawn to bright colors and lights, so I want to read books that are visually appealithats-not-myng to her. She is also starting to grab things more, and we are working on introducing her to new textures. Usborne’s That’s Not My collection is perfect for Miss Molly because of the bright colors, cute themes, and touchy-feely pages. These books are perfect for me because they can be used now and also when she is in preschool and kindergarten.

This post is for parents on how to use the That’s Not My collection at home to engage your young reader.

When I purchased my mini consultant kit in January it came with the That’s Not My Dinosaur book, which is adorable for a little boy. As a girly girl myself, I had to get Molly one of these books that was geared towards a baby girl. I was debating between the Princess and Dolly and decided to go with Dolly this time around (I’m planning to get the Princess and Mermaid soon).

The physical construction of these books is incredible. As with many baby books this one is a board book, but it’s extremely lightweight with thicker pages than other baby books. Molly has seen me hold a book and turn pages for a few months now, but this was the first book she wanted/was able to grab by herself. She was able to lift the book on her own and hold the pages with her four-month-old hands. molly-reading-thats-not-my

The pictures are large and use contrasting colors for little eyes to see everything clearly. Each page has different color schemes, which helps keep Molly engaged longer. The touchy-feely components match the main idea of the page. For instance, the page Molly is on says, “That’s not my dolly. Her hat is too soft.” The touch and feel aspect on this page is the doll’s hat.

One of my favorite things about this collection is how they can also be used with early readers. These books are perfect for helping little ones with sight words and learning to read. Each page has a handful of sight words (to see the Dolch list click here) and is made up of simple, concise sentences that are manageable for young readers.

Some suggestions for using That’s Not My with preschool/kindergarten kids:

*Use them frequently. They are small and light enough to throw in a bag to use while you’re out and about, or read one a day as an activity. They are definitely a quick read, which is all you need sometimes.

*Show off! Kids love to show friends and family when they can do something new. Have your child readthats-not-my-monkey the book (or have them help you) to people the child feels comfortable with. This will not only boost their confidence, but also give them the additional practice.

*Relate the theme to daily life. If you’re taking a trip to the zoo, get your child excited by reading books like That’s Not My Monkey or That’s Not My Lion. There are so many different options so this is quite easy to do, especially if you use them seasonally.

These little books are portable, durable, and adorable. I love how they can be used from infancy all the way through kindergarten. For more information visit my store.