Archive for June, 2009
June 24, 2009 at 3:46 pm
· Filed under early literacy, toddler time, toddlers ·Tagged bugs, early literacy, early literacy skills, I Love Bugs, Spider on the Floor, story time, storytime, vocabulary
Eek! We got buggy with it today at storytime, as we read and sang about bugs. Our early literacy skill of the day was vocabulary.
Songs and fingerplays: (see song page for more information)
storytime song, open shut them, a hunting we will go, creepy crawly caterpillar, spider on the floor, here is the beehive, alphabet song, Simon Says
Activities:
butterfly butterfly
Books:
I Love Bugs
Spider on the Floor
Literacy info to adults:
aside #1: We talked about the early literacy skill vocabulary, which is knowing the specific names for objects and concepts
aside #2: Having a large vocabulary, knowing the names of things, is one of the skills children need when they later learn to sound out words. Books give us different words that those we use in conversation or that are on television, so choose a wide variety of books to read to your child.
aside #3: Prompting children to act out the meaning of words provides them with a fun and active way to learn new words and to practice their vocabulary skills (like pointing out objects and body parts during the reading and singing of Spider on the Floor)
Lane Library book information
I Love Bugs
Spider on the Floor
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June 16, 2009 at 7:09 pm
· Filed under early literacy, fun with..., music reviews, parent stuff, preschoolers, school age kids, toddlers ·Tagged Barenaked Ladies, cd's, Dan Zanes, early literacy, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jim Gill, kids cd's, kids music, music, Peter Paul and Mary, phonological awareness, phonological awareness and singing, Ralph Covert, They Might Be Giants, Zak Morgan
Kids love music. And often they love to sing, move and dance to the music they hear (or even sometimes make themselves!)
Research has proven that listening to and participating with music is beneficial to kids in many ways, especially in the development of language and literacy skills. For example, how did most people likely learn their ABC’s? Almost certainly, we learned them by singing that oh so familiar song. Combining music with information stimulates the brain and makes that information easier to remember.
A child’s instinctive ability to listen and decode a song extends to reading. Just as they have sung along with a familiar song, so they will read along in a familiar book. The sense of rhythm obtained from listening to music will also help young readers to identify patterns, like rhyming words, which will help them learn to read. Because songs automatically break down words into smaller sounds through tones, singing particularly helps to develop the early literacy skill phonological awareness.
While the traditional songs of Raffi and Pete Seeger are almost always a popular choice with kids, there are many wonderful cd’s at Lane that will entertain the whole family. Be sure to check them out!
You Are My Little Bird — Elizabeth Mitchell Lane Library info
Ralph’s Word: Happy Lemons — Ralph Covert Lane Library info
Bloom — Zak Morgan Lane Library info
Jim Gill Makes It Noisy in Boise, Idaho — Jim Gill Lane Library info
No! — They Might Be Giants Lane Library info
Peter, Paul and Mommy — Peter, Paul and Mary Lane Library info
Family Dance — Dan Zanes Lane Library info
Snacktime! — Barenaked Ladies Lane Library info
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June 16, 2009 at 6:35 pm
· Filed under early literacy, storytime, toddler time, toddlers ·Tagged big and little, early literacy, early literacy skills, I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, One Day in the Jungle, phonological awareness, Ralph Covert, story time, storytime, toddlers
Who’s big? Who’s little? We found out today in storytime! Our early literacy skill of the day was phonological awareness.
Songs and fingerplays: (see song page for more information)
storytime song, open shut them, itsy bitsy/great big hairy/teency weency spider, little fish/big fish in the water, songboard, alphabet song, Simon Says
Activities:
look at big and little animal pictures and discuss, big and little names, dance with scarves (dance big to Choo Choo Train, dance small to Take a Little Nap from the cd Ralph’s World, see cd info below)
Books:
One Day in the Jungle
I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
Literacy info to adults:
#1: We talked about the early literacy skill phonological awareness, which is the ability to hear and manipulate the smaller sounds in words
#2: Make up silly words by changing the first sound in a word: milk, nilk, pilk, rilk, filk. It’s OK if the words are nonsense words, you just want to demonstrate how sounds can be manipulated
#3: Play with and help your child hear the syllables in words. For example, say words with a pause between the syllables (rab it) and have your child guess what word you are saying.
Lane Library book and cd information
One Day in the Jungle
I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
Ralph’s World
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June 4, 2009 at 8:42 pm
· Filed under storytime, toddler time ·Tagged A Tree For Me, early literacy, Maisy's Nature Walk, print awareness, skunks, story time, storytime, toddler time, toddlers, Tree Stump, walk in the woods
We went for a walk in the woods today at storytime (without leaving the building, of course). Our early literacy skill of the day was print awareness.
Songs and fingerplays: (see song page for more information)
storytime song, open shut them, who’s hiding in the woods today (used pictures of each animal labeled with the animal’s name), stretch/head shoulders knees and toes, 1 little 2 little…animals (#10 was a skunk!), alphabet song, Wheels on the Bus (songboard song), Simon Says
Activities:
took a walk through the woods (marched to click of sticks, and we found a bear!), alphabet I spy
Books:
Maisy’s Nature Walk
A Tree For Me
Stories:
The Tree Stump (with paperbag tree stump and small stuffed animals as props)
Asides:
#1: We talked about the early literacy skill print awareness, and how children with print awareness know that we read the words on the page and not the pictures, and that those words consist of letters that we read in a specific way on a page (from left to right and top to bottom).
#2: Your child’s print awareness can be encouraged by pointing out and reading words everywhere you see them – on signs, labels, at the grocery store and post office.
#3: You noticed that I ran my finger under the words most often repeated. This helps develop your child’s print awareness, knowing that print has meaning and that it is the words on the page we read and not just the pictures.
Lane Library book information
Maisy’s Nature Walk
A Tree For Me
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