THIS IS HOW YOU TEACH YOUR ANIMAL STUFFIE HOW TO READ

Greetings to All

It  started because I have a Mouse friend who really likes books.  He is always getting me to find him "Just Right Books".  This  mouse is enthusiastic about reading. He has all his forest friends joining him for story hours, book clubs and book exchanges.  It is really quite unusual! 

I guess I was getting quite used to my reading mouse, because when he told me that his friends would enjoy getting more one-on- one time with Little Children, it seemed to make sense to me.  

He was of the opinion that Little Children are very good with animals and have the knowledge and kindness needed to help all types of animals to make progress in their reading skills. He also reminded me that Little Children have a good sense of humour and can make reading fun. 

As you may recall, Jayden and Ethan have a welcoming teacher who doesn't seem to mind animals (stuffies) in her classroom. She decided that because it was almost the holidays, the kids could read and teach the animals-as long as it didn't take up too much time!  

That was all I needed to get myself into to gear and match 24 animals with a "Just Right Winter Holiday Book", put both into a nice new zip-lock bag.  I arrived on the last day before the winter break with a book and an animal for each student.


  All I said to the class was that the animals wanted their help to learn to read and to hear some fine winter holiday stories.  I wasn't sure how interested the class would be in this request...I thought if they gave it a go for ten minutes I would be really impressed. Everyone knows, Grade Twos don't have that long of an attention span and they are really just learning to read themselves, so who knows if this is a good idea?  But I had promised my Mouse I would give it a go.



Well I learned that Grade Twos have a very long attention span, they know a lot about reading and they are the best darned teachers I ever met! (And I have met a lot of teachers!)






This is a picture of Jayden's table forty-five  minutes into the session.  Kids have introduced themselves to their animal, given them cuddles, reassured them that they were welcome and loved. They made word lists to help focus on some key words and vocabulary, they reviewed those pesky sight words and always used a gentle encouraging voice.  All this was accomplished without a word of direction from moi! 







They thought of creative ways to engage the reader, made up a "Reader's Response" pages and  wrote follow up stories for their animal to take home with them.   






I noticed the children were able to gently, but firmly, re-direct a distracted  little seal pup. Notice how the little beaver kit is encouraged to keep "eyeballs to print ". 


I have included these pictures to provide  you with evidence  that the animals and the Grade Twos were incredibly focussed and directed.  But what the snaps don't show are the conversations that were taking place between reader and the children.  A particularly artistic illustration sparked long grand conversations that went back and forth.  The children posed interesting open ended questions, such as..."What do you think might happen next?" , or "What does this make you think about...Have you wondered about..?"


OMG! Those Grade Twos didn't even want to go out for recess...they were too busy teaching.  So much for short attention spans! 


Thank you Madame Kim for allowing your class to pass on the Legacy of Literacy to all the animals.  

Enjoy your Winter Celebrations.
Donna, aka the Book Lady, aka Grandma

Ernie the Elf Returns to Brannenbrook

Hello Dear Readers, 
Here is an update on what has been going on at Brannenbrook this December, 2015

Jayden and Ethan have a kind and welcoming teacher this year.  She  doesn’t mind me coming in to her classroom every Tuesday morning to listen to the Grade Two class read. 
 If  all goes well and there is no special field trip, or famous entertainer scheduled for an assembly, Madame Kim lets me test- run my new stories I am writing.   I feel that this is a very good deal because the Grade Two class happens to give me excellent feedback on the Pine Forest Adventures series.
The students in this class already know about Raven’s outrageous behavior because I have been  reading  these stories to them since kindergarten. ( Unfortunately, Raven  has shown minimal  improvement in managing his impulsive behaviours  over the last few years.)

The kids always tell me straight up if the story is funny...or not funny.  This is good feedback for a writer because kid’s are the best ones to ask about things being funny. 

My weekly visits were humming along.  My story time was also well received.  That tricky story , Pine Forest Community, got rave reviews and imagine my surprise when Aramondo figured out the joke at the end of the story.  (That kid is always “on-it”!)

But things changed one  dreary Tuesday morning in December.  I tried out my newest story about Moe the Mouse wanting to have a party so that he could show everyone his new canoe.  I decided that Moe’s canoe had magical powers and could transport both animals and Little Children by land, river or air! I was curious to see if Madam Kim’s students liked the idea of a flying canoe.   The good news is the story was a hit, the bad news was that the story was shorter than I had remembered and so I had extra time to fill before the recess bell.  

Like all experienced teachers, I had a handy bag of books by my side for just such an emergency. 

But this is when things started to go downhill fast! 

The only book in my bag was Mystery Visitor at Brannenbrook.  I have no idea how that book got into my bag because I had not seen it since December 25^th, 2014. 



                   Mystery Visitor at Brannenbrook

                               December, 2014

You might remember that this book has all of the outrageous adventures of Ernie and his horrible elf friends. 

The book brought back memories of chaos and confusion for the twenty days before Christmas Eve, 2014.

The last thing I wanted to do was read this book to the Grade Two class.  What could I do? There was no way out...so I read that first line.

“It wasn’t expected, it wasn’t requested.  No one predicted it.” 

The whole class was completely focused.  They  hardly made a sound until we came to the end of the story.

Then Arabella announced in a confident and bold way that Ernie the Elf who caused so much chaos and daily confusion for twenty days before Christmas was going to be back. And I better get ready for it. 

“NOOOOO!  THAT CAN”T BE TRUE Arabella!”, I wailed.

 I had enough of Ernie’s bad behavior to last me a whole life-time.  He was not going to be back because he was not invited back and that was that, Arabella!

But Arabella was right.  Ernie  did come back.  I knew her prediction was spot on when a huge box mysteriously arrived at my front door.  The return address said something about the North Pole.  The postal code: HO HO HO HO. 

A RED BOOT AND A SKINNY LEG was poking through the wrapping paper. 

Chaos and Madness at Brannenbrook, 2015

     Jayden, Come Over, I Think The Elves are                                Back!

“This isn’t looking good.”, I groaned to myself.

I stuck my head out my front door and yelled

JAYDEN, I THINK YOU HAVE A VISITOR

Scott, Kamala and Baby Brody accompanied Jayden to his Grandma’s house.  (You might recall that we live 29 steps from each other).

We examined the mysterious package for several minutes. Finally, the whole bunch of us, had to admit

Ernie and his friends were BACK!

Scott was the first to point out that the “skinny little shelf rat” owed him a whole lot of shaving cream.  Kamala remembered that Ernie had squished toothpaste all over her bathroom sink and, of course, I had not forgotten how many piles of candy, cookies and licorice were gobbled by those hungry short creatures!

Oh the craziness that those  little elves brought to our lives at Brannenbrook Farm  last year. How will we endure another bout of Elf Madness?

Kamala, Scott, and I decided to make up a bill for Ernie.  It was the right thing to do.  
  

“There has to be consequences for poor decisions, Ernie.”

We wrote out our bill and left it by the big box.  We all hoped (except for Jayden) that Ernie would get the message that he was not exactly welcome.

Our idea was that he would see the bill and pay up, then make his way to somewhere else...anywhere else but Brannenbrook Farm, thank you very much!

If our plan worked, the problem would be solved and peace would return to the farm.

Here is what I woke up to the next morning!

All the chocolate Turtles (my favourite Christmas treat!) and  all the brownies I had made for tomorrow’s dessert were completely devoured.
 And for some strange reason, Ernie and friends got into the dog treats and taste-tested them.

Oh and just to let you know, the elves did not even mention the bill we had so carefully written up.

Instead Ernie left us  a letter advising that the dog treats were less than delicious and we should not leave them for Santa.  GRRRRR!

Things went from bad to worse with each day!  I am showing you the evidence of the nonsense that went on every night at Brannenbrook Farm so that you can understand how difficult things were for all of us at the farm.  (Well, except for Jayden, Ethan and Ari.  They seemed to think Ernie was hilarious.)

Here is what happened on Ernie’s second night of nonsense.

Now I remember from last year that Ernie and his friends liked to pretend that  they are trapeze artists, but I did not give permission for a bunch of elves to go flipping and flying through the air all night long in my living room. 

AND they rearranged the Santa Village display.  It seems Ernie thought Jayden and I had placed the reindeer’s stable in the wrong part of town.  ( I guess he would know better than the two of us  about such matters, but still!!!)

The next night I thought I had heard a lot of zoom, zooming but every time I got up to check things out, everything was quiet and peaceful...until I woke up and saw what the short little trouble makers were up to all night long.  

How had they got their little tiny mitts on those miniature motorcycles?  And the cars and Monster Trucks, the old ambulance car, the tractors and diggers!   Jayden and Ethan had not played with those toys for years. I had no idea elves could search out and rescue discarded toys that were not even stored in my house!

But I would soon find out that this Elf seemed to know where all the good toys were tucked  away.  Like those Lincoln Logs that Ethan got last Christmas.   Ernie remembers everything.  He even remembered that Ethan’s Nana had found the most incredible fire truck at a second hand store in Vancouver and carried it home on the ferry and gave it to Ethan one Christmas when he was only three years old. They had a blast building a cabin and creating a tiny village.

 On the fourth night I thought I heard weird sounds.

The morning we woke up to toilet paper everywhere. This made us  all laugh.  You have to admit that they probably had heaps of fun.

Well the truth is we are getting used to our elf friends.  Maybe they aren’t as troublesome as we thought.  
On Christmas Eve they worked hard to make cookies for Santa.  



The usual four bales of hay went missing, along with a bag of oats. You have to give it to the tiny little creatures...they have the strength of super-man and they always look after Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve. 

This year we didn’t really mind Ernie and his Elf friends visiting.  We  were reminded that there are a lot of fun things to do during the dark December nights.  Old toys can be a lot of fun and it is important to think about  feeding Santa's hungry reindeer on Christmas Eve.

Arabella, you predicted Ernie would be back...You might consider inviting him to your house next Christmas? We could use a break!Oh and I have an idea for the Grade Two class.  How about writing up a report card for Ernie and the Elves.  This might help them improve their manners and be more socially responsible. 
That way, Arabella’s family won’t have a ton of Christmas candy disappear!

Tune in next year, same time and I will let you know how it all goes.

Love and kindness to all from Donna, Jayden, Ethan, Arianna, and Brody 

Moe the Mouse Inspires and Motivates Early Childhood Educators Across Canada

Dear Readers,

You know that warm happy feeling you get when you connect with an old friend?  I was wrapped in that  warm and fuzzy feeling  last month.  Moe the Mouse, asked me to join him and a few of his friends in Tofino B.C., for an education  get -together he was organizing.  

 I gathered my favourite children’s books, my trusted forest animal stuffies, (they all begged to come) and my enthusiasm for the important role that early literacy/language plays in our shorter friend’s lives.

And “Bing Bang Boom”- I was Tofino Bound!

 

When I arrived, I noted that  my good friend, Moe the Mouse, was strategically seated in an obvious place of honour and distinction in the participant’s circle.  Turns out Moe was the Keynote speaker for this event , the VIP, and the primary conference coordinator!  

I knew Moe had made it big in the field of early language development and was pretty busy on the the educator’s speaking circuit, but I had no idea he had accomplished so much in the last few years!  
The conference format was  a kind of “think tank”.   Moe asked his friends from across Canada to  plan -forward thinking,  creative strategies to support his important work with young children.

The circle of participants included early childhood educators from all over Vancouver Island, every one of Moe’s ELFs  (early language facilitators), speech-language therapists, community grants coordinators, behavior experts, his program coordinators, various supporters-aka Moe Champions- like myself, his financial associates along with his “peeps” from B.C. Aboriginal Child Care Society, and  of course, Moe’s, ever present and constant campaigner, his god-mother and my friend, Anne Gardner.

 (I won’t list Moe's  entourage  of forest friends. They  got word of the event and quietly joined the circle when no one was looking.)

Moe and his  friend Lorraine, guided the conversations and collaborative planning tasks over three sun-drenched October days.  The dedicated group hardly took a break... well that is not quite accurate...we  enjoyed  gourmet meals, boat rides and evening strolls on sandy beaches in between work sessions.

The work that was accomplished was recorded on chart paper that wall- papered our meeting room.  New curriculum directions, funding strategies and  renewed commitments around promoting and sustaining all of Moe’s good works, are just a few of the outcomes that came out of this extra-ordinary event.  I met new friends and left inspired and energized. 

I am writing to you, dear readers, to share some of my latest early literacy fun-filled adventures ideas and new stories that were realized as a result of the energy and enthusiasm generated from r the Moe gathering. 

However, before I get to all that,  will you allow me to give you some background information on my good friend Moe, the Mouse? I think it will help explain my enthusiasm and creative energy.  And when you get to know Moe, he might inspire you in your work with our shorter friends.

When I first met Moe the Mouse, back in the early nineties,  he was just a little bit of a young pip-squeak.  He was so small, I didn’t notice him at first.  Anne and I were visiting Joe Martin on Echachis Island, just a short boat ride  from Tofino. 

Joe was  a great person to visit because he was a consummate story-teller.  While Joe was sharing a traditional story about a hummingbird,  I noticed a tiny young mouse hiding under  a pile of cedar bark shavings scattered on the floor.  (Joe  liked to work on his new cedar dug-out  canoe while he shared stories).

This curious little mouse seemed to have a real interest in everything Joe was up to.  I remember first thinking the mouse  was just keen on watching the chips of wood fly from Joe’s adze, as they probably would make great stuffing for a mouse duvet.  (You know how west coast mice love to be cozy and comfy especially when the winter rains start pounding on the carving shed roof. )

But the more I watched, it was obvious this mouse was  was not only listening to Joe’s story, but he was understanding every word!    

Anyway, it wasn’t until much later when a whole group of us from Wikaninnish Island gathered in Joe’s carving shed that I was formally introduced to Moe the Mouse. 

Laterra, Cosy Lawson’s four year old daughter, did the intros.  Apparently Moe and Laterra are best buddies! (This little tiny mouse squeaked with delight every time Laterra looked at him.)

Over the years, Laterra and Moe  were inseparable.  They laughed together, paddled in their  canoe together, and played hide and seek until the sun set on the west coast beach that was their home. 

Anne, and Cosy kept me up to date on Moe’s accomplishments over the years.   

 Moe loved little kids and had heaps of shorter friends.  He blossomed into  a natural born teacher and has friends all across Canada.  He has a way of encouraging even the most reluctant and  shy child  to try new sounds and difficult words.  He is  so gentle and sweet that kids try their hardest because they love him so much.  

Moe is  also  famous as a knowledgeable mouse who knows traditional teachings.   Turns out he had learned all of Joe’s family stories and could tell them almost as well as Joe Martin himself! He was also considered a knowledge keeper of Ojibway traditions-thanks to  Cosy’s  father , Steve Lawson.

So that pretty much brings you up-to-date.  Now I will try and give you a thumb-nail sketch of some of the activities that Moe and I have been up to over the last month.  If you can use the ideas or want more details, just email me  at:  dklockars@shaw.ca.  Oh, and thanks to all the workshop participants for sharing.  Your ideas were a springboard for all sorts of fun times. Just like Moe says  about TEAM work..."Together Everyone Achieves More!”

Moe and Donna are Invited to Quw’atsun Territory to talk about Early Literacy/language Learning

This invitation was certainly timely because Moe and I were  pumped and super- keen to share our enthusiasm with twenty-five early childhood educators.  The group was so happy to see  Moe the Mouse, as they were already devoted fans.   Even though I wasn’t the star attraction, the teachers were receptive to my ideas   

I have squished the agenda so it won’t take up too much room. You might be able to use some of the activities in your territory. 

Acknowledge the Quw’utsun Mustimuxw and Territory

Introductions-Including Moe

The Big Learning Intentions for Today (Moe will help me with introducing the Three Strands we use to Weave the Literacy Blanket )

The Nurturing and Sustaining the Literacy Relationship Strand: 

The Nurturing and Sustaining Understandings about how Books Work 

The Nurturing and Sustaining the Love for Reading 

You are ready to create a Literacy Blanket for the little people you care about 

Weavers Need to Know What the Very Young like to uncover in their books, and what makes a good book “Just right”

Our Elders Gifts Seagull Steals the Sun    Mabel Mitchell, Ellen White   Donna shows her Theme bin for Seagull.  It is all about Play and Responding to story in a playful way.

Books can help with understanding feelings and frustrations  

Rhymes and Songs are Fun and so is the Drum .

Moe likes it when his Caring Adult Friends use the Medicine Wheel to Plan Going Out to the Land  Donna explains that Moe likes to go out on the Land  (Physical ) :Let’s brainstorm with our language leaders how we can bring shared teachings and vocabulary to our Outdoor School time.  Make up songs about going to the river, collecting shells for Moe’s Blanket, Moe helping  Grandma pull cedar or gather soap berries, camus, or moss for his house........Our Going out on the Land Learning Story can be recorded on a phone and then made into a mini-book for Moe.

Reflecting on our Learning  Do we have the three strands we need to weave the Literacy Blanket  now in our basket? Can we do Moe Math?  Did we hear three stories today?, Did we have lots of talking time together? 3000 words....Did we look at lots of cool books that might be just right for your little people friends? 1000X5 Books before K makes us READ ready.

Uy... then Hay ce:p ‘qa au siem and s’ulxwe:n and nah si:yey’u     Heyweulth

Uy yatul ct ‘I’ cic uwatul ct           (Treat each other well as we work together)

Moe is very excited to be joining the staff at the Quw'utsun Centre in February for a Moe the Mouse refresher course.



Here is a picture of one of my friend at the Aboriginal School in Nanaimo.  When I explained how Moe is "crazy" for books and has a special burrow just for his books, my friend  decided to write a tiny book for Moe.  The whole class got into filling Moe's Book Burrow.  WOW!  Moe you really are lucky to get all those tiny books.  Will you share?  Have you ever thought of starting a Moe, the Mouse lending library.  A library would  help make Pine Forest a strong community.   

Moe is a great travelling partner.  I take him with me every time I go to play with my shorter friends.  Two year old Jack, adores Moe, and even though he has a hard time getting out what he wants to say, Moe always listens carefully.  They have fun practicing all the  animal sounds together and play with dump trucks and front-end loaders. (When I watch Moe and Jack play I am reminded that  Moe is a natural when it comes to digging and moving dirt.)

Well, dear reader, I have babbled on far too long.  Perhaps you will check in later and find out more of our latest and greatest visits.  Moe, is a big hit, even with the primary kids at the Ecole Hammond Bay!.  But I will save those stories for a later date.

In friendship,

Moe and Donna

P.S.  If you have not met Moe or would like to learn more about his work just contact the B.C. Aboriginal Child Care Society or email Anne Gardner annegardner@shaw.ca.  

Go out and Play

Mummy  Don’t Text!   Unplug and Play.  Three Stories a Day, That is the Way!

Young children don’t need screen time... they need you time.  They don’t need lengthy teacher directed circle time...they need play time, indoors and out. Our kids don’t need us to buy the latest electronic gadgets or learning programs...They need us to take the culture of play seriously.  They need us to pay attention to their play and support their right to play. Our kids need us to provide fun, playful “book times” where we talk together as we share “just right” stories.

 Supporting children’s play is more active than saying you believe play is important.  If you are seriously acknowledging the importance of the culture of play you need to be present, focused, ready to make relevant contributions,  and aware of how to enhance the play without interrupting the flow or direction. 

Mummy and Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Uncle, Family Friend, Educator, there are multiple roles for all of you to play.  You don’t have time to look at your screens because at any given point during the play, you may be called upon to be the indirect or direct stage manager, prop creator, or plot energizer.  You, and only you, can be the co-playmate who skillfully manages to extend and contribute to a higher level of complex play episodes.  Only you know the wonderful pieces of background knowledge that naturally fit the dialogue. 

It is because of your attention and your observations that you extend the turns taken during the conversations that come up.  Only a caring adult has the drive and motivation to bring out the best interactive play sessions. 

You don’t become a skilled responsive play watcher, by toe-dipping .  No, this “supporting  play” is not for the faint of heart.  You need to be “in the moment”, engaged in the plot of the play and ready and confident in your ability to “follow the child’s lead”.  You must be ready to play with children on their terms. 

 This might mean sliding down the slide or wearing a weird outfit. It might mean making a big fat mess, or letting it get noisy.  You have to acknowledge the importance of outdoor play and the child’s right to connect with natural landscapes. You might have to crawl over a log or help build a fort. This means that you work on the wonderful skill of “following your child’s lead” when reading and playing together. 

It is not about reading the exact words on the page, or using a toy in a certain way-it is about talking and playing together!  That is how kids learn!

Let’s all get and stay passionate about early literacy and early language. Let’s dive in and read the research findings that link symbolic play and literacy development for the young child.


Creating daily opportunities for rich symbolic play has a powerful role to play in literacy development.  Tell kids that they are story makers when they pretend play and pretend read.  Share with parents your understanding that when children engage in pretend play they are using the same representational thinking needed in literacy learning. They are creating complicated story-lines, trying out new roles and ways of speaking.  Let them know that they are just like the people that make books. Books are just talking stories squished into a book.

This is how young children get a handle on the big ideas behind print.  They actively construct new understandings and create their own understandings about how everything works.

 Let’s create environments for our shorter friends that embrace the statement: Children’s play is the foundation for later reading and academic success.

When a caring adults takes the time to talk, play and read with very young children; they wrap them in their own Literacy Blanket.

This Literacy Blanket is the best gift any child could receive!

 So, maybe we could write a song....“Mummy don’t text. Unplug and  Play”!  Three stories a day “that’s the way!

Or write a poem..

No matter the season, no matter the day,

Our Mother always tells us,

“Go out and play.”

And even though we like to play in the sun,

Every time we play outside, we always have fun!

Always in friendship,

Donna

Go Out and Play  Written by Donna Klockars  Illustrated by Bill Helin, Published by Strong Nations Nanaimo, B.C.

(Donna Klockars) 2015 Weaving the Literacy Blanket: Caring Adults Pass on the Legacy of Literacy.

(Roskos, K.A.,&Christie, J.F.(Eds.).2000 Play and Literacy in Early Childhood:Research from Multiple Perpectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.)

Very Young Readers Teach Me About How Books Work

Very Young Readers Teach Me What is Important to Know about Reading

 

Well, what can I say, Dear Reader?  I have thought about it, and I have thought about it some more, and I have come to the conclusion that the academic types have a rather drab, token, uninspired, mechanical, and bland-as milk-toast description of the concepts young children usually master before they begin formal reading.   This list is supposed to summarize the events that take place along a very young child’s early-literacy journey. (The journey that has them arrive at the understanding that squiggly black lines splashed on paper or signs reveals meaningful ideas, stories, and messages.)

 I am here to announce that the present day list, known to educators as the Concepts About Print Checklist, is a series of obvious, and mostly perfunctory literary events. The big ticket items have been completely missed!

Here is a sample from the Concepts About Print list of skills early educators are to dutifully observe.

 

Knows a book is right side up

knows a book has a front and back,

knows the book should be right side up     (really?),

knows there is a title,

        knows words, not pictures, hold the meaning- (FYI, not always.)

The list continues to drone on and is as exciting as this morning’s oatmeal. 

Dear Reader, the worst of it is; it simply misses the opportunity to go ga-ga over the brilliant learning that occurs as our young rug-rats grab and wrestle with the big ticket ideas about “making meaning from black squiggly lines”   –aka reading and writing”.

Rather than complain to the experts (especially when I am not sure  how to contact the experts), I decided to ask my shorter friends to talk to me about all the things they have figured out about how books (print) work.  I told the kids that this would help big people like me understand how reading works. 

I think their nuggets of information on this topic really nail down the key items that are so important in the engaging and joyful journey toward literacy competence.

Will you read what the kids have to say on the subject and let me know what you think?

 

Newly-minted Concepts About Print: As Told to me by my Shorter Friends

HOW BOOKS WORK

• You can ask for a re-play (like a pause on the remote) of a good story at bed time and this will end up keeping the light on and you can get more cuddle and talking time instead of going to sleep.
   
• You can talk back to the people in the book and give them better ideas when they make mistakes. It is also helpful to tell the writer person if they are funny /not funny.
   
• Letters are just like you and me and get their feelings hurt when you don’t know their story and they really want you to say a certain sound when you see it. So now I say “SSS” when I see the S letter because Sammy Snake likes me to do that.
   
   
• Auntie can leave a bunch of blue squigglies on the message board in the barn, and it sounds just like Auntie talking even though she is nowhere to be seen.  (It really happened in our barn; you should come and see it-(the message is still there-she is still talking to me every time I pass the message board. Weird but true!)
   
•  If the egg word is in  “The Odd Egg”  story it is so big it fills the whole page and if it is on the egg carton it is small; and if we are making cookies and the egg word  is in the cookbook it is even smaller but it still says egg!  This is ridiculous but it is just the way it is so you have to get over it.
   
   
• It is really awesome when I see my name. Every time you, or my friends see it -you get to say my name. You can ask me to write my name on my best drawings; and this will make the drawing even better because you will see my name when you look at it and you will think about me.  I like Alexandra’s name because it has so many letters and takes a long time to say it.

 

• If you let my cousin drink milk from my cup that says my name on it- that’s not nice.  He should drink out of his own cup that says his very own name on it. That is why there are letters. All you have to do is look for the J (the J has a hook and a hat on it) and you will know it is my cup.
   
• If you really want a special toy or a new Lego set, you should find the picture in the TOYSRUS flyer; and then cut out the toy with the words that fit the toy; and then give it to someone in your family who will get you this toy because you really, really want it.  The flyer helps the big person remember what you really, really want.  Ask them to put it in their purse or pocket; so they will remember even though you are at kindergarten.
   
   
• Don’t be embarrassed if everyone talks about when you were little, you liked to read tractor flyers because you thought wheels were cool.  I know a lot and I know that you need to tell everyone what you like to read about.  Things change a lot-because now I like to read about Star Wars characters and so I have to keep telling Grandma I don’t have hardly any Star Wars books.  (and this is how I get my family to get me gajillians of books.)
   
   
•  It is cool when you know about dragon flies or,like my cousin, Ari,-she knows about horses.  When you read a lot of books, big people say things like “You are a very smart boy”.

 

• Oh and don’t forget to use big words like nocturnal and stegasaurus and epic when you talk to younger brothers or sisters.  This helps them learn.  It also tells them you  know more than they do
   
• It is kind of fun to look at a book and guess if the writer person has a pattern in her book. This makes it so you can guess what the next page will talk about.  Grandma says I am like a Reader Detective when I search for clues.  One good clue is to listen for rhyming.  This makes reading really easy when you see the writer likes to rhyme things. I think they do it so it sounds like a song.  I like songs.
   
• Have my uncle read Three Billy Goats Gruff to you.  You will be shaking because he makes the Troll really loud and very scary.  You should notice that he always says the same things every time he reads this story but really loud and scarier.  One time he did it wrong and I had to help him. (This story is Not recommended for younger kids like my cousin Ari.)

 

• It’s good to pay attention to where the letters are; because if you are trying to read go and you start making the sounds the wrong direction, it comes out weird.  But if you start to read no the wrong direction it comes out on…but pup stays the same backwards or forwards.  It’s easy if you know the way it works.

 

• If you like to keep track of all the  Monster Trucks you have, you should put down a letter for each part of the truck’s name and you will be able to read the list and keep track of your monster trucks and this means cousins will know which monster trucks belong to me.   MNSTR TUK LIST GRVDIGR is an example for you to read.
   
   
• If you get worried, or if certain things are scary, you just find a book that talks about it; and then you know that other kids have some of the worries you do and you can get ideas about making the trouble less troublesome.  (I don’t like dust bunnies, because they move around and are called bunnies; but they are not really alive; but they still scare me.) We read a book about Scaredy Squirrel who was afraid of EVERYTHING and I don’t know why, but felt better after reading this book.
   
• When you are reading a book and it makes you think of a really FAT (hard) question for Grandma or Grandpa, you just grab it out of the air, put it into your head; and then you can keep it there or write it down and put it into the I Wonder Box  we have on top of the fridge.
   
   
• Oh, I think the most important thing is to pretend you are inside the book when there are awesome pictures.  This helps you know what is important and you can see  what is happening better.  I am a good pretender. Lots of times you will see more than your uncle or mom does when they are reading to you. This is because they forget to be in the picture; and they don’t have as good of eyes as we do. 
   
• Here is something that you can only learn when you are very smart.  When I was reading a little book called Are you Hun  Gry Little Bear?,  Grandma said hungry was just one word.  I helped her say it properly:  Hun    Gry   She kept saying Hungry.  Maybe she will learn it someday.
   
   
   

 

 

You should learn the things we have learned about books.  My Grandma writes books with her friends. She asks us kids to help her because we know when a story is good. We get stuffies out and put them in a big circle and we listen to my Grandma’s new stories.  We tell her if the story is funny or not funny. Sometimes she writes a book that nobody likes so we try and figure out how to make it better.  This is hard work but my Grandma really needs our help, so we don’t mind. Did you know we have a lot of stuffies? (One hundred and eighty-six)  

You can come and see them.

We hope this helps you know how to read.  It’s easy when you know how.

Ari, Jayden, and Ethan

 

 

Well Dear Reader, Let me know if this helped you learn about reading.  I always think it is good to go right to the source.  Asking your favourite shorter friends how they know about how things work is always helpful.

In friendship,

Donna    The Book Lady