Grandma, it's not a J. It doesn't have a Hat

 “Grandma, it’s not a J.  It doesn’t have a hat.”

Dear Reader, I am obsessed with the question: How do kids learn that squiggly lines can be like talking?

It seems to me that the research folks don’t have all the answers on this question.  So I like to imagine that if I watch kids enough, all will be revealed and I will know how to help all my short friends figure out this puzzle.

So ,let me tell you how Jayden, four and one half years old, got me thinking about the really big ticket items that go behind, through and around the acquisition of Concepts of Print.

One morning when Jayden and I were mucking out the horse stalls in the Big Barn I asked him what he wanted to be when he gets big. 

 He told me that he wants to be Jayden when he gets big.  

 I rephrase the question.

He pauses and ponders, then announces,

“Oh, well Grandma, when I get big I want to be a barner, just like you.” He followed this up with, “Look Grandma.  Look how army I am. I can lift the wheelbarrow.”

I mention this to you, Dear Reader, because I can’t help think that Jayden has made some remarkable conclusions about how language works. It also made me wonder if Jayden’s acumen for generating rules is driving his schema around how print works. This question came to me because I couldn't help but notice that Jayden had developed some very fierce and strong opinions about what makes the letter J a real J and not a fake J.

Here is what happened. One  morning we decide we will have some peaches and Cheerios. We are looking at the Jumbo size Cheerios box and I point to the word JUMBO that is placed vertically vs. horizontally. 

“Jayden, I bet you can read this word on the box.  Look, Jumbo has your letter J.”

“Grandma, I can’t read and that is NOT a J.  It doesn’t have a hat and it is too fat.

I tell him that sometimes J doesn’t have a hat and sometimes it is skinny.

 “No, Grandma, he has to have a hat and that J is too fat and it’s yellow and it is too big.  It is not J.  Teacher Gail knows. She is the teacher. You just have to practice more and you will know J.”

Later that morning, we make cookies together. We are getting ready to break the eggs. (Arguably the second best part about making cookies together.)  I point to the egg carton.

“Oh look Jayden, There’s the word egg!  Remember the ODD EGG story? (Emily Gavett) That was the first word you ever read.”

“Grandma,that is NOT the egg word. That egg word is too little. It’s easy when you know it. Do you want me to go and get the ODD EGG book?”

Hmm… could it be important to understand that our shorter friends pay attention to the shape, size, colour, and font of each letter they encounter?”

If this is the case, my early educator friends might want to give the ankle biters heaps of play based experiences interacting with letters in the hope that they will come to a more generous approach regarding the letter idea. 

Here are just a few of the things I have been trying with Jayden.

Lesson intention:  J sometimes chooses to forget his hat, but he still is J.

Since it is summer and since I am a grandma and can get away with a lot of questionable nutrition breaks, we end up at the Dairy Queen.   We both agree a dip cone would be tasty. I casually point to the DQ sign. We get up close and personal to the DQ sign and try and guess how big it is. (185 feet according to Jayden) We have a nice conversation about the colour and shape of said sign.  Then we will go inside and guess how big the DQ letters on the menu board are. (185 feet according to Jayden)  We order two medium cones to go. I stuff a wad of DQ napkins into my purse so we can cut up the

DQ letters when we get home. (And because it is stinking hot and the ice cream is dripping all over the truck.) 

Ditto experience for an all too frequent visit (according to Mom not grandma) to Timmy’s.  We cut up the “Tin Bits” carton as soon as we get home. (Double Chocolate and Cherry are our favorites) Despite lots of sugar highs, he still isn’t all that convinced.

Attributes like, colour size and font continue to get in the letter recognition mind set for Jayden.  I just keep on trying and hey, it is a small price to pay for literacy research.

 A few days later, we spend some time making a “Name Bubble” for the wolf stuffy Teacher Gail lets him bring to school one day a week. You guessed it-his name is Wolfy.

Wolfy Wolfy  Wolfy          Wolfy      wolfy    wolfy    Wolfy  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We make it big, we make it small, but Wolfy is always Wolfy even if he is tall.”

Since everything is a story in Jayden’s life, we are making up crazy Alphabet stories for each letter. The more drama the better! I will blog you our collection when we get them all made up.  But here is one of our first.

S says “I like to stay close to these rocks when it is sunny. It helps me feel ssssso warm and cozy “SSSSSo make me curve around these rocks.  Did you know I am a good hissssser, Watch, this is how I say hello: SSSS SSSSSSo how are you today? Did you notice my baby looks just like me but she is smaller?”

I have a bunch of rocks and we make the snake stuffy curl around them forming the S letter. Then I draw several rocks and we draw our snake.  We make him big, we make him small.  We make him black, we make him tall.

The egg is an egg-sideways or upside down. But try turning a W upside down and it results in just plain chaos and heartache. This is the general gist of my lesson intention but damn that kid is stubborn.  He just keeps telling me to talk to teacher Gail…”she knows everything about letters-and J can’t forget his hat!

Now back to my conclusion that I have a lot of evidence Jayden is a real hot shot at generating rules that dictate how words work.  I think this strength of his could be at the bottom of his J is a J only if he has his hat.  Figuring out how letters work requires the same dedication to noticing a trend and generating rules.  Don’t you think it is amazing that so much brain power goes into even the simplest Concept of Print? I think it is just a remarkable achievement!

We are always on the hunt for letters. Brenda Boreham’s  “Shapes “ book from the Strong Readers set got us started on trying to find shapes that are hiding outside and in the house. “The Alphabet City” book by Stephen T. Johnson, bumped things up.  I can't say enough about Lisa Campbell's "Lost Letters" because it generated a fun time making play dough letters and hiding them all over the place.  Daily “Search for Letters” has us connecting real items with their hidden shapes or letters. (Try it–it’s fun!)

I will let you know if Jayden modifies his rule that J is not a J if he forgets his hat.  Ari just announced that A belongs to her and her alone.  Hmm... Ari is three.  Is she letting me know that a big part of print awareness is "owning" your letter?  Perhaps this is how they create an attachment for such an abstract concept ...the squiggly black line everyone calls A...Maybe this is why creating fun play activities around the very young's first letter in their name is so powerful.

We are off to Dairy Queen for a dip cone.

In friendship,

Donna Klockars

aka The Book Lady

P.S.  Dear Reader, don’t forget to let me know your thoughts about kids and concepts of print.  Will you be my learning partner for my inquiry about concepts of print?  (My grandkids and the kids at the day care and I are learning partners, but they don't seem to want to talk about phonemes and morphological markers like you and I do.)

Why the “Concepts of Print” List needs an Update

 Hello Dear Reader,

Just had some thoughts as to why some children's books are so damn clever.  Some writers just seem to understand exactly how kids think and process life. When we join in the book talk we have a window into their brilliant young minds.

 

Ari, at 2 years of age, tells Mem Fox that she got it wrong when she called a new horse a foal... "That not a foal, that a baby horse"

I might have mentioned to you, Dear Reader, that I do a lot of thinking about how the very young make sense of black squiggly lines.  The “Reading Experts” have made a list these early accomplishments in literacy,aka, Concepts of or About Print.

I often match what I see and hear from my grandkids with this (pedestrian) list and as a result of my keen observations, I am here to announce the list is thin and watery. There is no meat to it-no bones-no depth and very little insight into what is really going on when kids, the author and the reader engage in story. 

Well, that is in my opinion and I am sticking with it,  Here is why.

It is because the really big ticket items are nowhere to be seen on that list! The concepts of print folks need to review their checklist!

Ari,at two,  and Grandma read    

                           "So the mouse ran through the book.

                           the mouse ran through the book.

                           He ran onto the next page 

                           to take a little look"

She pokes her fingers through the hole pictured on the page and turns the page.  The very last page reads:

                           And when he got to ten.

                           And when he got to ten.

                           He turned around the other way

                           and ran right back again.

This worked very nicely for Ari, because it meant we kept reading the story a hundred times!

Here are just a few of the major “Ari Literacy Milestones” that I frequently observed when she  was just two and one half years of age:

·       Knows book reading time feels cozy and safe 

·       Knows book  time means talking time, and we  take turns talking about the things that the book makes us both remember and think about

·       knows she can talk back to the book person (the writer) and let her know she has made mistakes (I think Mem Fox can take Ari’s negative comments and still hold her head high)

·       knows the pictures are there for her reading pleasure.  She can jump into the pictures and be part of the landscape and part of the story

·       knows  when we read again…most of the text stays the same, but new things pop up for discussion each time we read together and this is a fun thing

     

              she can “lead” the book talk and make demands on the author, and talking  back to the authour is perfectly reasonable                    

    knows she can connect each and every page with her own experiences      

·   knows she can connects the present read with other picture books she loves

·          knows        she has the right to challenge the text

·       she gets that “story” has an important purpose; it has playful language, it is like music because there is a beat, and for some reason, she can predict many of the words or sentences.

Ari,  is already part of the reading community at two years of age! I tell her she is “cooking with gas!” 

The flame is created by the emotional sparking that happens between the covers of the book. She reveals her understanding that the story is a dynamic, fluid event involving, the writer person, the person she loves who is reading with her, and herself.  She announces her own belief in herself as a real smarty pants who knows a lot about what is going on in this world.  

Alexander Day's "Good Dog Carl"  doesn't even need words.  (If I comment that the writer forgot to put the words in, she simply fills in for the job and "writes/tells" the story.  I am always amazed that this picture brings about such strong emotions. Oddly, it seems to bring up great concern...  Oh, Oh, Carl is in BIG trouble now!

Children’s authours who talk to their readers reveal that even very young readers “get” that the author is a vital part of the book conversation.

Now this book by Mo Willems is BRILLIANT!  Even kids three and four get that the writer guy is an important and powerful player in the play/story interaction.  When the writer guy (Willems) gets the readers (Jayden, Ethan and Ari) to say the word banana...well it just cracks us all up.  The power behind the writer guy is fully understood.  Also revealed: that a story has a beginning and an end and this is also hilarious, because ... it just is hilarious.

Now this book has the writer guy talking directly to the readers.

(I have never seen Mo show himself so openly but he looks good in a bathrobe...anyway) He asks for some help here.... from his readers and from then on, the kids, the writer and Pigeon have a lot to talk about.

The familiar tone that Mo infers through his pictures and phrases such as "Maybe YOU need a bath" is performed with perfect inflection and body moves.

So back to the talk I think we should have with the Concepts of Print of experts... 

Very young young children  make inferences!  In fact most of reading is just one big inferential walk in the park.  

eg: You say something, I infer that I know ALL that you are saying without you really needing to even say all of it)

This book totally nails down my observation that kids read the visuals as text.  With very little prompting the readers perform each page with  style and grace, perfectly matching each inferred emotion.

This book by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe is one of many that talk directly to the reader and make the book experience active and unpredictable. (Just like in real life or in play)

The Crayon Box, This Story Starts Here, by Caroline Merola and the Spiederwick Chronicles by Tony De Terlizza and Holly Black are just a few of the clever and sophisticated texts that reveal that they respect  their  knowledgeable readers for the intelligent beings that they are. 

All we need to do is Read Three Stories a Day-It is the BEST WAY to fully engage kids in meaningful literacy/language experiences.  All learning is SOCIAL and all reading is just conversations -TALK and PLAY wrapped up in black squiggly lines. So even though the Reading Experts think that kids at five years of age should know that a book has a front and a back, (Ah Duh!) we know they know SO MUCH MORE!!!!

Let me know about your brilliant readers.  I also have collected many books that are "Grandkids  Worthy".  I would be happy to send you a list of my current favourites.

As always,

In friendship,

Donna Klockars,

aka The Literacy Lady 

"Grandma, They're STICKS" -"Yes, and SO MUCH MORE!"

Well Hello Dear Reader,

 

You guessed it, my six year old grandson was not thrilled with the box of "Sticks" I gave him for Christmas.  In fact, that box of "Sticks" sat unopened and untouched well into January.  This changed when one  dark, January night  Dad had to go to hockey and Mom was at work and Grandma was on babysitting duty.

Let's play with the sticks you guys!

 

 

 

 It all started out nice and casual.  Ethan starts building upwards  and soon has designed a building with several floors.  He shows me where the BMX bikes and snowboards are stored in the bottom level.  Ari, is watching Ethan's every move and soon has a put together a garage that complements Ethan's theme. 

 I can't remember the exact moment in time when the high rise structure became a diving platform along with an elaborate staircase and pool (Ari's garage is now moved into position and becomes the pool) but it all made perfect sense to Ari, and Ethan.  Ethan exits the scene briefly  and comes back with two lego figures (they become people). They each had long names and he had them executing  complex dives. After each dive, they  climbed the stairs to flip through the air and into the pool again and again. 

 But wait, Ari, has decided the pool is a paddock and she is off to get her horses.  Soon one horse becomes many and her stable arrives on scene and is attached to the structure.  Ethan, shifts immediately into equestrian facility coordinator and informs Ari, each horse needs it's own paddock. Adjustments are made to the structures. Even though I am an active participant, it occurs to me that as the responsible adult, I am supposed to do something... what was it? Oh yeah, these kids have to get to bed.  Off they go for a wardrobe change. But they return and fall right back into role. 

 

 Ari, shows Ethan exactly where "Athena" (the white horse) has escaped and is running away into town.  Ethan closes the enclosure and then goes out looking for Athena.  "Oh Thank Goodness, Here she is"...(right beside Ari's toy rocking horse that happens to be in the corner of the living room).  They bring her back and all is good back at the stable.  They shut the doors on the stable and I take my cue... "Time for bed."...We are pretty tired out and with good reason. It takes time and thought to put together a really good equestrian facility.

Before, I wrap up with a witty phrase such as "And that is why sticks are SO MUCH MORE", I can't help pontificating. 

 You see, I had just witnessed a remarkable event - Play became Story.  As I  gathered my darlings for  bedtime,  it struck me that  they had created, scripted and illustrated their own story right before my very eyes. It reminded me that play and story are one and the same. 
I had participated in a play/literacy interface!  Yippee!
I think I was a pretty good play partner.  I didn't argue when I was assigned my roles.  I was careful to follow their lead and not direct the play.  And the most important thing... I had fun.

Whenever I see academic language about play actually manifested and revealed through the every day actions of my very own grandkids, I feel privileged and honoured and responsible to sing out praises to the  academics who write important documents such as " BC Ministry of Education's Early Learning Framework (ELF).  I am here to say that they got it right.  It isn't a bunch of fancy babble by talking heads...it is good work and worthy of every citizen's careful examination. 


I invite you to download the BC Ministry Early Learning Framework and put it into action every day that you interact with young learners.  The foundation principles are solid and I would be over the moon if you would share your observations, your experiences and reflections  as you put the ELF talk about Playing to Learn into action.

Until we blog again,
I remain in friendship,
Donna Klockars
The Literacy Lady

Why Story is Play and Play is Story...Trust me, this makes perfect sense!

Dear Reader,  I know I left off with a casual and whimsical statement that I was going to go and play with the kids (three grandkids ages 3-6) and then reflect and pontificate on the power of play.

And we did play.  All day - We played indoors and out.  We were cats.  We were dogs.  We were moms, dads and babies.  We made a snow fort and had a battle.  We created a snow cave-space beside a rocky area that only very skinny short people could crawl into and it was dark and very scary..so we got a flashlight.  Then it was New Year's Eve and we walked and tobogganed to the village holding glow lights.  Mount Washington Ski Resort put on a massive fireworks display.  The fireworks were  so close to us that Jayden felt obligated to push the sparks back thus protecting his three year old cousin, Ari. 
But when we got home (what a day-what a night!) and settled into story-time...that is when I observed brilliance beyond my wildest dream.  I witnessed the play-literacy interface...The book and the kids merged into a play-based conversation. And because we had a conversation we were connected and we understood each other and we uncovered big ideas together and laughed, learned  and loved each other.

This is what I  saw.  Blue is grandma reading the words or prompting   Red is kids talking   Green is Translation or Revealed Schema or Zone of Proximal Development Defined

 

                  Mo Willems  That is NOT  a Good Idea

 

COVER

 

We read the cover picture.  We make a habit of pretending we are really in the picture

I say "Oh my Fox is giving duck a flower."
                           
Kids notice insincere grin and incongruence over Fox being nice to Duck

Kids say "Don't take it...Look at that grin...He's up to trouble!"

I say "What are the chicks shouting to their mother?"

Kids say "No    Don't  take it"

I point to the words on the page and we all say This is NOT a good idea really loud.

Next Scene-

Fox has dumb grin and tips his hat toward Duck.  Body language says he is trying to be ever so polite...Duck casually takes note...

I read "Excuse me.  Would you care to go for a stroll?"

Ethan acts out these words with same hat sweeping gesture.  Ari pretends to be Duck and puts her hands to her face and mines "Who me? You talkin to me??   bats her eyelashes, (she is three.)

 Kids know how to read body language and how it contributes to the conversation.  They are making all sorts of inferences here but I won't get too excited about that yet!

Next Scene

Fox makes direct eye contact with duck. This is represented by a eye-ball to eyeball dotted line .Kids know that this means real talking time.  No distractions...they are connected via eye contact. Rule # 1 for conversation.-.make eye contact

I say "What luck!         Dinner! "         (These words are spread across two pages.) 

Kids say "What luck mmmmmm (lick their lips) Yummy dinner (slobber)"

Kids notice that rabbit and duck are peering out from half-closed blinds as if they know trouble is a- brewing...I sure didn't notice these guys, but they are old friends because the kids  know all of Mo's books and recognize his drawings instantly.  I didn't notice this, but that is not unusual.  Adults don't seem to pay attention.

Next Scene             

Fox invites Duck to go for a walk in the dark woods.  He has a smile and the words deep and dark are not bolded so I just say them nice and polite. Kids definitely have noted deep dark woods is a scary thing but they know about  staying in character.  (Cool, calm and foxy)

Each time Duck responds to Foxy's invitations with a positive "Sure", or "Sounds like fun.", or "I would love to" and then the  kids chant out the phrases with tone and intonation. 

Meanwhile the chicks are going berserk.  They are doing everything to get across their message

 


That is REALLY REALLY REALLY NOT a good idea!

The kids know that the emotions are high because of their understanding of the DANGER schema they have about fox and duck....but hmm ...the text the  is huge...and they also know that this is Mo's way of being part of the conversation. How do they already know these text features?  And how nice for me I get to keep zooming in on key words like REALLY and NOT... (teaching moment for word recognition but that is SO not the big ticket item here. Ari starts vigorously stabbing at the words REALLY REALLY and NOT to drive the point home.

Next Scenes 

Fox has arrived at his kitchen and Duck seems unnaturally calm to me. 

Kids " Its cooking time.  Ari points to the flame

I say " Would you care to boil some water for soup? 

Kids say "Look she's hungry,  She's licking her lips."

Now we all act dramatic like and say "Certainly...You know I do LUUUV soup so much!"



Now they know this page and start getting loud.  On the other page Mo has more chicks getting in on the chant.  (I didn't notice how many but the kids started counting how many and they noticed one had a shell on his head.)  They are patient with me and help me understand that there are five chikcs now and last time there were only four...so clearly Duck's family is growing as we speak.  This clues me into the thought they know that chicks come out from an egg and the youngest can be differentiated from his older siblings by the egg on his head.  (Life cycle knowledge at three and four?  Is this possible)

Next Scene

Now this page is brilliant.  There is only one word in the dialogue box and of course it is the word "You".  Every aspect of this page is fully understood.  Albeit there was a quiet pause in the room while everything was getting processed.  Then the smiles and the big bravado talk... I knew it all the time... The ingredient is fox.    Look at Duck's face, the determination the "Now I have had enough of you ...you sneaky fox.  You should have never underestimated me. ' (The words "Oh my" nail down that Fox has now grasped the situation.)

 

Last Pages

All Six chicks all are holding spoons and one of the chicks states "Well we did try to warn him".

Kids say " They knew all the time...Now everybody is going to get soup...

OMG! This Mo Willems NAILS IT!  He just took us into a play-literacy interface. The kids were right at or just a tad above their Zone of Proximal Development...in other words they were comfortably within their developmental area where they could celebrate and frolic because it all made sense.

 

Play is learning.  Play is conversation.  Story is play, story is conversation.  The Play/Literacy interface is a perfect platform for learning.

"Feed Me -Love Me -Read to Me"

I think this is a  Mem Fox pearl, but I could be wrong.

Well Dear Reader, I guess I am saying that story is play and I am grateful for the likes of Mo Willem's because his brilliant book gave me a window into the thinking of my grandkids.

Let me know what you think,
In friendship,
Donna Klockars