Watching, Listening, Responding, and Pondering those very First Words

Hello Dear Reader,

I recently met and played with a  young friend named Loch, (age 20 months), who made me think hard about the role/importance of those very first utterances.  Here is what happened.
Loch and I took to each other immediately.  He seemed to know that I understood the power of his  pointing finger in conducting deep and meaningful conversations.  So when Loch directed me to lift him up and transport him to the screen door so that we could both enjoy  looking at the dog sleeping on the front porch,  I responded with perfect obedience . With extended pointing finger, Loch announced that the dog was to be called Day-dah, I agreed and repeated Day-dah to see if my effort at identifying the said dog  met with his approval.
Indeed it did.  After some chat time we returned to the carpet to push some trucks and cars around.
It wasn't very long before I was directed back to the screen porch for another meeting with Day-dah.
Off we go.  Loch points emphatically and with enthusiasm clearly articulates " Day-Dah".  We chat, We return for some carpet time. After a very short interval, I was once again directed toward the screen door.  This time, I opened the screen door and Lock sat a few feet in front of the dog and repeated Day-dah many times.  (He wasn't interested in touching the dog.   Pointing and repeating "Day-dah" seemed to be the Big Ticket items of this conversation.)

So how many times did Loch direct me to accompany him to see the dog, look at the dog together and repeat Day-Day?  Over the next two hours...Forty-four times!

When I was looking after Brody, age 15 months the other day, I had a chance to listen in (via baby-monitor) on some babbling and self-talk that was happening as he was waking up from a nap.

Over and over again, I heard Dog uh.  He changed the pitch and volume of the  utterance a couple of times.  I also heard some laughing. Of course, you are right in your prediction that Brody is into dogs in a big way and he spends a lot of time directing me towards the many dogs in his life (including this pull toy favourite) and extending the pointing finger to identify the dog as DOG UH. We have lots of chats about dogs, but it seems to me that Brody is highly motivated to inform and educate me on how to identify dog.                                                                                                                                                   I am now on a mission to watch and listen to the very young's dedication to repetition and practice as they create and modify  the dog concept to their world.  Laying down the dog schema is no easy task and I want to know if this dedication and persistence to repeating the new word/concept is essential or just fun.  I am also curious about the drive to bring me in on the whole labeling event.  It is as if Brody is teaching ME the word. He thinks it is important that I learn the word.

My Brody watching will be filled with counting and recording those very beginning words and concepts.  I think there is some profound learning that is going on and I can't wait to ponder the how and why the very young figure the mechanics and semantics embedded in communicating.  Let me know if you are counting first word attempts and we can chat about what it all means.

As always,
In friendship,
Donna

Thinking and Learning is all about Connections, Connections, Connections!

Hello Friends,

The word connections seems to work its way into every single kid watching moment.

Baby Brody, seems driven  to connect with caring adults.    What and why is this so pervasive, so important, with the very young and how does it fit in with thinking and learning?

I am in awe of the strategies Baby Brody comes up with to ensure that  we (big people) stay connected with his everyday experiences.  He is a master at getting adult's attention while in a social context.   He seems to know all sorts of tricks to keep us focused  and talking together for every increasing spans of time.

Let me give you a few of the things he does.

When he passes me things like his soggy bread for me to taste, he has my undivided attention.   I inspect the gooey mess, return it to him and he generously provides me with more tasty samples to try.    We have a grand conversation about the details.

When Baby Brody hides behind a wall and then quickly pokes his head out into view...he has made a connection!  Of course, I think it is hilarious and so we have a good laugh and repeat the routine a jillion times.  Then we have a grand conversation about how fun this is.

When Baby Brody sees me, he gets a favourite book and gives it to me... He knows this will keep me focused and connected.  We snuggle together and we talk about  tractors and the wheels.   As a result of our snuggle time...we have a grand conversation.

When Baby Brody holds up his short arms and uses his pointing finger to direct my attention to what he has deemed important...DOG... he has once again successfully managed a Grandma and Brody connection...we are now both "all about the dog" and of course we have lots of things to say  about our  dogs...This leads to a grand dog conversation.

When Baby Brody tries Grandpa's mashed potatoes for the first time, he throws back his head and opens his mouth as wide as he can and laughs.  We all agree that this clear statement of approval is  connected to the sheer joy of mashed potatoes.  Everyone gets a chance to give him a spoonful of the buttery, squishy glob,  Each time he responds with "the head back, mouth open wide and great big  laugh" routine. The whole family has a grand conversation with Brody about mashed potatoes.

When Baby Brody finds the ball even though it rolled under the big ottoman and it is completely out of sight, he  throws it at me with a great big grin, we have our connection.  We have a lot to talk about now that the red ball is back in his hands and the throw the ball game can begin again and again and again.  

Connections, Relationships and Learning

The very young thrive when caring adults focus on following baby's lead.  Baby Brody does not learn about the world by himself.  Parents and caring adults do many things to intentionally promote learning and thinking and language growth.  
The most important catalysts that adults  provide are the spontaneous, uncoached, unhurried, untroubled, sensitive interactions with the children they love.

Baby Brody works very hard to make sure we pay attention to him.   He has his ways.  All the big people have to do is notice.

 And when we pay attention, Baby Brody is able to   keep us connected for longer periods of time.
 When we make   connections , we have a lot to talk about.
And that is what and how all learning happens.

I have pontificated on only a tiny portion of what is embodied in this concept of "making connections".  I believe that Baby Brody is banking all these connections and he now thoughtfully uses them to scaffold deep concept development.   But that is for a later discussion.   Brody is pointing to his Dad's Blue Jay baseball cap.  He wants to put it on me and this of course is hilarious.  We are going to have a wonderful conversation about hats.

In friendship,
I am  the Grandma
Donna

World Champion Stevie Smith Motivates and Inspires our Youth. He will be missed!

Dear Readers,

Such tragic news! World Cup winner and local hero from my community of Nanaimo, B.C. died from a motorcycle accident. My deepest sympathy goes out to his mother, Tiann. I taught with Tiann for several years and was witness to her devotion and enormous sense of pride and love she has for her son. Stevie was a sensation and his death at age 26 is on all the news channels.

What I would like to respectfully share today, is my short article that I wrote  about Stevie Smith a few years ago.  I wrote about Stevie because I knew that  Nanaimo  kids would connect with his life and his achievements. My own grandchildren are crazy about BMX racing and mountain biking.  I wanted to promote the idea that when kids are highly motivated to read about something or someone they are interested in; comprehension, critical thinking and conversations deepen. I plan to dust off my hard copy to share with my grandchildren today and I offer the article to you, in case you would like to share with your students.

                            

                                          Steve Smith                                    Passionate to Pedal

                               Elite downhill mountain biker and Nanaimo native, 

                            Steve Smith at the 2013  International World Cup.

Draft Written by Donna Klockars

When Stevie Smith was five years old, he got a bike. The bike was not shiny or new.  It didn’t cost a lot of money.  In fact, Stevie’s first bike was thanks to his grandmother’s idea: to trade twelve delicious apple pies for a used BMX bike. 

Stevie loved to go fast on that bike, and it wasn’t long before he discovered BMX racing.  His devoted mom took him to every BMX race up and down Vancouver Island.  It was clear to Stevie’s mom that he was passionate about his sport, and though she was studying for her teaching degree, she made sure her son was at every important race.  By the age of ten he was ranked a top junior and soon was the Canadian BMX Champion.

By twelve years of age, Stevie thought the predictable tracks used for BMX racing were a bit boring.  BMX racing lost out when Stevie discovered the thrill of competitive mountain biking.

 “ I love anything that is full of rocks and roots...the gnarlier the better. “

Steve  made the switch to downhill mountain bike racing and started his journey to becoming Nanaimo’s downhill mountain biking world-class superstar!

 Right from the start, Steve’s trainers noticed his determination, ability and positive attitude. Like any top level competitive athlete, his life has been full of literal and figurative ups and downs.  He worked through some injuries and connected with world-famous trainers who helped him improve his physical and mental fitness levels.  He soon reached elite status in a sport that was dominated by Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders.

Steve Smith is passionate about competitive mountain bike racing and considers it to be unique sport.   Each race is a tight battle. Victory or defeat is determined by small tweeks and split-second decisions. Despite the competitive nature of the sport, Steve describes it as a friendly event.

“You rarely get the sense that someone is trying to mess with your game.  The downhill battle is really against the “fiercest of opponents...yourself.”

Smith has travelled around the world and become friends with many of the top ranked riders. A You-tube clip follows Stevie and his arch rival,  Atherton, planning their route together at the World Cup course in Norway. 

The  "Course Walk"  is the time when athletes make mental notes about the track and decide on strategies they will use during the lightning fast three minute flight down the mountain.  

The mental preparations really paid off. Smith won the race by 1.311 seconds for his third win of the season and the overall World Cup title!

“This is an indescribable dream come true” stated Smith.  “It has been the most pressure I have ever had in my entire life.  I knew I was in contention for the World Cup. I am just so pumped to come away with the win”

Each event is unique.  Even though Smith jets around the world, his favourite race is the “Crankworx” held in Whistler, B.C. 

“I love that race because it feels like home turf to me, and it is a pretty amazing massive event.  The series opens with a 15 minute marathon, before it shifts to an A-line jumping course, and then finishes with an open downhill event.” 

Steve not only loves to compete at the Whistler venue; he is the one to beat.  He has won this Canadian Championship event three years in a row.

Steve is proud to represent his home town, Nanaimo.  After travelling all over the world there is still no other place he likes more than Nanaimo. 

 “I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

No one could have predicted that twelve apple pies, traded for a used BMX bike, would lay the foundation for Steve to become one of the top competitive downhill mountain bike riders in the world. But that is how it all started for Steve Smith from Nanaimo, British Columbia. 

What Aristotle taught me about Kid Watching-or- How Aristotle and I are similar

Dear Reader,

If you happened to have been one of the few who willingly  toe-dip into my blog, it might not surprise you that Aristotle has worked his way into the conversation.  I like to kid-watch...and I mean really WATCH the kids.  And as a result of this REALLY, REALLY, INTENSE, kid watching,  I have noticed certain things about the very nature and structure of human thought.
But first,allow me to provide some background.

A very long time ago, Aristotle enjoyed his evening chill time by watching ships disappear into the distance as they left port.  He was a man of routine and so one might speculate that he watched a lot of ships disappear as they made their way to new destinations.  He routinely noticed that the first thing to disappear from his sight was the hull.  No exceptions...every time he watched, the hull vanished before the mast and sail. But one day, this sequence of events struck him as rather odd.  On a flat surface, shouldn't the dwindling of ships occur equally as they eventually disappear.  Shouldn't the ship just fade into a smaller and smaller dot?
I am suggesting that just as Aristotle discerned all sorts of profound things about the nature and structure of the universe from the simple act of spending countless hours observing what many might consider a rather ordinary event. I am also suggesting that through careful observation and logic every one of us can see the evolution of  thinking, cognition and creativity unfold simply by watching how the very young (aka my grandkids) early language manifests.

I have already pontificated about the Brody's uncanny ability as a newborn to lock on the human face and engage in conversation.  But what has me tossing and turning at night are the hidden messages in Brody's recent burst of gesturing and vocalizing.  Dear Reader, I am going to be bold. I am going to be brave.  My next entries will chronicle my daily observations... and you guessed it: my pontifications about what it all means.  I believe that brody's unfolding/blossoming early early language events hold the essence of the structure and nature of thinking.

Oh my, I am full of myself tonight!
Till later,
Donna says bonsoir  for now.
 

I am Curious about my Curiosity

Why am I so Curious about early language and early literacy learning?

Why do I wonder about Baby Brody's recent finger pointing ability?  Why and what does that hint about  his thinking?  What about his  head pointing...("Where's the dog?" Whips  his head and pointing finger to the dog.  And how about the putting the hat on the head while making a whooshing sound?
And what do I make of the fact that Brody sat on my lap while we read this book over twenty times? He is twelve months old...how many times can the book, grandma and Brody interact? Why does he pat the book to signal "Again".  And yes I know that all the textbooks state  that babies babble, but what motivates Brody to produce a symphony of the most beautiful sounds early in the morning when only the song birds are up and listening.





And what do I make of the fact that Ethan has created his own Cozy Reading Corner in his bedroom? Or how do I make sense of the his comment that he learned to read three weeks ago when he was reading Amulet in the car and they stopped at Buckley Bay for gas on the way home from skiing.


 How  do we celebrate Ethan's dedication to rehearing every night for a week, Grandma's recent story "Shh I'm Deciding" so that he is ready to perform the story for his entire class. Should we have an After the Show Pizza Party?

And just how cool is this picture and can it be used as the Canadian Early Literacy poster for the year?

Title: No screen time , just reading time.

And how about in my own personal life, My new  friend, Lara, from  Toronto was going to be in Vancouver for a very short time.   She also likes to talk about early learning, children's books and how kids learn to make sense of black squiggly lines.

I immediately booked a flight to Vancouver just so we could have a chance to chat. We talked non-stop for two hours, almost always coming up with more questions. Why is the conversation so rich despite the fact that  we can't come up with any answers to our burning questions? Even more curious: why was it so enjoyable to talk to her about this topic?

And then I started reading Alberto Manguel's newest book about Curiosity. I had to send Lara the quote because I knew she would love it. (And she did)

"I am curious about curiosity...

very soon we find out that curiosity is seldom rewarded with meaningful and satisfying answers, but rather with an increased desire to ask more questions and the pleasure of conversing with others. 

As any inquisitor knows, affirmations tend to isolate; questions bind. 

Curiosity is a means of declaring our allegiance to the human fold"

Today, I am heading to my computer to write more stories about the Animals of Pine Forest.  I do not have any worries or even care that the stories will be published or even read.  The whole reason and the point of my creative instinct is simply  to get it done... and once done, there just might be a chance for a great conversation.  

Because those precious conversations  provide the glue that binds me to humanity.  I just ask questions because I wonder about everything.  Life is a wondering.    What about you, What do you wonder about? What are you curious about? 

Happy wondering,

Donna, aka the Book Lady

,

How Pete the Cat got me thinking about Zero

Hello Friends,

I have been thinking about Ari telling me that learning to read is kind of like counting.   I pontificated at length on a blog or two about how amazing she was to construct the idea that a written word must match a just right spoken word,  I think the idea of conservation of numbers and the matching of one word to one spoken word came up. 

But that whole idea resulted in  me  tossing and turning all night long over a  bigger harder question....Just how do the very young learn to count?

Hmm... You gather  some buttons and place in front of your short friend.  Then you select a button and encourage her to say one...Then add another one and hope that she  will utter the word two, then add another button and try for the word "three".  This goes on until the child gets the idea that every time you add a button a new number name is expected.

Ten apples on Top by Dr Seuss has a dog, a tiger, and a lion, compete to see how many apples they can balance on their head and  Frogs,Frogs, Frogs, by Brenda Boreham matches counting with increasing numbers of frogs shown  on each page. 
A Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle features counting to five and days of the week.    In Went Mouse by moi, simply has fun with the idea of  one more animal choosing to use the maple tree as its home results in a very full house.

Counting books are everywhere and they are very engaging.  I wonder why?


 I think the child gets the basic counting concept by induction, but I wonder what is the concept they are getting?
It seems to me  you have to figure out that you only need to memorize twelve names...(one, two...eleven twelve) after which you can work out, construct or predict  how this list of names thing works.
Is the aha moment when the pattern is understood that a new name is required when we add one to the existing number?  Is all of mathematics founded on this foundation of finding a predictable pattern? 

 But the names of numbers are words that are part of our language, however, they are not quite like our language.  There is no dictionary entry for the word forty-five that is consistent with how a dictionary talks about the definition of "apple".

 And back to those  button we  placed in front of our short friends.    The one to the right might get the name two, but not the one to the left. (and besides, it has a name called "button").

 The counting rule is what is the big deal when looking at the buttons, not the series of phonemes represented by b u t t o n . Are these two systems aliens?

 And Oh my, how do the very young handle the concept of ZERO?  And is NONE really a number?







Oliver Jeffers has Huey asking
"How many lumps of chhse do see just there?"
"Um...I don't see any."
"That's because there are none!"
"Is none a number?"
"Of course.  It's one less than one."
"I see.  So one more than none is one?
"That's right...






And then there is the whole concept of subtraction.




  And that is where Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons comes into this discussion. 

 When all Pete's  buttons popped off he wasn't sad...Oh goodness no!...He still had his belly button.   

And that is a funny ending and thinking about zero has really not been all that funny. 

 So I am not going to try and figure out:

 "Before the arrow can reach its target, it must get half-way there; before it can get half way it must get a quarter of the way; and so forth: 1/2, 1/4,...1/2N, 1/2(N+1),...If we grant that the series of markers it needs to pass on its waay to the target in infinitely long, then how can the arrow ever get there?" (dark possibilities at the heart of the paradoxes of Zeno)

But I am going to continue to celebrate and share the brilliant picture books with number content as a play-based, fun-filled approach to supporting our shorter friends efforts to construct number theory.

As always, In friendship,
Donna
aka The Book Lady

Grandma, Let's do my Chapter Book

Hello Reader,



A few of my friends know that I can go on and on about early literacy issues.  Every once in a while they give me the signal that they are willing to engage in a conversation  about the role that caring adults play in passing on the legacy of literacy.  I know that my window of opportunity for these grand conversations is fleeting and so I promise not to dip into  my acumen on  arcane matters about literacy.  If I fail in restraining myself, the consequences are swift and predictable...rolling of the eyes and body language that screams..."Nobody cares!" 





But I am hoping we can talk today.

 I want to get this off my chest or I think I will burst! 

Jayden, age seven, is writing his first chapter book.  He  arrives at my door to announce "It is time to do the Chapter Book".   I am told to sit down at the computer, to record the story as he dictates it to me.   I must  follow his directions about  necessary edits and changes as his  story line gallops along. All this literary activity has been going on for almost a month and Jayden's characters  have been getting into all sorts of crazy adventures at Brannenbrook on a daily basis. 


Because of my role as secretary to the authour, I have been privileged to many insights about how  chapter books work.  (according to authour Jayden Nickel) 

1. Chapter books must have twelve chapters
2. If your baby brother is going to be in the story, he has to be made older or it will be too dangerous for him to keep up with the big kids
3.Animals can talk and be understood only by certain special individuals like  Ari, 
4. You know it is time to end a chapter if something big or scary is going on...this makes the reader come back for more.
6.If you get two story ideas going, you have to get them connected somehow.  (This isn't easy)
7. When you get to chapter eleven you have to solve all the problems because everyone has to be happy in Chapter Twelve.
8. It is best to get a really good artist and make lots of copies of your book so that people all around the world will read your story.



 Who knows?  Someday, you might notice Jayden's Chapter Book in a book store. The story might be about these little leaves surrounded by rocks. 

But dear friends, I suggest that the  story is also about Jayden's parents, grandparents, and teachers who have taken the time to share stories, books, and conversations with him  since he was just a tiny baby.  

  
 All of those caring adults in Jayden's life helped wrap him in a  "Blanket of Literacy".    And this is why Jayden is writing his very first book with twelve chapters  at seven years of age.  

Which brings me back to the Big Ticket item here:
Caring Adults Pass on the Legacy of Literacy.

Thanks for letting me share.
Donna aka The Book Lady aka Grandma

Print-Rich vs. Story-Rich B.C. Early Childhood Educators Understand that Play Serves Early Literacy Learning

Arianna  loses the (fake) sweep and replaces it with matching each  spoken word with the correct written word...OMG! 

"It's easy...You just have to listen. Watch...Don't help me...Pete . the. Cat .Takes. the.Train...Cat"

We count the words, we clap the words, we do it again and she nails it  every time!

She knows that the five spoken words must match with the five written words.

I know you must be thinking that this isn't really a big deal... but I disagree!  This is huge!
Ari has created a new schema around how reading works today.  She is matching each spoken word with a printed word; evidence  that the numeracy milestone/concept we educator types refer to as: one-to-one-correspondence is now being applied to literacy issues.
She has somehow tuned into the space  between each word and mastered the ability to count words she hears in a sentence...   Or at least this is what I think she has done.  


I want to deconstruct the glorious event so I ask, "Ari, how did you get so smart?"

 " It's like the egg story (Emily Gravett's "The Odd Egg" that we read - over a year ago) and remember when we were making cookies and we cut out the egg word. (also took place over a year ago) It's like that...you have to say egg -E G -G that is egg, and that is the way it works.

Now I decide to video Ari reading the whole Pete the Cat Takes the Train book to her new doll, Leoni.  I am thinking that I will get more evidence that Ari has mastered some of those "concepts about print"   and a whole new day is about to begin. Hmm...

Here is what happened next: 
She gets her doll all comfy and settled, then starts her story. To my surprise, she retells the whole story (according to Ari, of course),  sans  her new found discovery about how reading works.  Ari was now all about the  drama and big effects.  All her  her energy was channeled into her  story retell.   

Except for  the title and title page, Ari's reading  is all about the (fake) sweep again. She  is back to using flowing speech instead of the halting word by word approach she applied to the title page. She occasionally presses on the black squiggly lines really hard or stabs at the page for emphasis. Her voice is raised or lowered to match the character's voices or  to make a point about some dramatic action in the story.

 I try a little fancy teacher talk..."What about the little spaces between the words Ari?  Can you find the "Pete" word?

She looks at me with a slightly annoyed expression- ignores me any carries on with her story.  

Now I have a lot to ponder!  Could it be that Ari is telling me that the story line is paramount in this whole reading experience... not the matching of each word to each spoken word?

Sure, this matching the number of words to the number of spoken words is a nice trick. 

And telling me that she can tell that Pete says "Pete" and not cat because Pete starts with "P" and cat starts with "C" makes any grandma proud, but in Ari's world, it is just a nice touch.  
And it is certainly isn't the story.

I took a picture of Ari reading to her new doll.  
She  is focused on making eye contact with the listener (her doll) and using lots of facial expression and gestures.  The pictures in the book cue her story telling but she makes an effort to show the listener that the actual "talking stuff" is bound up in the black squiggly lines. 

It occurs to me that with this much energy going into: 
1.engaging the listener, (Leoni the doll),
2.remembering all the details of the story, 
 3.working in the drama that the story requires, 
4. remembering all the correct sequence of events 
5. pulling off the funny ending,
well, no wonder  remembering  that "each  spoken word should match each written word",   would get dumped. 

Ari has reminded me that Reading is NOT decoding...print -rich is one thing, but STORY- RICH is the BIG THING! 


I am telling you all this because I am so interested in how kids make sense of squiggly lines and I think that there may be others out there who are also interested.  

However, when I picked up the January, 2016 issue of the Atlantic and read the article,  How the New Preschool Is Crushing Kids,  I  was desperate to talk to someone/anyone!

The article described the American preschool classroom today as an environment where pedagogy and curricula embrace common core state standards that promote a greater portion of the day to completing "seat work".   There is extensive use of tightly scripted teaching known as "direct instruction" to teach pre-academic skills to three, four and five year olds.   They describe today's  pre-school environments as the "New Grade One".

I won't "spill the beans", about the results of this approach because it is so heartbreaking. Let's just say that the article reveals that  requiring  very young children to finish their "seat work" before they can play is resulting in less inquisitive, less engaged kids than those of earlier generations.  It describes children who lack the language skills needed to retell a simple story or to use basic connecting words and prepositions.  Making analogies, exploring the environment, and  engaging in activities that extend the child's  sense of wonder and curiosity are replaced with test taking and skills and drills.  

 Canadian early-childhood educators are to be celebrated for their solid understanding of early childhood development  and the important role  of play, language development  and play-based early literacy experiences. 
B.C. early educators do not believe that pre-school and kindergarten are the new Grade One! 

Educators in B.C know that play serves literacy.  Play provides a platform for narration and socio-dramatic play.  The roles that shared stories inspire, reveal a child's understanding about relationships.  Through "story" they learn how  to deal with all sorts of novel situations resulting in self-regulation and understanding of new concepts

Early literacy experiences that are play-based in their design, provide opportunities for questioning, wonderment, curiosity.  
 A book  helps anchor conversations, and  keeps those conversations going. 
This is what we want! It is through all those turns taken in a conversation that new understanding are consolidated and vocabulary grows.


Ari, let's continue to play, role-play and retell our favourite stories every single day.   That is what early-literacy is about...NOT teaching reading.  Unhurried learning is everywhere and it is fun for both of us.   Grand conversations happen when we "book chat" together.  It isn't a tiny thing that the language of play connects to the language of literacy! It's a very BIG DEAL!   I just love learning with you.      


I 
 

Signing off.
Grandma, Donna aka, The Book Lady

Remember friends: Three Stories a Day- Anchor Conversations and Play!