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

Building Literacy Foundations: Weaving the Literacy Blanket

Building Literacy Foundations:

Weaving the Literacy Blanket

Like the talented Coast Salish weavers, literacy mentors use strands to create a beautiful literacy blanket unique for each child. All  of us committed to our young literacy learners contribute to this  creation that will provide  life-long use for future learning.  Three important strands are needed to weave this strong and serviceable literacy blanket for all of our young readers.

Building the Literacy Relationship Foundation Strand:

Parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents, elders, teachers, family friends and community members act as literacy mentors for our young readers.  We know that starting out right is important.  Children begin their literacy journey while they are still very young. Parents and other literacy mentors help children develop language and literacy skills by casually pointing out meaningful words or letters. They take time to have conversations with children and provide a sense of coziness and safety when reading with a child. They search for books that are of interest to the child and are visually pleasing. They allow lots of time for “grand conversations “that naturally spring from engaging topics that come up while reading together.  

No literacy program exists that replaces caring literacy mentors in a child’s life.  The relationship fostered between book, child and caring adult leads to children engaging with print for the sheer joy of it.  Most importantly it prevents reading failure. The vehicle for fostering and nourishing this important relationship is the Read-a-Loud.  Before a child can have an interest in reading, he must first have an awareness of it.  Caring adults will make sure children are bathed in the riches of literature. Our most practical and effective opportunity for creating self-motivated independent readers is to read to children every day. Three books a day, that is the minimum, not the maximum!

Building the Concepts of Print Foundation Strand:

 Building the Concepts of Print Foundation means that we must provide play-based learning opportunities that reveal how books work.  The thoughtful literacy mentor is ever mindful that children learn through play.  They provide fun and inviting activities so that children explore and discover how squiggly black lines (print) is just like talking.  Consolidating the concepts about story structures, viewing the many purposes for print, and developing word knowledge is a long, gradual process.  It is similar and closely connected to learning to talk. Recent research supports an interactive and experiential process of learning spoken and written language skills. Matching text difficulty with the reader provides scaffolding for learning early literacy concepts.  Using engaging texts helps the child notice the use of left to right sweeps, the sequence of letters in a word and how to “read” pictures and the the “spaces” in the book.

Making meaning from black squiggly lines is complex. Quality coaching is essential. Every minute with a capable and caring literacy mentor or coach is precious.

Building Oral language and Book Language Foundation Strand:

Educators must also pay attention to the interests and strengths of each reader because high interest in a topic enhances comprehension and motivates the young reader.  Book language is often different from the language we use in general conversations.  The language found in books (especially non-fiction) is often more complex because unfamiliar syntax and vocabulary is presented. Children benefit when caring adults provide a diverse selection of texts from which to choose.  The texts should be culturally relevant and honour the unique strengths and gifts of the child.  Even the very young enjoy and learn from literature that presents characters and settings they recognize.  Children learn ways of addressing fears, challenges and real life issues through knowing a character in good story.

Early Literacy Does Not Mean Early Reading

  Our current understanding of early language and literacy development has provided new ways of helping children learn to talk, read, and write.  Early literacy development is a continuous developmental process that begins in the first years of life. However, current research DOES NOT advocate the “teaching of reading”! Formal instruction which pushes infants, toddlers or pre-school children to actually read and write words is not developmentally appropriate and in fact- counter productive.   However, early  interactions that are play-based, literacy-rich experiences, embedded in real life settings; promote the natural unfolding of early literacy skills through the sheer enjoyment of books.  

Early literacy skills are essential to literacy development and should be the focus of early language and literacy programs.  The first five years of exploring and playing with books, singing nursery rhymes, listening to familiar and engaging stories, recognizing letters and important words, and scribbling are the building blocks for language and literacy development. By focusing on the first years of life, we give new meaning to the important interactions young children have with books and stories.

The Building Literacy Foundations Continuum is designed to support family members and educators in their important role of passing on the legacy of literacy. When caring literacy coaches document a child’s learning strengths and literacy learning, they are motivated and guided to set reachable goals for the very young literacy learner.  Use a specific colour for each date as you highlight learning opportunities or experiences that are  encountered.  The adult literacy mentors and the child walk hand in hand. The continuum celebrates the caring adult’s mentorship role and the importance of joyful, play-based,  literacy learning.  Wrap the very young in their unique Literacy Blanket and do not forget to celebrate the journey!

Donna Klockars, 2015

For Weaving the Literacy Blanket 0-5 Continuum contact dklockars@shaw.ca for free downloads

A Pearl to Ponder

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” Pablo Casals

Literacy Learning through Play: Use your Super Powers of Observation to Match Baby with Just Right Books

Hello Dear Reader,

Some might say that passing on the legacy of literacy is not rocket science.  Perhaps  not rocket science, but you need a keen eye and  "super powers"  of observation skills to  do the literacy dance with the very young.

As the caring adult in your short person's world, it is your chosen path and purpose in life to match books and literacy experiences with the inner workings of baby's mind. It is ALL ABOUT THE MATCH UP!  

As I mentioned in my last blog,  I have been working on a document called "Weaving the Literacy Blanket".  I pontificated that the first and most important strand to work with is the relationship thread.  When you and baby are good buddies, you share things and have deep meaningful conversations.  You pay attention to the little things...like the fact that Ethie (at 9months) is pointing at the upper paddock and making a breathy hissy sounds.  I know exactly what he is saying. “Horse...Horse... Horse.”  We have  lots of talking time about horses. I don't know exactly why  he is so  motivated and focused on  all things “horsey” at this particular stage in his life.   This photo of Ethan engaged in one of my horsey books, reminded me that it isn't always the glossy best-selling board books that my very short friend wants to read. 

This picture of Jayden reading an animal alphabet book reminds me of the sheer joy of repetition and routine. We live on a farm with three rather large (massive) dogs so it was not a surprise to Nanna that Jayden wants to turn to the mutt page while pointing and spitting out with confidence "Du o GGGGUU. He chose this book over all others for over a month and giggled every time he saw the Mm is for mutt page.

I know that educators and caring adults can go to a website and  "BESTBOOKSfor babies 2012.com. will pop up.  Sure, the website has the latest titles listed, but where is the fun in that?  Everyone knows babies like animals and animal sounds. They are keen on books that have lots of colour and sharp contrasts. And of course, babies like books about trucks and machines.  But if you didn't really know Jayden, you would not have noticed that he goes for those  glossy flyers that come in the mail advertising tractors and bobcats.

But I do really know Jayden (at 7 months) and I know that he can tell a Kobota tractor from a John Deer combine. Now you can see why we have  very intelligent conversations about farm vehicles.  The catalogue is helpful as it keeps our talking time animated and fun.  When it is all “said and done”, we decide  it is time to rip out  the picture of the  biggest Kabota tractor, and stick it on to the fridge. Every time we pass the fridge we get to talk about tractors ... especially about their most important part..Whhhheee uus (wheeels). 

And did I mention that Baby Brody (4 months) likes looking at himself and other babies.  Chuckles and giggles come every time he sees a baby in a board book and of course the best page is the last page.  It has a mirror so he gets to look at himself.  (Surprise...it's Baby Brody!)

All of the caring adults in the very young child's world get a  bit gooey  when we get the signal "Again...Again...Again.  Such lovely conversations!  The perfect triangle :Book, Baby and me...


It is close to bed time for my shorter friends.  I have decided on the perfect book for tonight.  Can a grandmother's life get any finer?

 As always in friendship,
Donna

Posted by Donna Klockars at 7:47 PM 

Baby Brody is Reading

 Dear Reader,  Baby Brody is reading!  

Check out the focus...notice the pointing...see the joy!  And the picture doesn't show Grandma's face- but ditto to all that.
Being the literacy advocate (aka crazed book lady who is obsessed with connecting all my short friends with just right books), I  have been working on my "Weaving the Literacy Blanket Project all summer.   This project gives me an excuse to pontificate on the three important "threads" that "caring adults" use to pass on the legacy of literacy.

Just a short recap..
 Thread Number One is the nurturing and sustaining relationship that caring adults have with the child.  This relationship is fundamental to laying the foundations of literacy - even for Brody at three months of age, because someone has to care deeply about engaging the adored child with joyful books/literacy experiences.  And those experiences must always be wrapped in a blanket of love, snuggles and playfulness.

 Thread Number Two is the adults commitment to nurturing and sustaining the child's understanding of how the whole literacy thing works.  This is no small or inconsequential activity because our sweet Brody's beautiful big brain  is not developmentally hard-wired  to connect  and own the idea that bunches of  squiggly lines are just the same as talking but on paper.
Thread Number Three is the caring adult's vigilance and dedication to nurturing and sustaining the child's interest and curiosity by providing fun and playful interactions with lots of books-on lots of different topics.

(I can e-mail you the project dklockars@shaw.ca.  I can't get the boxes to fit into this blog or I would post it right on this entry.  You could take a look and tell me what you think.)

But back to Thread Number One (My personal favourite)

I decided to zero in on the "very young" 0-2 years for my first pretty chart that I am constructing for families and educators. I managed to squish lots of information into many nice boxes so that the whole thing comes across as a kind of "continuum" that helps  adult and baby  stay focused on play-based (all short people learn through play) activities and achievements. However, the layout left me with no space to shout out to the world possible book choices and a platform to pontificate on how and why these books/literacy experiences are so fabulous.

So dear reader, can I show and tell as well as thank the authour for their perfectly fabulous Books for Babies?

Here is the first Big Ticket Item I want to first  talk about.  Book choices for baby should celebrate the fact that book time is a fun time... a pleasurable experience and one that strengthens the precious  bond between you and  baby. The books I am going to highlight today are ones that acknowledge the importance of the caring adult in passing on the literacy legacy.  The importance of literacy and this relationship with a caring adult cannot be understated!

So thank you to Richard Van Camp for your baby books.  They echo every caring person's belief that babies bring joy into this world.  Little You, Welcome Baby Song, Nighty Night: A Bedtime Song are glorious.  Baby's favourite person  should make sure they read these books and the Literacy Blanket will wrap around both of you.

Thank you Karen Katz for your Counting Kisses board book.  The idea of a "kiss and read" book makes perfect sense to any adoring big person.  Kissing tiny toes, pretty belly buttons, sweet little ears and of course tired closing eyes is just what happens during joyful baby book time.

Thank you to Barbara Reid for your Welcome Baby board book. Your book is filled with all the promise and anticipation of shared experiences to come.  "Welcome, baby, welcome! All the world is new, And we can't wait to celebrate And share it all with you. Beautiful words reflected in your artwork.

There are many more titles that I would like to share with you but I think I will sign off for now in the hopes that I have successfully pontificated on  the importance of the caring relationship. The titles I listed today embrace and celebrate that overwhelming joy that our beautiful babies bring to the world.  This love and caring piece  plays no minor role in literacy...It is the very structure...the loom, if you will, that makes the literacy blanket possible and real. 

Thank you dear reader for letting me fill in the spaces of my Literacy Continuum for the Very Young 0-2  (a work in progress.)  I hope to share more details and titles tomorrow.

As always,
In friendship,

Donna aka: the book lady

Donna

Posted by Donna Klockars at 10:45 AM