Our First Literacy Night!

Well…

Our first Kindergarten Literacy Night is in the books, and I am so excited for our next one! We had such an enjoyable evening together. The highlight for me was hearing so many great thoughts and ideas from the parents who were able to attend. I especially loved the Book Talks – you all brought some fantastic suggestions!

I want to share a few highlights from the evening – for those who were not able to attend – and, as a review for those who were…

This graphic is so powerful! I think it is such an encouragement to make sure that reading with our kids everyday is a priority!

Some more great reminders of why it is important…

According to the Family Literacy Foundation, the many benefits of reading aloud with children are:

• Children's self esteem grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them.
• Children experience increased communication with parents and other family members.
• Children are introduced to new concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age appropriate way.
• Children build listening skills, vocabulary, memory, and language skills.
• Children develop imagination and creativity.
• Children learn information about the world around them.
• Children develop individual interests in special subjects like dinosaurs, cats, or cars.
• Children learn positive behavior patterns and social values.
• Children learn positive attitudes towards themselves and others.
• CHILDREN LEARN THE JOY OF READING!

Source: http://www.ala.org/aasl/parents/reading

Here are some websites that can be helpful when looking for great book ideas…

http://www.reading.org/resources/booklists/childrenschoices.aspx

http://www.reading.org/Resources/Booklists.aspx

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/childrens-books-kids-books/379003144

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/?esp=CORPHP/ib/////NAV/Parents/MAIN/ParentsHP////

Our next Literacy Night is going to be November 11^th – from 7:00-8:00. Our focus is going to be Poetry. Please bring a few samples of poetry that you enjoy reading with your child and/or bring a poem that has been meaningful to you.

Hope to see you there ~ Aimee

A Great Read and a Fun Trip

Summer is a perfect time to schedule special days to special places! One place that is always great to visit is the farm. There are so many things to see, hear, touch, smell, and maybe even taste. In our Kindergarten classroom, we spend a couple of weeks learning about the farm. We as teachers believe that it is important for our little ones to understand how important farms are to our daily life. We learn about the many types of foods that farms can provide for our communities. Visiting a nearby working farm is our favorite way to experience the inner workings of a real life farm.

If you live in northern Illinois, there are two farms that I highly recommend:

Volkening Heritage Farm at Spring Valley, in Schaumburg

You can find more information at: http://www.parkfun.com/spring-valley/heritage-farm

Royal Oak Farm, in Hebron

You can find more information at: http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com/

A fun book to read before you head out for your excursion (or if you are just looking for a great book to read with your child) is Jim Aylesworth’s Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo.

This book highlights the simplicity of family life on a farm. There are chores to be done and games to be played in a day of this family's life. The illustrations are fun and funny and are a perfect fit with the rhythmic text of this beautiful story.

Before reading this book together, read and talk together about the title. Talk about what your child already knows about farm life. Ask them to make predictions of what each sound in the title may be referring to – remind them to think about things that happen on the farm/what lives on the farm as they make their predictions. Don't forget to mention the names of the author and the illustrator, too.

Part of the experience in reading this book is the significant amount of onomatopoeia that the author uses. Onomatopoeia is when words form the sounds of what they name. Talk to your child about how these sounds, that appear throughout the story, will add a fun element to the reading of the book. After you know that they understand what onomatopoeia is, tell them that as you read you want them to hold their thumb up every time they hear these special words for sounds throughout the story. Doing this will help them practice listening for these sounds.

After reading the story together, go back through the book and ask your child to find ways that the illustrations support the story. For example, on page 3 the text reads, “come fast as you can.” In the illustration we see one of the boys sliding down the stair railing. On page 13 we read, “Breezes swish through fields of wheat.” In the illustration we see the wheat bending as a result of the blowing breeze.

Another important thing that can be discussed after reading this story is the support of family. Throughout this book, the farm family is working together to make everything go smoothly throughout the day. You can have a great discussion with your child about how your family works together each day to make things go smoothly. And, maybe, this would even be a great time to help them see what else they can do to help support your family each day.

If you do go on a Farm Field Trip, ask your child to pay attention to the sounds they hear while you are visiting. When you get home, they can write their own story of their day at the farm and include onomatopoeia in their story – just like JimAylesworth did in his!

Aimee

Summertime Family Visits

One of the BEST things about summer is family visits!

My whole family – my brother and his family, my sister and her family, and my mom – lives in Tulsa, OK and we live in northern IL. It is not easy living so far away from family. So, when we can get together those are great days! My brother planned a surprise visit a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t tell me that he was visiting his best friend in WI because he wanted to show up at my door – for the fun of it. And that’s what he did. He showed up at my door with my niece and my nephew. That was the best surprise and we had a great time together…

Drew and my nephew, Evan

Evans first Portillos experience

Evan, my niece Kaely, and Hannah

This week, my sister is here with her family. The guys took the kids camping. They had an amazing time boating, fishing, swimming, and having other camping adventures.

Hannah, my nephew Aidan, and my brother-in-law Micah

All four kids boating

Aidan and Luke

Luke and Steve

The joys of camping!

The best part of this whole thing is that my sister and I were able to spend some sweet time together - just the two of us - how often does that happen?!?

Maybe you have had the opportunity to spend time with far-away family members this summer. Maybe you have traveled to them… Maybe they have traveled to you… Maybe you have been to a family reunion where you have been able to reconnect with many family members at once. For me, these times are so precious because we are building sweet memories with the people who mean the most to us!

Cynthia Rylant has written a fabulous book about her own childhood memories of her extended family visiting! It is beautifully written and illustrated. And, I love the fact that we can all relate to the beauty of this family tale.

This would be a fun book to share with your child this summer. As you read it together, there are several connections you and your child can make to this story...

Share with your child your own memories of going on family visits:

          Where did you go and who did you see?

How did you get there?

Did it take a long time?

What did you do along the way to not get bored?

What did you do when you got there?

          Share about times when family came to visit you:

                   Who came and where did they come from?

                   How did you feel waiting for them to arrive?

                   Where did everyone sleep?

                   What kinds of things did everyone do together?

                              

Also, talk together about family trips you’ve taken and/or family visits you have had recently:

Who did you visit and where did you go?  

How did you get there?

What kinds of things did you do and/or see along the way?

What were your favorite things to do when you were there?

Who came to visit you and where did they come from?

What did you do when they were at your house?

Where were some places that you visited together?

What kinds of things did you eat?

Did you play games? Inside games? Outside games?

After you have read the story together a few times and have had rich conversations about it, have your child write their own story. Have them draw and write about a time when your family went for a visit or when you had extended family visit you.

Refer to some of Cynthia’s strong descriptive language as a guide:

          “pulling us against their wrinkled Virginia clothes”

          “so much laughing and shining faces and hugging in the doorways”

          “going to sleep with all that new breathing in the house”

          “then we crawled back into our beds that felt too big and too quiet”

          “they looked at the strange houses and different mountains”

“they crawled into their silent, soft beds and dreamed about the next summer”

Here is one more way that you and your child can enjoy this book together:

HAPPY SUMMER!!

Aimee

What I Learned from Author Denise Brennan-Nelson

I am currently sitting in our game room – there is a beautiful storm raging outside – windows are cracked – my 12 year old is sitting in the window seat reading – my 9 year old is on the floor reading – a peaceful moment!

I had the amazing privilege of being at the Literacy in Motion Conference at Judson University this past week. I have so many thoughts and ideas that I am reflecting upon. One of the best parts of the week for me was listening to a couple different authors share their personal stories. It is fascinating to learn more about the author’s lives and the stories behind their books.

One of the authors we were blessed to hear from was Denise Brennan-Nelson. 
There were a few things that Denise shared with us that have stuck with me so I thought I would share them with you...

**When Denise was sharing about her childhood she told us that she was pretty much never allowed to watch TV. She said that her mom encouraged her and her siblings to 'use their imagination' and she gave them the tools to do so. Because that sense of wonder was fostered in her life, she learned how to express herself through writing. This was a challenge and strong reminder for me to make sure that I am encouraging my own children to use their imaginations and enjoy that sense of wonder and awe of all that God has given us! Take a few minutes to read a thought provoking article on questioning and curiosity that Denise wrote: http://www.reading.org/reading-today/classroom/post/engage/2014/04/24/where-did-all-the-questions-go-#.U6TTA5RdWSo

**Another challenging reminder for me was hearing her talk about how very important it is for our kids to see us writing. I love to read, and I read in front of and with my children fairly frequently. But, writing… hmmm… when I stop and think about it, I do not write in front of or with my children very often. I want them to know how important writing is – just like reading. So, I need to be more intentional about recording my thoughts in the presence of my kids.

**My favorite take away idea was to have a family journal. Denise suggested that you keep a notebook on the kitchen counter and add to it as you live life together. What a great way to record those precious moments in life – and, we’ll be accomplishing our goal of letting our children be a part of our ‘writing life’. Then, if we give them their own notebook to record their thoughts in they will copy the behavior they see in us!

One of her quotes that might be a bit of a paradigm shift to consider… “Writing isn’t just for authors – it’s for everyone”… If we believe this to be true for ourselves then we can pass that belief on to our children – and we will have given them a great gift! 

Denise has an informative website that you can take a look at:
http://www.denisebrennannelson.com/

A few of her books that you might consider reading with your child are:

        This book is filled with many of the idioms that we all know but maybe have never known what they mean or what the history is behind them. It is an enjoyable read as you and your child can discover what they mean together - and, have some good laughs along the way. Denise has other books in her idiom series as well. 

You can find all of her books in this series on her website at http://www.denisebrennannelson.com/denise/books/

      Willow is a sweet story about creativity, imagination, and relationship. Miss Hawthorn - Willow's art teacher - has a very particular way that she thinks art needs to be done. But, Willow is just too imaginitive to be so boxed in. What will happen between the two as they work through their differences?

        As a parent, this story is a great reminder of making the most important things our top priority. It gives us a thoughtful perspective on how our children may be processing the things we say. It is such a moving tale of family relationships. This one is my favorite of her books - it hits that spot right inside of you!

Learning About Insects

One of the best things about summer is that I have more time to do one of my favorite activities - READ! I love to sit out on our deck, in the warm sunshine, and get lost in a good book. For those of us with school-aged children, summer has a very different routine. It is busy in a different kind of way, but for most of us it is probably a bit more of a relaxed pace. Now, with no more reading calendars to fill out - or whatever we might have done to hold ourselves accountable for reading with our children during the school year - we need to make sure that we are still making time to read with our kids every day. We want to make sure we are choosing quality literature and having rich conversations with them. This will help ensure that they will not become 'rusty' in their thinking over the long break.

With some of that in mind, what are things that speak of summer to us? Sunshine, parks, fishing, sprinklers, lemonade, fireworks, golf, s'mores, bike rides, baseball... I am sure you could add many more of your own ideas to the list.

Most kids I know love to look for and catch bugs - and summertime is the perfect time of year to do it! The following book is great to use to teach them more about bugs and insects. They will learn what an insect is, what it isn't, and how to tell the difference. I have included questions and activities to help make reading this book a deeper learning experience for you and your child.

The FIRST TIME you read the story with your child...

Before reading

• Talk about what they notice on the cover.
• Tell them the name of the author and the illustrator - ask them to remind you what the author's job is and what the illustrator's job is.
• Turn the book over and read and talk about the summary on the back cover.
• Talk with your child about what they already know about bugs/insects.
• Do a picture walk with your child through the book - look closely at the pictures and talk about what you each notice.

During reading

• Every so often stop and talk about what you have read/learned so far - make sure to point out new learning specifically.

After reading

• How many body parts does an insect have? What are the names of the parts?
• How many legs does an insect have?
• What else did you learn about insects?
• What are some things that make a bug different from an insect?
• Name some other animals that have an external skeleton that are not insects.
• Name some insects that work together in groups.
• Name some animals that ARE insects. Name some that ARE NOT.

READING IT AGAIN... AND AGAIN... (the more times that you read a book with your child the more you can find to talk about... it's like watching a movie for the second or even third time and saying, 'hmm... I didn't remember that part'... Plus, we all know that kids love to read and reread books)...

• Why do you think the author chose to write a book about insects?
• How does the author help us to understand what an insect is? Help me find this information in the book.
• Which insect would you like to learn more about? Why do you want to learn about that insect?
• How is your skeleton different than an insect's skeleton? Help me find where we learned this in the book.

WRITE ABOUT IT...

• What is your favorite insect? Draw it - make sure you include its three body parts and six legs, and its wings and antennae if it has them. Write what you know about this insect. (You and your child can do research other books - see the list below - or online to find out more information about a specific insect). 
• Go on an adventure in your backyard. Bring a notebook to draw/write what you see. Bring a camera and take pictures. After you have gathered your information draw and write about what you found. What was the most interesting insect you saw? Why do you feel that way?

OTHER BOOKS TO READ...

• From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman
• Smithsonian Handbooks: Insects (Smithsonian Handbooks) by George C. McGavin
• Insect Detective: Read and Wonder by Steve Voake and Charlotte Voake
• Bugs A-Z by Caroline Lawton

Please share your experiences with this book and/or any other suggestions on insect reading or activities!

HAPPY READING!

Aimee