Learning in the Car

In early childhood, every moment counts! Providing opportunities for children to be exposed to oral language, especially in the forms of high quality songs, stories, and fingerplays will help them in their future reading and writing success. Since young children spend so much time in the car, consider investing in CDs that emphasize these language strategies.

-play rhyming, quality children's music (e.g., Raffi) that use rhyme, play on words, and rhythm in songs

-expose children to nursery rhymes by playing them in the car (knowledge of nursery rhymes has been proven to be an indicator of reading success later on in life)

-encourage children to learn the names of letters and their corresponding sounds by playing CDs that emphasize these

-simple recorded stories can be borrowed from the library and played. By not seeing a corresponding picture, children are free to use their imaginations to illustrate the text

-play sound games with children. Stretch out words by emphasizing their individual sounds and encourage children to guess what the word it (e.g., c-a-t is cat)

-play I spy but use sounds (e.g., I spy something that begins with an 'a' sound)

-engage your children in conversation in the car. Encourage them to describe their day by prompting them with higher-level questioning such as who, what, why, where, when, and how questions. Avoid yes/no responses that limit children's explanation

Empowering Families in the Interview Process

I recently experienced my first parent-teacher interview from a mother's perspective. As a teacher I have held hundreds of interviews with families related to their children's progress and development in our classroom. Participating in the interview from the other side helped me realize how I could modify my interviewing process to help families feel more comfortable and get the most for the very short duration of time we are together.

Consider:

-providing families with a template for the interview ahead of time that will guide them through the process and help them consider what information and questions they really want to discuss with you

-have children's work available to families before the interview (e.g., on their desks, in file folders) so families can spend the time waiting for the interview reviewing this work

-consider having copies of recent newsletters, memos, and any other pertinent classroom information posted outside the interview space for family review

-encourage families to bring their children to the interview so they can be a part of this learning experience

-provide families with a 'comments' form to return after the interview that allows them to ask further questions and provide feedback to you regarding the interview experience

Edible Art Work

Kids got the winter blahs? Visit your local grocery store and stock up on fruit and vegetable treats that are a variety of shapes, colours, and textures. Build children's oral language and vocabulary by encouraging them to describe what they see (e.g., pineapples have segments, bananas are long and curved, strawberries are triangular). Carefully clean and cut the fruit and vegetables into a variety of pieces. Using toothpicks, encourage your children to create three-dimensional art work by sticking the food together in a variety of ways. Celebrate the creations by taking pictures of the art and then deconstruct it and enjoy it together as a snack or after dinner dessert!

Recognizing High Quality Daycare and Kindergarten Programs

Any parent with a child in daycare or kindergarten has wondered at one time or another about the quality of his or her child's early years program. While searching for information on this I found a great website that lists criteria, including a checklist, for families to use when assessing their child's early years environment. An excellent resource that I wish I had years ago!

Barrier Games

Barrier games are an easy and fun way to build listening skills, an understanding of position language, and oral language abilities in young children. They can be incorporated into the math center or sent home as an extension activity for parents. Two players sit on either side of a barrier (e.g., small screen, open folder) so that they cannot see each other. Each person takes a turn giving instructions to the other person to perform certain tasks. Players alternate between speaker and listener roles. Because they cannot see each other's work, they must learn to give clear, concise directions, and listen very carefully to one another. Players can use a variety of materials (e.g., blocks, magnet letters, shapes, crayons) for this task.

Examples:

*draw a blue circle, draw a small yellow circle inside the blue circle, write your name under the blue circle

*place the square on top of a triangle, put a rectangle next to the triangle on the left side

*write your name in the center of the paper, put a large red circle around your name, cross out the first letter of your name