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

Helping Children Become Agents of Social Change

I have helplessly watched the tragedy in Haiti on the news. A local school in my community has decided to hold a fundraiser with the goal of the proceeds being sent to the Canadian Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

In troubling times such as this I think it's so important to help children feel empowered and provide an outlet for their feelings of helplessness. I know that as a person living far from Haiti, I still felt as though I had done some immediate good when my family made a small donation to the Canadian Red Cross.

Using real-life moments can help children become agents of social change, as they learn how to help affect their lives and those around them. Younger children may not necessarily be aware of the specifics of what is happening, but may indirectly sense the stress their parents and those around them maybe be feeling in response to situations such as the earthquake in Haiti. Regardless of whether educators decide to engage older students in realtime discussions about world events, many children will be aware of what is happening in the world as they listen to their parents' conversations at home, and have instant access to the television and internet. Helping children deal with intense feelings of helplessness and grief is a huge task for parents and teachers - I have never hesitated as a teacher to ask for help from administration, support staff, and educational counsellors to help me in times such as this.

Please consider donating to the Canadian Red Cross at 1-800-418-1111 and Doctors Without Borders at 1-800-982-7903 to help those in Haiti who need it most right now. Thank you!

Teaching Children to Recognize and Spell their First Name

One of the first words that children learn to recognize and spell is their first name. There are a number of creative and hands-on ways to help them with this concept:

-display their name everywhere (e.g., use post-its and stick it on the fridge and bathroom mirror, label their belongings and point out their name to them)

-write your child's name in large print and overlay the print with white glue. Encourage your child to decorate the letters of his or her name using sparkles, macaroni, buttons, and other fun, small objects

-use manipulatives (like in the above picture) that have letters on them to help your child sequence and spell his or her name. Use blocks and unifix cubes

-place magnet letters on your fridge and mix up the letters. Encourage your child to sequence the letters in the proper order. This can be done with recipe cards too. Just print one letter on each card and shuffle.

-stamp out your child's name with cookie cutters or letter sponges dipped in paint

-bake letter cookies together

-use playdough to form the letters of your child's name. Roll the dough into skinny sticks so that it can be manipulated into lines and curves

Once your child has mastered his or her name, move onto other short words and names of other family members.

The Benefits of Board Games

Want to engage your child in meaningful explorations in math and socialization while spending quality time with him or her? Play a board game together! An interesting read from the Washington Post discusses the benefits of playing simple board games (e.g., Candy Land, Snakes and Ladders) with children including:

-children learn self-regulation as they wait their turn

-children learn good sportsmanship - how to be a gracious winner and a graceful loser

-one-to-one correspondence in math is reinforced as children count out the number of moves their player makes

-children practice using simple probability tools like dice and spinners

-children learn to instantly recognize the numeral that corresponds with the number of dots on the face of a dice

-playing face-to-face games with children provides an authentic opportunity for families to engage in conversations about the game and other important events as the conversation gradually steers from the game to other things

-other important ideas like shape and colour recognition often are reinforced through simple childhood games

Nurturing Language in Babies and Toddlers

Good Morning America had an interesting segment this morning regarding how babies and toddlers learn language from their parents. Speaking baby-talk to young children, like when parents make silly noises, can cause delays in how speech and language is learned. The experts suggested the following for improving children's language development:

-pick up on your child's cues. If he or she expresses interest in something like a toy or object, immediately capitalize on this interest by first naming the object and then describing it (e.g., "That's a ball. Balls are round. That ball is red."

-name things in different ways in order to situate the noun in various contexts (e.g., "Those are fish in the tank. The fish swim in the water. Those orange fish move fast!")

-engage in 'motherease' speaking, where the natural rhythms and cadences of language can be expressed by lengthening the words in a sing-song approach to speaking. This differs from speaking in 'baby talk' where gibberish is used as language. (e.g., "Loook at the puuuuppy. Theeee puuuuppy is cute!"

-speak as much as possible to your children, even before they are able to respond. Expose your children to as much oral language as possible. Name things for them when in the grocery store (e.g., Those are cans of food. The broccoli is green.") or during diaper changes (e.g., "Here are your toes! Here is your tummy!")

-young children love looking at human faces. When speaking to your child, try and have your face close to theirs so they can see your expression and how your mouth moves when speaking

-read a variety of stories to your children. Aim for at least one book a day. Reading allows a parent to alter their voice to match situations and characters in the story. Young children love hearing this variation in language.

-enlist the help of older children and family members who can engage your baby or toddler in conversation when you are unable to do so

Parent-Child Conversations

I decided to battle the holiday crowds at the mall today and return a few Christmas gifts that didn't fit. As I was standing in line I happened to overhear a conversation that was occurring immediately behind me. A very well-dressed, made up woman was standing with what I guessed to be her eighteen or nineteen year old daughter. The daughter teased her mother by asking her if she would buy her items for her. I was surprised by the mother's tone of voice as she said "no" with a bitter, sarcastic tone. The line was very slow moving. A few minutes later the daughter initiated conversation with the mother again by stating that she had received more Christmas money than expected, and aside from owing her friend a hundred dollars for an upcoming event, wondered what she should do with the rest. She specifically asked her mother how much money she should save. As I heard this the educator in me thought that this was a great teachable moment for the mother to discuss fiscal responsibility and saving with the daughter. But instead of this, the mother snapped at the daughter by asking her to be quiet because she wanted peace and quiet while they waited in line. The daughter stated that she just wanted to know her mother's opinion and the mother responded by telling the daughter to ask her father for his when they got home. The daughter retorted by saying that the father would tell her not to bother him if she asked for advice. Now I realize as an outsider I am not privy to the context or history of this conversation, but as a bystander I felt quite uncomfortable by the whole thing. I resisted the urge to jump into the conversation or give the girl a hug. How do parents learn to interact with their children? What can bystanders do in situations like this? How long had this toxic mother-daughter relationship existed and was the teenager spoken to like this as a young girl? What impact had this on her relationship with her family and others?

It reminded me of Raffi's notion of "Child Honouring" (see link below) and how children are our greatest gifts...meant to be nurtured and encouraged in their explorations for a safe and healthy tomorrow. I believe that as educators we must extend our interactions with parents beyond the regimented monthly newsletter. We should engage in meaningful conversations about children and their potential. However about how we delicately go about doing this I am not quite sure. Perhaps we can start by modeling loving, involved, interested relationships with our children. As the conversation between the mother and daughter ended, I used the fifteen minutes I waited in line to stroke my baby's cheek as he slept in his stroller.