Painting Rocks

I  had the opportunity to go see my other grand nuggets this weekend.  We had an awards ceremony, a Fall Festival, dancing class and soccer all in a 24 hour period.  Parker is starting his 2 week intercession at school.   Yes, they are year round.  In this testing, have to get everything taught frenzy we now call school, he had a project to do over the 2 weeks.  At first I thought, geesh, can't they  just enjoy playing for 2 weeks?  After looking at the 'project' I realized that Parker would be able to complete it quickly and while I wasn't crazy about what they were to do, it was relatively harmless.  Being Parker, he wanted to get started on it the minute he got home from school.  We convinced him he could wait until at least Saturday.

At one point this weekend we went to a park and just played.  The kids had so much fun just playing, running, chasing, climbing - just playing.  They decided on the way out to gather a few rocks and a pine cone they found.  Mom thought it a grand idea and so home we headed.

Once home they decided to get out their 'art box' and paint the pine cone and the rocks.  No rules, no design, no 'project expectation' just painting rocks.  To adults it seemed silly and somewhat pointless.  But to these two little ones it was an hour of unstructured fun full of creativity.

I wonder in our crazy lives, how often do we allow our children just time to be creative?  It doesn't have to be painting rocks but a box of art supplies that they may use however they want.  Using scissors is a wonderful activity to develop the fine motor muscles needed for holding a pencil and writing.  Being creative is a foundation for, well, just about everything!

So go to the dollar store, buy a tub, some scissors, glue, pasta, paper, paint, whatever and give your kids time to be creative.   Trust me, they need the balance.

Our kids deserve better!

If I were boss of the world I would only allow one ad spot per candidate on television.  I would only allow positive ads.  Each person running would only be allowed to say what he or she would do, not bash the other side.  Now a days it doesn't matter which affiliation you lean towards everyone behaves badly.  But sigh, I am not the boss of anything let alone the world!

The most overlooked office in each election is the State Board of Education.  This is the group who decides  the standards your child learns.  This group decides on the amount of testing that is done.  This group decides on which textbooks will be used and what goes in those textbooks.  In addition to the State Board, the governor and lieutenant governor play a major part in public education.

Now you may be thinking my child isn't in school yet, it doesn't apply to me.  But it does.  Some decisions that are decided last for 7-10 years, like textbooks.  Public education is the backbone of this country.  Even if you homeschool or choose private school the quality or lack of quality in public school will effect you.

Please, before you vote do your own homework.  Don't just listen to soundbites.  The League of Women Voters, as well as other organizations, has non-biased information on how candidates vote and stand on the different education issues.

Education funding has been significantly cut.  Ask around, ask actual teachers how it's going.  Get their views, they are in the trenches.
I really don't care how you vote as long as you have done your research, done your homework.  To vote blindly hurts our kids.  They rely on adults to make good decisions on their behalf.  They deserve better.

Whatcha learnin'?

I was reading, well rereading, a book about comprehension strategies and stumbled across a quote I really liked.  I read it with new eyes this time.  The quote, "Today's learning is tomorrow's background knowledge." got me thinking about questions we ask our kiddos.  I think many times we don't bring to a conscious level what our kids are learning in preschool or school or that they have even learned something.

For example, we ask how their day was, how was lunch, how was P.E. how was....but do we ever ask, what did you learn today that you didn't know yesterday?  That simple question makes kids think about their learning and new learning.  From the answer you get, you can then make connections to other things your child knows.  You can add, something like, wow, that learning goes into your background knowledge now.  It also gives you a glimpse into what your child perceives as learning.

The new learning that took place may be in math, social studies, science, reading, circle time, calendar time, centers whenever.  I think it would be fun to follow up the new learning question with a second question- what did you talk about today that you already knew?

Both of these questions make kids think about their learning and after all, that is why we send them to school...to learn.

Just get dressed! They will survive!

When I was raising my children I remember reading an article on how to do it all - have a family, have a career - entertain -have free time - all of it and be stress free.  I still laugh when I think about the article.  you see it was written by a very successful woman who suggested you delegate...you know have the nanny pick up the groceries before picking up your kids.  Hire a catering service for that next party you want to have.   Your personal shopper won't mind doing some Christmas shopping for you.  I clearly remember thinking, someone please write the article who doesn't make a ton of money and doesn't have all those 'support' people.

My daughter called the other night trying to figure out how to get two children to two different places at  the same time but in different directions.  Her husband is out of town.  When I suggested she call a friend to maybe help out, especially one going in the same direction, she replied with, Mom if I can figure out how to get it done myself I would rather.  And she did.

We all want to be the best parent even though we  joke about not being perfect.  You can't open social media, pick up a magazine, or turn on the television without hearing or reading what you should/need/could be doing for your child.   I know, this blog included!!  The truth is, there are days we wake up and just don't want to be creative and do crafts.  There are days we don't want to think of synonyms for truck!  There are days not only do we not want to go on a nature walk, we don't even want to go outside.  There are some days we just want to say, get dressed without discussing the colors, textures, types of clothing being put on.

Give yourself permission to have those days!  Your kids will survive. Your kids aren't shaped by one day alone but by all the days together.  Just make sure you have more quality days than off days.  So put your feet up, grab a book and let your kids play in their room.  Your kids will survive.

Parades and oral language??

This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a local parade.  It was great and didn't disappoint.  It had all the required things to make a parade great...floats, walkers, people tossing candy, spectators, you name it and it was there.

So what does that have to do with oral language?   Everything!  First of all, parades are free not to mention fun.  You can take your kids to a parade and have a free, natural, learning environment. There are so many words to which you can expose your children.   Talk about whether or not you are a spectator or a participant.  Use different words to describe all the people besides 'a lot' of people.  It may be a hoard of people or a throng.   Maybe it was a mass or a 'sea' of people.  Perhaps it was a huge crowd.

How 'bout those people giving out candy?   Were they tossing it, throwing it, handing it out? And the floats!  Were they beautiful, colorful, large or small?  Some might have been towed while others were motorized.

The new buzz phrase around the education world is 'word gap'.  Basically it's the number of words children come to school knowing and the gap that exists between kids.  Kids who struggle in school come to school having fewer words in their vocabulary.  It seems overwhelming but it really isn't if we will just look at the opportunities we have and think, what are some words I can expose my children to while we are here?

It's important for children to have a bank of words or synonyms for words.  There are other ways to describe the length of a parade.   Maybe it wasn't long, maybe it was endless.

Ahhh it's Autumn

I love this time of year.  I love the crisp mornings (well eventually), the leaves turning colors, hearing the high school bands, all of it.   I love the anticipation of the holidays around the corner.  Seasons and the how they change is typically something we don't talk about with our young kids.  This weekend is a perfect time to start.

Talk about the four seasons.  Explain how we are in fall and another name is autumn.  Discuss with your child that fall is a time that many animals prepare for winter.  Talk about what happens.  Go for a little 'nature' walk.   Look at the trees and other plants that should be beginning to change colors.   Explain that some trees will lose their leaves and some won't.  Tell your child to start paying attention to the smells in the air.  They might be able to smell a fire in some one's fireplace.   Talk about the flowers people are planting now.  Call attention to the shadows they see. Talk about how in the summer they could stay outside along time and it was still light.   Now,  it gets dark sooner in the afternoon.

This is a wonderful time of year for oral language.  It's allowing your child to be aware of the world and the changes that occur.   Believe or not, this lays the foundation for them to be aware as they learn new concepts in school.

A little bit of time...huge payoff!

More 'drawing' of letters than writing.  Writing the date and name.

It's always exciting to hear success stories.  Remember I showed you Parker's writing as he started school.  Well 2 months later and encouragement for authentic writing here is his writing today.  It's a great example of 1) allowing kids time to develop, not pushing 2) allowing for inventive spelling and 3) letting kids write about that which they know rather than writing to a prompt.

Writing to a prompt does nothing to encourage writing.  I mean, if I said to you, write about the best thing today.  Many of you would think, there wasn't any best thing today, today was a horrible day! You might not be in the mood to write about any best thing.  Hence your writing would be contrived, no voice, no passion, flat.  When we give kids writing prompts, we limit their writing.

I go for a walk in the park.  He also wrote 'hat' at the top because he knew how to write 'that'.

All writers write about that which they know. No writer writes  about contrived topics, so we shouldn't have students.   Before my teacher friends say what about the writing test, there is plenty of time to get them 'ready' for that.  

When we give kids in the early years the opportunity to write about anything they want, we create writers.   We create children who take risks in writing.   If your school doesn't allow for 'authentic' writing, you allow it at home.   We have the responsibility of creating lifelong writers, not prompt writers.
Side note:   He will learn when to use periods.  Obviously right now he think the more the better!

I don't mean to alarm you - and can you save this date?

I was in a meeting today with an eclectic group of people.  There were business leaders, community leaders, public and private school leaders as well as many non-profit organizations.  The topic of the meeting was basically, "the early years matter!"  This group of people were discussing what we as a community can do to ensure all parents understand the importance of the early years of a child's life. The discussion wasn't limited to school readiness but included the importance of the need for sleep, good nutrition, quality daycare  etc.

As with any good group of adults we had data!  Two pieces that really caught my eye and made me think and made me nervous were the following.   First, there has been quite a body of research done that shows kindergarten readiness sets the ceiling on school success.   In other words, the more ready your child is for kindergarten the more successful he or she will be.  The interesting thing was it crosses economic lines.  This doesn't mean go get the worksheets for your 2 year old. Rather make sure you are doing the things I have been discussing on this blog, you know read and talk, read and write, and then talk some more.

The second point made that I hadn't really thought about was that in Texas in order to teach Kindergarten or Prekindergarten you have to have an EC-6 certification.  What that means is that you are certified to teach prek through 6th grade!  Back in the day, we had to have an early childhood endorsement.  Every class we took was on child development and how a young child learned.  They don't have time for that now.  Basically, the state is giving the responsibility to either the school district or the individual teacher to become an expert in early childhood.  What that means to me is no wonder we have so many teachers doing developmentally inappropriate activities with young children.   They don't know any better.   What this should mean to you is don't assume your child's teacher is an expert in early childhood practices.   Ask!   Some are and some are not.   If you think an activity or homework is well above grade level, ask.  Ask what their background is.

So one thing you can do for readiness is save October 21.  This is Read for the Record day.  It's a national campaign to get as many people sharing in the reading experience as possible.  This year the book to read is one of my favorites, Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells.  If you go to the website you can pledge to read and see all the previous books for past years.  There are activities listed in both English and Spanish.

So let's do it.   Get your book soon so you are ready!

Is it 'oi' or 'oy'? hmmmm

Ahhhhh the debate over inventive spelling.  If you are thinking, huh, don't worry you will be introduced to it soon enough.  Basically (in my opinion) it's that time when young children try to write  words that they probably can't spell on their own.  They don't have the spelling patterns down. Many of the spelling patterns like, when to use 'oi'  or 'oy', when to use 'ite' or 'ight' aren't even appropriate until 2nd grade. I know some of you are thinking, well, when do you?  The point is we want children writing well before they have learned the correct spelling patterns.  If we wait until all the patterns are taught, we will be waiting a long time!

Inventive spelling really is just hearing and then recording the sounds you hear in a word.  So for example if a child wanted to write the word bright, it would be possible that he or she would write brit because those are the sounds that can be heard.  I have seen young children write the word hamburger as hambrgr.   It does make sense.

As they grow and continue in school hopefully they will be in a program that has them do word sorts and word analysis rather than silly activities such as writing the words 3 times.  I'll address that at a later time.  When children conduct word sorts they are able to conclude that 'oi' is used when the sound is in the middle of a word or syllable.  They will conclude that if that sound is at the end of a word or syllable it is spelled 'oy'.

Parker now knows how to spell the word no, among others.   He can analyze that word and conclude that if he can spell no, he can change the 'n' to a 'g' and spell go.   Change the 'n' to an 's' and he has so.   He learned that by knowing how to spell one word, he can spell many others.

In the meantime he needs to be encouraged to write and record his thoughts.  If we want children to write we have to encourage them to write words they don't yet control.   That can only happen when we allow inventive spelling.  Understand that initially a child may only write the first letter as that may be all they hear.  Then, developmentally they write the beginning and end of the word.   So the word cat might be written ct.  My favorite was a first grader trying to write the word hydraulics, she wrote hijroliks.  Makes sense to me.   If inventive spelling wasn't encouraged for above age words, she never would have even tried.  We don't let children continue using inventive spelling once they  have been taught a spelling pattern.  We should and do hold them accountable for spelling those words correctly.

When your child is writing and asks how to spell a word, please don't say sound it out.  Rather say, What sounds do you hear?   Write those down.  What sound do you hear first?  Next? At the end?

Let's see how well you can read inventive spelling.   I will start up a few levels to make it easier for you.
min, jrv, rop,  bak, wndw  

So.....how did you do?

I'm a reader, yes I am!

Convincing young children they can read sometimes is the biggest hurdle to overcome.  Zoey decided not too long ago to read so she picked up a book.  Look closely...it's the Bible.  Now, I know there are those who are excited she chose the Bible, but really she just wanted to read a grown up book, a big book, a fat book.

She isn't really reading - but she is.  She is behaving as a reader.  She is pointing to words/letters, she is turning the pages.  She is taking it very seriously.  She is starting on the left page and then 'reading' the right page.  All of this has to be under control before kids begin to actually read print.  Sooner than later she will begin to recognize letters and words.

We send the subliminal message that 'real reading' is big books or books with no pictures.  We need to be intentional and tell kids that they are reading when they read the McDonald's logo, if they read his/her name, any type of print.  Encourage them to pretend read big books.  After they have 'read' the book say something like: Tell me about your book? What was it about?  Was it good?

So encourage that reading!

Laundry and Learning

First of all, if you don't sort your laundry read no further!  If you are like my husband who throws it all in together, this will make no sense to you.

Everyone does laundry, or at least everyone I know! Some days it seems to consume us so why not let it be a learning game.  Children need to understand the concept of categories.  Things that go together, things that are the same and different.  At the fundamental level it is sorting things by color, size, and shape.  We then can categorize by things that go in the air, on the ground, in water.  As they move up in sophistication we categorize by living and nonliving.  We can categorize by short vowel sound or long vowel sound.  You can see how this keeps going.

So the next time you are doing the laundry, get your little one to help.  Ask him/her to help you put the clothes in groups, sort them.  Can we put all the pants and shorts here?  Everything that is white goes here. Let's put all the clothes that are dark colors over here.  That can then lead to a discussion of what constitutes dark colors or brights colors.  The possibilities are endless!  Obviously you might combine some groups when you actually put the clothes in the washer, but they are helping.  Lola is a great sorter of socks already at 21 months!

It's that incidental or accidental learning that makes a difference.  Learning through everyday experiences!

Go get started on that laundry!

It's okay to lie

Today is obviously a very somber and important day in our history.  For many of us we can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing.  For some of us, all we know are the stories that have been told about that horrific day.  For others still, it is even more personal than that because loved ones were lost or they experienced it first hand.

So how do we explain it to young children?   Some really young ones don't even  need it mentioned.   They have no concept or background knowledge on which to hang this information.  They are easy, phew!  If your child is in school, more than likely and hopefully it was discussed.  I am sure curriculum has been developed to teach it.

We need to be careful though and keep the age, both actual and emotional, of the child in mind.  My grandson, Parker is very sensitive.  I like to call  him an old soul.  He was concerned after the 911 discussion at school that planes fly into buildings every Sept. 11!  Very matter of fact - that's what happens on September 11, you know that happens in September and then in October you go trick or treating etc.  It seems insensitive until you think about the mind and background knowledge of a 6 year old.  In his little, young mind special days happen each year and you do pretty much the same thing each year.

My concern is that we have no idea the emotional turmoil he may be in the next time he flies.   Will my plane fly into a building?  Will bad men be on my plane?  To be honest, I have those thoughts when I fly but as an adult I can rationalize those thoughts...a 6 year old can't.

The dilemma then is what do we tell them and who does the telling?   You can't keep your child home every time something sad or difficult may be discussed at school.  But you can talk to your child.  Depending on the age of the child, I think it's perfectly fine to lie.  Tell them it won't happen again.  Tell them we are safe and it is safe to fly.  Tell them planes don't fly into buildings any more.  If they ask how you know?  Tell them important people have made sure of it.  They don't really need anything else at the age of six except to be reassured that they are safe.   There is plenty of time the rest of their lives for the truth.  At least that's what I think.

Rhyming Shyming

There are some experts who will tell you that the ability to rhyme is the be all and end all in learning to read.  While I don't think it's THE complete answer it does play a critical part in learning to read.  Some of these same experts will also tell you that the ability to rhyme is very easy.  It is for most children but there are a few who struggle with rhyming.  For those children, many times it involves a deeper issue.

But, for most children rhyming is fun and easy.   The easiest way to introduce your child to rhyming is singing rhyming songs or nursery rhymes.  It doesn't even have to be formal.   This morning while walking with Miss Lola as we chatted I would say rhyming pairs.   For example, I said, I see the sky, sky - bye.  Look at the tree, tree - bee.  Now I am well aware that at 21 months Lola doesn't understand rhyming words.   But she does understand the lilt in my voice when I say rhyming words.  I am 'planting' the idea of rhyme in her brain.   When she is a little bit older, I can then attach the statement, "those words rhyme."

I believe one of the most important benefits of exposing children to rhyme is letting them hear and experience the playfulness of language.  We don't worry if the words are spelled differently, that will come later.

Below are some websites with nursery rhymes:
nurseryrhymes.com
mothergooseclub
nursery rhymes and silly stuff

A few good rhyming books:
There's a Wocket in my Pocket and any other Dr. Seuss books
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young, Jack Prelutsky

Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae

For kids, the sillier the better.  After reading ask, which words rhyme, sounded the same at the end? With second readings, let your child provide the rhyming word.

Word Games

I have written before about the importance of phonological awareness in learning to read and write.  It really is important for children to learn those pesky beginning sounds as well as the other sounds in words.  Having an "awareness" of which words begin the same or differently gives a child an advantage when they start school.

One of the easiest and most fun things to do is to teach your child tongue twisters.  Not only does it make your child aware of the beginning sounds of words but it introduces him/her to alliteration.   Alliteration is a literary stylistic device children learn in school typically when they study poetry.

Here are a few common ones:

She sells sea-shells down by the sea-shore

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Here are a few fun things to do with tongue twisters/alliteration in addition to just saying the common ones.

Have your child make up an alliteration sentence with the beginning letter of his//her name.

Parker parks penguins at the playground.

Zoey zips zippers at the zoo.

Lola likes lemon lollipops.

As you drive around or when you are at the grocery store, notice brands that use alliteration:

• Dunkin’ Donuts
• Best Buy
• Coca-Cola
• American Airlines
• Chuckee Cheese’s
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Krispy Kreme

What about characters?  Are their names alliteration?

• Mickey Mouse
• Porky Pig
• Fred Flintstone
• Donald Duck
• Spongebob Squarepants

Once children are made aware of alliteration they love thinking of new ones.  

Give it a go!   You and your kids will laugh trying to say them quickly.

What's your 'go-to' word?

Which of the following is awesome: your lunch or the Great Pyramid of Giza? Comedian Jill Shargaa asks this question in a TED talk. She suggests we save the word awesome for things that truly inspire awe. Shargaa suggests we use the word wonderful for things that truly are full of wonder.  She makes some very good points.

After reading the transcript of her talk I thought, no wonder kids are so confused.   Really!  We say a sandwich is awesome, a grade is awesome, a dress is awesome, a day is awesome.  So to a 5 year old what does awesome mean? If all those things are awesome, how do you describe the Rocky Mountains?  Really, really awesome? 

My mother used to say that people who used 'curse' words showed a lack of intelligence.  Clearly if they had a larger vocabulary they would choose different words.  Clearly my mother wasn't around some people I knew who just liked to use 'bad' words.  But we do a disservice to our children when we overuse words or use words incorrectly.  And, it really does show a lack of vocabulary.

As Shargaa mentioned in her talk, a sandwich can be delicious, it can be tasty, it can be dry, it can be a lot of things, but awesome?  Kids need big vocabularies so we need to expose them to as many different words as we can when we chat with them.  Think about the word sad?   We use the word sad for too many emotions.    Everyone isn't sad!   Some are mad, or angry or frustrated or overwhelmed.  

So would this be pretty, incredible, awesome, nice?

I've been thinking, what is my 'awesome'?  My go-to or crutch word is fabulous.  I know deep down everything can't and isn't fabulous.  

So this week when talking with your kids before you fall back on your 'go-to' word, think, what is a better word, a more specific word that better describes what I am thinking?

Fabulously awesome!!

Can I help?

That question can cause almost every parent to run and hide.  I know, I know, it is so much easier to do things without the help of little ones.  Trust me, I know!  I can get those pancakes made in half the time and half the mess.  There were days when my children were little that I would secretly think, please don't realize I am cooking, I really don't want any help!   I am ashamed to admit there were times I even sent them out!  Believe it or not they still grew to be well balanced, productive adults.  But admit it,  it takes so much more time and it really can be a huge mess.  There are some days we want to say, No, you may not help.

The plus side to letting your kids help is that it is a great time for accidental learning.  It's a natural time for them to observe you reading non-fiction, like a procedural text on how to put together a shelf unit.   You are modeling how to follow step 1, step 2 and so on.  You might even have the opportunity to model what happens if a step is skipped!  In this example, additionally you are introducing your child to the vocabulary of tools.  It's really very easy to say, Oh the directions tell me to hammer this nail into the back of this piece.  Hmm, I need to rotate this piece so the holes line up.  This screwdriver will work on these screws.   Let me check the directions again to see what I do next. 


When you let your child help with cooking, not only are you increasing their oral language but the math opportunities are endless.  Think of all the measurement terms they are learning.

As adults 80% of what we read in a given day is nonfiction or informational text and only 20% is fiction.  Typically in most schools it's reversed, 80% of what kids read is fictional and 20% is informational or nonfiction.   It is more true with little kids. With this being the case, we need to make sure we are not only exposing our children to nonfiction but inviting them to help us when we are reading and following directions and recipes.  Even if they are young, like 2, they can still observe and absorb.

So bring on the help with those pancakes!