Thursday, June 28, 2007

ECRR Concept of the Week (6-27-07)


Letter knowledge is recognizing that each letter is different with different sounds and different names. A great way to increase a child's letter knowledge is to use alphabet books. In the children's picture book section of the library there are many alphabet books such as Alpha Oops!: the Day Z went First by Alethea Kontis, Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood, and Alligator Arrived with Apples: a Potluck Alphabet Feast by Crescent Dragonwater. These books are great for alliteration (ex. a is for apple). Also, they use rememberable pictures that most children will recognize. -Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

ERCC Concept of the Week (06/20/07)

Does your child have a favorite book that they like you to read to them over and over again? At our house it was “Counting Kittens” and “Needabeck’s Number Book.” I know, I know you dream in “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See”, but be assured that you are helping your preschooler develop early literacy skills that will make them ready to become readers. This is a good opportunity for your little one to develop their narrative skills, helping them to be able to describe things and events and to tell stories. Ask them to “read” or tell the story to you. Play a sequencing game, ask them what came first in the story. What happened at the end and in the middle of the story. Let them make up a different ending. Let them “draw” or illustrate the story. Pick out key words and write them out. An example in “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” might be the color words or the animal words in the story. Find ways to play games with these words. Change familiar words to silly words; Blubooda Bear, Blubooda Bear what do you plip? Be creative, think out of the box and all of a sudden you see that book you read over and over again in a new and different way. Remember to have and make it fun!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

ECRR Concept of the Week (6-14-07):


A great way to show children a connection between what you are reading and what they are hearing is by following the text with your finger. This shows them that it is the words that are being read and not the pictures. Also, don't hesitate to point out words that are repeated often. These words can be called "popcorn" words and consist of small but important repetitive words: the, and, as, I, me, my... These will be some of the first words your children learn to recognize when they begin to read. -Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System

Friday, June 8, 2007

This is in response to the question about Box Day and what we did for box day. This was a special day that the kids had a great time. I collected large appliance boxes, shoe boxes, jewelry boxes and any other kind of box that I could get my hands on. For the storytime, I explained the importance to parents of not constantly stimulating children with the latest and greatest thing, but allowing them the time to explore and use their own imaginations. I then shared several books:
  • Thank You, Bear by Greg Foley
  • The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
  • A Box Can be Many Things by Dana Meachen Rau
  • Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

There are so many good children's box books that sky is the limit. After sharing books, I asked the children to come explore the boxes. They had a blast. Some they could sit in, others they crawled through. There were small ones to put things in and open and close. I then reassemble the group and asked what they imagined their box was. One boy said a house and another said an elevator. I ended with another box story and then gave each child a small box that had a treat in it such as a sucker. It was a fun day and an easy storytime idea.

ECRR Concept of the Week (1-8-07):

Young children love to mimic everything they see. For example, some little girls like to put on make-up like their mothers or little boys will want power tools like their fathers. It is no secret that they learn from what they observe. That is why it is so important for parents and caregivers to let children see them read. Children who see their parents or caregivers reading are more likely to be readers themselves. So grab a good book and relax. It won't be long until you see your little ones do the same thing. -Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System