One of the things I hear most often from caregivers in this program is that they’d never try some of the stuff at home because of the sheer messiness. While I totally get it, it also makes me so sad! Messy, sensory play such as this fosters curiosity, imagination, physical and mental development and exploration.Continue reading “Totally Untidy Toddlers #3: Color!”
Tag Archives: babies
ECRR: Playing!
Here’s another one of my favorite ECRR practices! Playing! It helps children think symbolically. A ruler becomes a magic wand. Our surroundings become prehistoric times with dinosaurs and a playmate becomes a t-rex! Their imagination is the limit! Just the act of this kind of play reinforces the code deciphering children will do later onContinue reading “ECRR: Playing!”
ECRR: Singing!
The second in our series on Every Child Ready to Read’s five daily practices is here! If you missed last week’s edition of Talking, find it here! This week’s practice is Singing. This is one of my absolute favorite ways to promote early literacy. Singing comes so natural to kids and it helps them learnContinue reading “ECRR: Singing!”
ECRR: Talking!
For the next few weeks, I’m going to talk a bit about one of Every Child Ready to Read’s five daily practices and some examples of how to incorporate it into programming. This week’s practice is Talking. Children learn about language by listening to parents and adults talk and by joining in the conversation. SoundsContinue reading “ECRR: Talking!”
Every Child Ready to Read: A History
Talking about, demonstrating, and teaching early literacy is a huge part of my job at my public library. Because I reference it a lot in some of my blog posts, I want to dedicate an entire post to it. Though there are many philosophies of thought on the topic, I’m going to be referencing theContinue reading “Every Child Ready to Read: A History”
Why Early Literacy Matters
Children’s librarians talk a lot about early literacy. It can become one of those buzz words that organizations look for, but it is so much more. There’s really so much riding on it for young children, so let’s talk a little about why.
Infant/Toddler Storytimes: What Do They Look Like?
My job at the public library allows me to work with children ages 0-12, but my specific position is to be the point-person for early literacy needs, programming for kids 0-6 and especially 0-3. I hold a weekly lap-sit storytime for the 0-3 crowd and have experimented with timing, age limits, set up, activities, etc.Continue reading “Infant/Toddler Storytimes: What Do They Look Like?”
Totally Untidy Toddlers #2: Texture!
Time for messy fun, again! Though my goals and activities were the same as in our first edition, in this session of the program we explored a different theme. Texture. I tried harder this time to make sure that everything included was taste safe and edible. I kept one station the same as in ourContinue reading “Totally Untidy Toddlers #2: Texture!”
Totally Untidy Toddlers #1: Nature
I’ve been doing messy, chaotic preschool programs for quite a while (our building services people probably curse my name), but I hadn’t ventured into the world of complete mess for my infant/toddler group. Something about it scared me. Maybe because at that age they put literally everything and anything into their mouths and many ofContinue reading “Totally Untidy Toddlers #1: Nature”
Librarian Ginny 