Pencil Grip Tip

If your child is not holding a pencil correctly you can get triangular pencil grips from 'Warehouse Stationery' that fit over the bottom section of the pencil where your child holds it. This grip will force your child to hold the pencil correctly. A correct pencil hold is important to being able to form letters correctly.

Mothers are important to successful reading

Now Dads don't be offended by what I am about to tell you because you may well be, and hopefully you are, exceptions to the rule.

Apparently, according to research, as recalled by David Spraggs, a presenter on 'Boys Learning, mothers play a very important role in supporting the establishment of early reading behaviours. This includes modelling positive attitudes towards reading that increase the likelihood of successful reading habits.

The main reason for this is that mothers are usually the people who read most frequently to their children and who children see using reading and writing in everyday settings.Mothers are most likely to assist with homework and hear their young school age children reading books brought home from school.

Let children also see you reading for enjoyment during your leisure time as this shows them a positive aspect of recreational reading.Its hard in a busy household to find time but I know when I was reading a book in the holidays and told my four year old,'I can't read to you at the moment, I'm reading my own book and I just need to know what happens first,' the look was priceless!

First it was indignant (how dare I not drop everything immediately for her), then it was surprise (wow you love reading and want to know the details too, mum?) and finally the look of hunger (I want to get a piece of that too!). She snuggled beside me and started asking about the book. I told her and answered all her questions until we hit a snag...I didn't know the answer to a question. She looked very disappointed and told me, 'Hurry up and read Mum, so I know!' Needless to say I was left in peace for a few minutes longer and was later able to share details of the story which we both ended up enjoying! I think my next book might be night time 'after the kids are asleep' reading though so I'm not hounded with questions. LOL!

Remember the good job you are doing parents each time you read to and with your children. You DO make a difference. Well done and keep up the great role modelling!
Jo

"You are your child's Cheer Leaders"

What a delightful way to express how parents can support their children's learning and self esteem! I heard this uttered by a primary school teacher with regards to supporting your new entrant as they start to read school readers.

It was good advice and reminds all of us who are parents, that our children need our support and encouragement as they learn. Give them lots of positive affirmations (the cheers!) about what they CAN and ARE doing well not negative feedback about what they can't yet do.

She added, "Let the teacher be the coach while you cheer from the side lines".

I couldn't agree more because if anyone has the credentials to cheer the best and loudest for your child its got to be you don't you think? Well I know from my own experiences on the sidelines of the soccer field that I have the loudest voice when my child has the ball! LOL!

Jo

Past Literacy and Numeracy Newsletters for your reference

Early Childhood Playgroup Literacy Tips

Access to the Early Childhood site where some Playgroup literacy tips are is easy when you click on the link on the side bar to the right of the screen. Once you have gained access into this site you will need to left click on Playgroups on the top menu bar. From there click on Learning environment for Playgroups on the side bar at the left of your screen. Scroll down the list of links and you will find links to literacy, books and many more exciting things. Happy reading!

P.S. You may like to explore the Centre-Based link on the top bar on the home page of this site too because that contains further information for your viewing.

What should I look for in a book?

For young children who are developing their literacy skills and knowledge it is important to choose stories that will capture a child's interest and imagination through its bright colorful pictures, its story line (plot) and its use of language. At an early age children love rhyming text and this is very good for supporting children's predictions of text (words) and in developing knowledge about families of words (word patterns - e.g. like, bike, hike, Mike).

Books with a few lines of words on each page work best but in saying that don't eliminate reading longer stories. Just think about your child and their capabilities. Can they concentrate long enough to read the story? Is the story captivating enough that their attention span will last?

Books with humour are enjoyed by young children particularly from 3years onwards. They also love stories where some problem is solved. They enjoy stories that have lots of excitement and suspense moments. Animals that talk appeal as do the stories that contain real experiences that they can relate to.

Non-fiction books should not be overlook because young children are very curious to know about real things and events as well as the imaginative ones.

Traditional tales which are well known such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood are also well loved by young children. And be sure to include New Zealand books that reflect our unique bicultural identity when reading. Children also love to read about other cultures that are different from their own.

Well known authors or book series can also be fun to read with your child. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd is one such series which young children seem to adore and DR Suess remains a solid favourite author of children.

What should I read to my child?

Your child will probably help you with this as they like to choose what you will read to them. It could be an old favourite that you seem to have read every night for the past ten weeks, or it may be one that has caught their current interest. If you are selecting remember to include some factual (non-fiction) books so that real information is being shared rather than all imaginative fantasy type stories. Vary the themes of what you read and don't be scared to tackle stories with not so nice themes or outcomes. Children can learn from stories where others may be challenged or there is some adversity to overcome. For example if a story tackles the issue of bullying it may well be that the story or your subsequent discussion with your child supports them to learn new strategies to deal with difficult situations. Furthermore those scary nightmarish sort of stories often appeal to children who love to be scared from within a secure haven such as home or kindergarten AND children can tell whats real and whats make believe pretty accurately!

Purposeful writing

Children love to imitate adults and writing is no exception. How many times have you seen a littlie park themselves beside mum or dad at the bank or post office and fill out their deposit/withdrawal form? This is literacy in action in the real world. It becomes meaningful and children can see it has a real purpose.



Ideas

*as you write a shopping list let your child write theirs

*write letters/txts/e-mails to family and friends AND post them! (Grandparents love the letters with drawings and beginning writings)

*supply them with their own calendar to mark special events

*have notepads, paper, old envelopes,cellotape, pens, pencils and rubbers available for them

*help them write their own stories maybe even make them into books to share

*If you have an old key board let them play with that so they can role play on the computer at home or work

*Show them how you use your diary or checklists

*let them see you writing notes to remind yourself or others

*record phone messages so they see the connection between the verbal message and the written ones

Concepts about Print

This is a term often used by teachers, particularly in junior classes. The Concepts of Print is a set of knowledge about books, letters and print. They include:

*directionality - knowing that we start reading and writing by going from the left-hand side of the page to the right-hand side and we start at the top of the page and read down the page)

*Front/back of book - knowing which is the front of the book and which is the back

*Knowing which is the title page - usually the first page in the book before the story begins

*Being able to identify the title (name) of the story (i.e.Where is the story's name?)

*Knowing the difference between a letter and a word e.g. B is a letter, big is a word

*Being able to identify the picture

*Knowing where to start reading if the text isn't at the top of the page

*knowing where the page ends and where to start reading after that

*knowing that the print carries a message or story that is constant

*knowing how to handle and care for books

*Recognizing things that don't 'fit' with our predictions

What one expert has to say about reading to children

Cosgrove (1989) suggests there are many benefits to reading to our tamariki. Some of these are:

#children have a wider more complex vocabulary and language repetoire

#children have a better understanding of what they hear

#children who are read to have greater success in learning to read than those who have not been read to

Reference

Cosgrove, M.S. (1989). Read out loud? Why bother? New England Reading Association Journal, 25, 9-22.

Play and Literacy

Playing has benefits for children's writing and reading because not only does it broaden children's experiences and knowledge, it also allows for purposeful engagement in literacy activities. Teachers and parents have a critical role in supporting this by providing materials to encourage this.



Children learn about themselves and others through play and being read to. They challenge their thinking, kick start their imaginations, develop greater understanding about their world and the wider world

Shared reading

This is a popular method of teaching used in junior classes in schools. Often the teacher will use a big book with large text however at home you can share any type of book or text. At Grasslands you may have observed the staff reading familiar and well known stories with the tamariki that have quite repetitive texts. These books allow us to encourage the children to predict the text and read along to known parts of the story.

We use big and little stories we share as opportunities to model the process of reading. We can demonstrate tones and expression for children to imitate during our reading and after when they are reading independently. We can use shared reading to talk about concepts of print and develop letter/sound knowledge and recognition.

Questioning as you read

Don't be afraid to challenge your child's thinking about what you read together. For example you may have read the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff and you may ask your child questions like:

'What was another way the goats could have got across the river instead of using the troll's bridge?'

'What is another way the goats could have asked the troll if they could use his bridge?'

'Why do you think the troll was grumpy?'


Also encourage the children to tell you what the story may be about by looking at the cover and pictures. Early readers use pictures to help them understand what the story is about. By using pictures they can make educated 'guesses' at what words may be on the page and as their letter knowledge increases they will start to match up other 'clues'/cues that they see on the page.

Questioning helps develop children's critical thinking skill (recall, analyzing, inferring, reflection, predicting, evaluation, to name a few).

Remember not to overdo the questioning thing though. Its not an interrogation so one or two will be enough!

Repetition of stories

Let children revisit stories. Read the stories that they choose even if its the same one over and over. Children love the comfort of the known. They love to be able to show you how they can predict what is coming up next. Reading stories frequently allows children to develop their awareness of the story plot. It also allows them to become familiar with language structures and contexts, that is what words go together in certain situations. When children are very familiar with stories they begin to start noticing other elements about the text (words) such as 'that word starts like my name!'.

The Merits of Reading to Your Child

Reading to your child is not only a wonderful bonding time with your child it is also an opportunity for your child to learn. Reading to children assists with language development because children are hearing new words and learning how those words are used in certain settings. They learn how language is made up and the patterns that occur. Reading allows ideas and information to be exchanged. Children can often relate to the experiences in the stories they hear. This often opens the door to some interesting discussions. Children learn about the unknown through books. When children talk about the content of books it is supporting the building of their understanding of the story or information. Children learn that books contain messages and that the story or information is constant from one day to the next. It doesn't change. Every time they read the book it will have the same words and pictures. This allows children to become familiar with story plots and characters, and recall details. Listening skills and concentration can also be enhanced.


When we read to children we are providing sound models of how we read (tone and pace). We demonstrate where to start reading and where to stop. We demonstrate how to handle books. We show that we like reading and that helps foster positive attitudes to reading in our young children.