Halloween brings on excited anticipation in children as they plan the character they will “be” for the night and search for that perfect costume. I’ve already been privy to a 3 year-old’s Dorothy costume, complete with her basket and Toto. It resides on a high shelf so it won’t be worn out before October 31st.
Why not take advantage of the buzz around Halloween and introduce some new books around the theme that can capture your child’s interest and build his language through rhyme, vocabulary and clever plots to spark conversation.
It’s summer. School is out, so grab a book, cuddle up with your child and take a cool break .
Reading to your child sets the foundation for emergent literacy skills—what children need to know before they actually read and write. With each story read, you are building your child’s vocabulary, phonemic awareness (understanding that words are made up of individual sounds), knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent, and narrative skills or story telling. Reading to your child not only prepares him for academic success but also says I have time for you, strengthening the special bond you have with your child.
These new picture books will spark discussions with your child about feelings, reactions, situations, or predictions. The beautiful, intricate illustrations can encourage your young artist to illustrate their thoughts or reactions to the story. Help your child to relate her experiences to the story and the story line to her world, building language skills in the process.
Trainstop by Barbara Lehman
Climb aboard this train, but be sure to sit next to the little girl rather than her parents who are engrossed in the newspaper and fall asleep, missing the whole adventure. Her face is pressed against the glass of the train car window, anticipating the new world she will enter after passing through a tunnel. Stepping out of the train into a world of tiny people, she is asked to help retrieve a toy airplane and pilot from the apple tree. Friendships develop, but it’s time to hop back on the train to return to the city. The magic comes full circle when upon arriving home, the girl looks up to see her little friends flying by to deliver a tree of thanks.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
How can so many story possibilities be packed into a wordless book? That’s the point. Beautifully illustrated wordless books provide a platform for creative story telling and writing. Encourage your child to examine the drawings and describe characters, contrast them, predict what they will do, describe their emotions and give them dialogue. Look at the parents versus the little girl—engrossed in their paper, falling asleep, indifferent to their surroundings while the child is anticipating adventure.
Your child becomes the author-story teller as she orally illustrates each page and gives words to the drawings. Try collaborating by alternating as the storyteller—you describe the action on a page and let your child add on to the story on the next page. Or each invent your own story, share them and see how they differ. Make this a family activity, assigning one member to write down the story as it unfolds or illustrate it as a group.
Try these strategies to enhance language development with other magical wordless books:
Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman
Hogwash by Arthur Geisert
Lights Out by Arthur Geisert
Max’s Dragon by Kate Banks
Max’s earnest search for rhyming words, sends him through a croquet game, rainstorm and adventures with his dragon. Initially an annoyance to his brothers, Max keeps up his lines, “If my dragon isn’t faster, there’ll be a big disaster” until brothers Karl and Ben are contributing too. When the dragon is threatened there is only one thing to do—create another rhyme to save the day.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
What a delightful introduction to poetry and rhyme! Since the understanding of rhyme is a precursor to reading, it is important to play with rhyming words with your child. Read the rhymes to a younger child, emphasizing the changing first sound (the “f” in faster and “d” sound in disaster), and then just repeat the two words: faster, disaster. With a child 4 years old and up, create your own one-liners. Start them off with a phrase such as “I can’t wait or I’ll be (late).” Look at a fun illustration and create rhymes based on the pictures. Throw out a word and see how many rhyming words you and your child can generate. A first or second grader can write his own poem based on a favorite activity, imaginary friend, or object. Sometimes starting with an illustration will help generate the language.
The Rubber-Legged Ducky by John G. Keller
Watch out what you eat when you are expecting! Mama duck nibbled a rubber band along with a clump of grass before giving birth. When she hatched her brood, the fifth duckling bounced rather than waddled, and cried, “Bing-boing” instead of the typical “Quack, quack.” This delightful tale is all about being different, or special with true potential, as only a mother could declare. Five’s rubbery legs were good for strumming accompaniments to sing-alongs and lassoing bullies but his greatest act of bravery was to stand against the fox, using his special talents to protect his family.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
Take the opportunity to discuss with your child how friends are different, what special talents we all have—maybe a good listener, helper or storyteller–and celebrate the differences.
The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli
Take the challenge to write the best story and win the first prize ride on a roller coaster. This little girl sought her family’s advice and one by one wrote a draft according to their suggestions. First she packed her story with action—pirates, sharks, and tornados—to please her little brother, Tim. When Dad said good stories had plenty of humor, she put the pirates in pajamas and revised her draft. Aunt Jane countered that the best stories have to make you cry. The little girl’s revisions to cause tears didn’t seem right either. Finally, Mom, the source of all wisdom, said, “I think the best story comes from the heart. Your own heart.” The little girl began pulling her story out of her own heart and it was a winner, contest or not.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
Summer is a great time for your child to keep a journal and write from her heart. Write about the best thing that happened that day, a new word learned and explain it, a favorite storybook, or all about a beloved relative. If your child is too young to write her thoughts, you be the scribe and take down her words. Draw an illustration with special markers and make it into a book.
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Being grumpy is a lot of work. Mr. Fish can’t seem to be cheered up by his convincing pals, Ms Clam, Mr. Jelly (Fish), Mrs. Squid or Mr. Eight (legged octopus). In spite of the efforts by his best-intended buddies, this dreary, sulking fish is convinced he is doomed to a life of mope. An unexpected visitor appears to plant a kiss on our prince to get this grump out of his slump. This charming tale is filled with strong vocabulary, rhythm and rhyme with stanzas to be sung with your little one.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
Model putting words to your emotions throughout your daily experiences. “I’m frustrated, I can’t get this lid open” or “I’m tired and grumpy. I need a nap.” “Please be patient, I can’t help you right now.” Identify and name emotions in stories that you read aloud to your child. “The little girl is selfish—always wanting her own way” or “Grandma is disappointed in her behavior.” Brainstorm words that describe the main character and see how many you can list. After reading a story to a first grade class, I collected fourteen words to describe the “bossy, impolite, ungrateful” little girl. Our little pout pout fish is “glum,” “mopey,” “dreary,” with an “unattractive trait.”
Point out repeated words that are isolated in the text, “Blub, Bluuuub, and Bluuuuub!” Your child will begin to associate the sound with the letter as you stretch out the word and even “read” the word next time you encounter that page.
There is a huge push to read to your baby as soon as she is born–and even before since her auditory system is mature after the second trimester. Research shows that the amount of talking to your baby positively influences her language development. The more words your baby hears, the better it is for her language growth. Babies are hard-wired to learn language but the quantity of words you feed your baby is important. In the same way that it’s critical to narrate your day to your infant, filling her day with words, reading to your baby offers many of the same advantages. Your infant is hearing the “rhythm of language”, distinguishing her primary language from other languages based on timing, pitch and sounds. An article in a recent parenting magazine suggests that if you have an infant to 3 month old it is best to choose books that have one word on a page.
Not so for language development! The first three months are an opportunity to bathe your child in all kinds of language, through conversation as well as reading books. Try nursery rhymes, poems, stories or picture books. You have a little window when your infant will happily listen to anything. Around 3 months, she will be more attentive to a shorter text with all the rhyme and rhythm of Brown Bear Brown Bear or Moo Baa La La La ,
When visiting new Mom, Dad, and 2 week-old Caroline, I noticed Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose, Classic Fairy Tales and Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-me Book of Poems in. the nursery. Mom had researched these beautiful anthologies, bought them and was reading them to her daughter. Caroline was hearing the bouncy beat and rhyme of “Jack and Jill went up the hill,” the flowing language of classic fairy tales like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and the shorter rhyming phrases of poems by endearing authors. Another mom read the Madeleine series to her newborn daughter who happened to be named Madeleine.
As your infant gets older and more discerning for a bright, simple, shorter rhythmic rhyming tale, she might not have the patience for a longer story. This can happen around 3 months but don’t hesitate to keep reading longer, more complex stories to your child as long as she is interested.
Here are some of my favorites, old and new for your preschooler to encourage language through a great story:
The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens. Check out my review. Kids love this book for the zany antics of the prairie dogs with their fuzz and the wild vocabulary and comical alliteration.
Clancy the Courageous Cow by Lachie Hume. This is a new book with a clever story about being different, discrimination, and grace. There is lots to talk about as you encourage your child to predict what will happen, talk about feelings, solutions, and how to react to someone who is different.
Amos and Boris by William Steig. This is a clever book about adventure, rescue, friendship, and sacrifice. It is packed with good vocabulary. Try other books by this author.
Picnic at Mudsock Meadow by Patricia Polacco. This isn’t just another Halloween book, but a clever story of competition, courage and finally friendship. The illustrations are magnificent with their detail and action. Lots of predictions can be made based on these beautiful drawings.
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andrede and Russel Ayto. This is every little boy’s dream, to uncover a pirate captain in a closet and set sail with him. Of course they encounter the ferocious pirate dinosaurs and a battle ensues. The illustrator has created beasts with “tonsils wobbling ferociously at the back of his throat” who have a whimsy about them who draw us in to a tale created in a little boy’s mind. Talk about what you would do if you met a pirate in the closet?
I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe is a lovely tale about self-esteem, listening to criticism, acceptance While the little cricket was wishing he was a butterfly, after the frog at the edge of the pond told him he was ugly, the ladybug wisely replies, “…you must learn to be content with what you are and not mind what a silly old frog tells you.” Friendship finally brings acceptance. There are many themes to talk about with your child after reading this story that relate to her life—teasing, feelings, self-worth, friendship and acceptance.
The Featherless Chicken by Chih-Yuan Chen. In this playful tale, a featherless chicken is trying to part of the gang of artfully adorned chickens. Finally when he acquires a costume of leaves, silverware and a fish can, he looks good enough to join the others. This is another story about fitting in, being transparent and having a roaring good time!After reading this book, it would be fun to make a collage costume for your own featherless chicken.
Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She was Extinct by Mo Willems. Loveable Edwina meets her match with the incorrigible Reginald who is trying to convince her she is extinct. This story is about winning over a bully with kindness. Talk about ways to show kindness to those who are nice and not nice to us.
Chuck Lends a Paw and Funny Bunnies on the Run by Robert Quakenbush are full of laugh-aloud consequences for the antics of bunnies and mice. You can use these books to ask questions like “Why did that happen?” since there is a reason for all the catastrophes in the stories! These are early readers but can also be used as read-alouds.
Your three-year-old is a delightful conversational companion, asking about their world and telling you about their experiences. Here are some strategies to encourage language development in your three-year-old:
- Be a daily play partner with your child. It will give her an opportunity to practice her conversational skills (taking turns), discussing her daily activities, and asking questions to gather more information. This undivided attention with pauses for her to continue the conversation, boost her emotional well being also.
- Make time to play one-on-one. If a new baby arrives, the time alone with your toddler can “fill her emotional tank” and alleviate some of the feelings she might have of competing for Mommy’s time.
- Keep the play times fun, enriching and natural. Don’t turn them into teaching sessions. Many children this age are starting to name colors, shapes and numbers. If you drill these concepts they will be uninteresting to your child, or he will only know them by rote, and will be unable to understand them in the context of play and language. Remember, language is learned through experience. For example, talk about the tall blue tower and the red boat going under 2 bridges!
- Follow her conversations that arise naturally. As with play, follow your child’s lead in play and conversation. Don’t force her to “finish” a play scheme if she has moved on to another idea.
- Have conversations with your child about what she has been doing, but now, in addition to the details, talk about “why” things happened, and her feelings about the event. This is an opportunity to use lots of new words and explain them in the context of an event such as “disappointed”, “grumpy”, “mad” or “sad”.
- Continue to use new, longer, more complex words in many contexts. “The hermit crab is leaving his shell. The hermit crab grew too big for his home. The hermit crab eats off the floor of the ocean.”
- Sometimes her words get jumbled when she is trying to explain something complicated for her . Affirm her with “yes” and then re-order her sentence correctly. For example, a little girl was playing with a car and play figures and she said, “The car sit and go” when she meant, “The Daddy sits and the car goes!” As your child’s language progresses, sometimes their mind thinks faster than they can talk!
- Expand on her conversations. If she says, “I rode the airplane” you could add, “Yes, you rode the airplane with Daddy at Rye Playland last night!” Often this will encourage her to add some details too.
- Take advantage of book time. In Jim Treslease’s well known book, The Read- Aloud Handbook, he says that a 3-year-old hears three times the rare words in books as she hears in conversation. This is a rich area for learning language and expanding vocabulary, grammar, and learning about new subjects. Emphasize rhyming words and select books that emphasize them such as Sheep in a Jeep and Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw. Repeat the rhyming words and let your child hear that they have the same endings. Hearing that words are made up of different sounds, is a precursor to reading. Select some books that repeat a word in larger print and point out the word as you read it. Squeaky Clean by Simon Puttock repeats NO, PLOP, and EEK. Continue to choose books with rich stories such as Swimmy by Leo Lionni or Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes. Talk about feelings, why? and what might come next.
From your newborn’s first cry, you are drawn into a lifelong conversation just between the two of you! Coos and babbles are the foundation for later language and all learning.
Although he can’t understand words yet, he is already recognizing the “rhythm” of the language he hears. A baby’s brain is naturally designed to learn language but his experiences greatly influence the actual language that he speaks, as well as how he speaks. Research shows that newborns can detect tiny differences in sounds, rhythms of foreign languages, voices, and recognize familiar speech patterns and speakers—all of this before they can understand a word!
Suddenly you have a little buddy tagging along on your daily activities, whether it be a trip to the grocery store or a walk into the next room. Whether it’s exciting or mundane, each new setting is an opportunity for language learning with new objects, actions and feelings to describe. Talk a lot to your baby, offering him a running commentary about what you are thinking, feeling and experiencing. Narrate your routines of getting dressed, gathering things for an outing, taking a ride in the car, changing diapers, or making a meal: “I am taking out the pot and filling it with water. Where is the pasta? Oh, it’s in the cupboard. I need to open the package and pour the pasta in the water. I hope the water doesn’t boil over the pot.” In addition to describing your experience, talk about what your baby is feeling, thinking and experiencing. “You love the beach! The sand feels warm and scratchy between your toes. You can hear the seagulls squawking in the sky.”
Quantity is important. A landmark study by researchers Risley and Hart found disparity in the amount of language children hear between groups of children 1-2 years old from three different socioeconomic groups. The greater the number of words children heard, the greater their scores at age three, such as IQ and vocabulary strength. These trends continued to be evident in the third grade. That being said, I would offer an aside. After speaking to a group of new mothers and encouraging them to talk a lot to their babies, I was approached by a mom who said, “I did what you said and talked to my baby about everything all day, and at the end of the day I was just exhausted!” I’ll bet her baby was exhausted, too.
Obviously, you and your baby need a break at times. Quiet times are important, too, as your baby learns through looking and listening, comparing and locating sounds and voices. As you read your baby, he will tell you he is engaged by his eye contact, smiles and body language. When he looks away or starts to get fussy, he has had enough. He is telling you to turn down the chat!
Engaging in a running commentary throughout your day comes naturally to some parents, and not to others. I enjoy talking to myself, others and even the dog, but I have encountered wonderful moms who are quieter by nature and have to consciously think about chatting with their babies. My neighbor, a psychotherapist who is raising three delightfully verbal daughters, recently admitted to me, “I knew when my girls were young it was important to talk to them a lot for their language development, but it didn’t come naturally for me. I am a good listener, so I had to remind myself to talk more.” She had to be intentional about being chatty.
Why is it important to talk to your baby? Because at this age, babies are listening to the shape and rhythm of language. Listening develops the language areas of their brain. Like little scientists, babies are deciphering patterns in language long before they understand words. On the basis of patterns of intonation, stress, and pitch, babies only two days old can distinguish the difference between their native language and a foreign tongue. In the same way, adults can recognize languages we don’t speak from their distinct rhythm.
Another study reveals that babies in utero hear differences in language before they are born. Newborns recognized The Cat in the Hat, which their mothers had read to them twice a day for the last six weeks of pregnancy, totaling about five hours of listening in the womb. After birth, the babies’ sucking response indicated a preference for The Cat in the Hat over another story. Babies recognized and preferred the story they had heard in the womb. I have heard from several parents who talked and read to their baby before birth. Maya’s dad had been speaking to her in utero, so when she was just a few minutes old, his familiar voice already soothed her.
Talking to your baby has social implications, too. When you look your baby in the eye and start up a conversation, you are acknowledging his uniqueness as a human being. His smiles and coos make you feel pretty important, too!
What if my baby isn’t interested in looking at a book?
I met a mom who sang the story to her three-month-old baby, after reading didn’t work. Her baby paid attention with the extra stimulation of music, changes in pitch and rhythm. Also, make sure you have books that are simple and geared toward your baby’s age. Often when I visit homes, parents show me their collection of books, many of which are geared toward an older age child. These won’t engage your baby. Don’t forget, when you’ve read or talked about a few pages, you’ve had a story time. Don’t force it. If your baby has had enough, stop and pick up a book later.
Do I have to read to my baby before bedtime? She’s fussy and won’t listen.
No, you want to read to your baby when she is relaxed and attentive, not fussy. You might find that before bedtime, after nap or the middle of the afternoon is the best time. Try to get into a routine but be flexible as her schedule changes. I was working with a mom who thought she had to read to her baby before bed but was frustrated because Maya was too fussy. Break the rules and see what your baby likes.
Is it okay for my baby to watch infant videos?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV viewing for children under two years of age. Children under two learn language through social interaction, not by viewing a TV screen. One of my favorite studies came out in July, 2003, where researchers from the University of Washington looked at how babies learn a foreign language. Comparing three groups, the researchers exposed nine-month-old American babies to just under five hours of Mandarin Chinese. The first group heard live native speakers, the second group listened to a professionally produced DVD of the same speakers, and the third group listened to an audio version. The babies in the first group (live speakers) were the only ones who could distinguish sounds in the foreign language. Infants learn language from live speakers through their everyday activities.
On the other hand, many moms have shared that popping in an infant DVD gives them a necessary break to take a shower or get dressed! Life is about balance and that is understandable. Just realize that research backs language learning through live experience, not through videos and TV for infants.
In addition, many infant videos are designed to be watched with a parent so you can narrate the action and relate it to your child’s experience. One mom used her duck puppet and matched it to the rubber duck on the video, talking to her baby while they watched together.
Countless studies show that children whose parents read to them from an early age tend to talk earlier, read better, and think in more complex ways than those whose parents don’t. Reading to your infant is simply bathing him with language, much like when you talk to him. He benefits from hearing the rhythm of language and the many new vocabulary words that he might not hear in everyday conversation. Strong language skills during the first years of life are a major predictor of a good reader. In addition, the cuddle connection is invaluable for parent and child.
By three months your baby is likely to raise his head for longer periods of time, and look around at interesting things during time on her tummy, in your lap or a baby seat. His eyesight has gone from fuzzy at birth to making nearly all the color distinctions and by four months, he can see, categorize and even briefly remember colors.5
You can hold your baby and read a book or place her in one of the many reclining seats and position yourself face to face as you hold the book next to you. Since babies become interested in toys at about three months, a book with bright colors and contrasts attracts your baby’s attention in the same way as a stuffed toy. As you read, your baby might attend to the book, examining it like a toy, or he might look at you, fascinated by the movements of your mouth, tongue and lips. With his innate preference for faces, he may listen to the whole book while looking at you. That is fine if he looks at you or the book. Both are interesting to him as he is taking in the language.
1. Anything Goes: Your newborn in a captive audience and I have heard from parents that they have read Golf Digest, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and older children’s books like Madeline to their baby. I am often asked if that is alright. Yes, you can read just about anything to your newborn because they are cuing in to the rhythm of language. One mom shared that when she came home from the hospital with her first born, she collapsed on the bed, propped him on her tummy and read the “how to come home from the hospital” page to him out loud because she figured they could both benefit. She undoubtedly got some reassuring information and he was stimulated through hearing the shape and rhythm of language. Your baby will get more aware and picky as they approach three months. Also, when you read adult material to a newborn you are less likely to deliver the bounce, expression and fun of a child’s book.
2. Get the Beat: As your baby approaches three months it is beneficial to read simpler children’s books with clear colorful illustrations and emphasize rhythm and rhyme through shorter expressive sentences. Be animated with your voice and facial expressions, knowing that children vocalize more to a familiar face and the most to a familiar face that is expressive.
3. Slow Down: Read in a slower expressive, up and down pitch much like the child directed speech, where words are emphasized through a sing song type of talking. Babies take in more language when spoken to this way. One mom was reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar with lots of emotion in her voice and little Noah, three months, started reacting to the emotion in her voice. She also brought in a stuffed caterpillar to relate to the story. Noah was too young to understand the connection at his age but it is another toy to talk about and describe.
Play on Words Picks:
Sturdy board books, soft books that crinkle and encourage interaction and accordion books (like The World Around Me Ocean by Baby Einstein) to pull out and stand up for “tummy time” chats are all great choices for this age.
· Read to Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells: This book not only introduces the new parent to one of my favorite children’s authors and illustrators, but also celebrates the message that reading to your child is important. In our busy world we need that reminder to slow down and spend 20 minutes reading to our baby.
· Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Martin and illustrated by Eric Carle: I have never met a three month old baby who wasn’t fascinated with this bright, simple repetitive story. Through repetition and patterns this board book asks questions, gives the answers and culminates in a summary of all the animals. Preschoolers enjoy this book for many years.
· Fuzzy Bee and Friends by Priddy Books: Babies love this soft, cloth book and it is a favorite choice because of the bounce, beat and rhyme. Fun textures from shiny snails and wispy dragonfly wings to stringy spider legs, give parents lots to describe to enrich language.
· Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown: The popular classic has bright colors and lovely rhythms. It’s unique in that it contains all forty-four sounds in the English language—every ending, blending and dipthong.
· Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton: A parent’s enthusiasm for a book transfers to his or her child. Humor, beat, rhyme and cute story line delights babies and parents for many months, teaching them that listening is fun as they learn animal noises and enjoy the “oinks,” “sniffs” and “snorts!” Emphasize the fun words in the sentences and show your enjoyment in saying them.
· Peek a Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti: Who doesn’t like a game of peek-a-boo? Babies enjoy the big bold pictures of animals hiding behind their hoofs, wings and feathers declaring “Peek-a-moo” and “Peek-a-cock-a-doodle-doo.”Read the book and describe the action for your baby. She will enjoy this book for several months, particularly when she approaches nine months and enjoys the element of surprise.
