This is the time of year that parents are starting to make the decision about whether their child is “ready” for kindergarten. Often that decision is made based on a child’s social skills rather than academic. One of the behaviors needed for a successful kindergarten experience is the ability to share. As you raise your preschoolers and teach the concept of sharing, picture books can be helpful. Here are two that deal with sharing:
-Mine! By Mathilde Stein: One night, ready to hop into bed, Charlotte found a little ghost under her covers. The only word he seems to know is, “Mine.” He grabs the covers, hoards the tub toys, is stingy with the sock pile and takes the toys. Patient Charlotte offers a rational reply to each act of selfishness. A friendship grows as the little ghost learns how to share and take turns.
-The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share by Mike Reiss: Grumpy Edward, the keeper of the toys, will simply not share with his sister Claire—not his rocking horse, wizard’s hat or teddy bear. As he sits hidden inside his pile of toys, he misses out on a lovely treat while guarding his treasures. Claire of course doesn’t hold a grudge when her greedy brother has a change of heart and offers his tangle of toys for a day of creativity. Note: be sure to offer alternate language to the “Mine” reply that Edward uses repeatedly, such as “Let’s share.” “You take a turn.” “I am almost finished and you can play with this.”
What picture books do you use to teach sharing? or what picture books that are favorites deal with this concept? Leave me a comment and let’s share 
My friend, Jody, wrote to say that she had gotten the Step2 Diner for her 5 grandchildren from birth to 2 years old. Christmas morning the diner was a hit as the two oldest sat down for a chat. I am not sure if that is the food strewn on the floor but I do know that Will is holding Maggie’s fairy wand so maybe their meal will magically appear! The beauty of this diner is that it is double sided so it accommodates more kids for pretend play and offers different roles to assume. One side is for the cooks and chefs and the other side is for the customers. Add a waiter or waitress with their pad of paper for orders and many children are accommodated.
Make sure you provide paper and crayons or pencils so kids can “take orders” and pass them through to the chef. Research has shown that when children practice writing letters, they are better able to recognize them.
Happy New Year to you all! (or y’all as my southern friends would say!) What is it about January first that turns a switch and causes us to reflect, plan ahead, and clean out the clutter? I remember as soon as the new toys and gifts were opened, I had a desire to sift through the old ones and clean out out-grown or unused toys. Knowing that many parents will be involved in this same process in the next few weeks I wanted to suggest a few ideas on where to share your give-away pile.
- Women’s crisis centers: Take gently used kids’ books to centers for women and children. Every child deserves their own library of books. If you live in the Fairfield, CT area, you might consider The Center for Women and Children in Bridgeport .
- Teach for America teachers: My friend’s daughter discovered her love of teaching after majoring in business in college. She accepted her first teaching assignment in urban Charlotte, NC and found her room devoid of materials. I collect beginning readers for her second grade class as well as great picture books for her students to look at or for her to use as read-alouds. Check out who might be teaching in your area and adopt them, providing the materials that could spark the next reader!
- Teenage parent groups: I have been involved with an exciting group called Young Lives that comes along side teen parents, supporting them with love, fun, diapers and friendship. They are always in need of clothing, toys and equipment since many of these girls have limited resources and some are in shelters.
- Social workers: I have several social workers that I network with when parents give me outgrown toys and equipment. Call local agencies, tell them what you have to donate and see if there is a need.
- Teachers in underprivileged areas: A friend’s daughter accepted her first teaching assignment in rural South Carolina. She also inherited a room with limited resources. Recently I learned that she has a “treasure chest” of prizes for kids who demonstrate good behavior. Gently used toys, art supplies or books would be welcome for her box of goodies.
Poetry is a wonderful way to enrich and build your child’s language. For the preschool gang, hearing the rhyme and rhythm sets the stage for emergent literacy skills–hearing the change in sounds at the end of words and recognizing that individual sounds form a word. As children enter school, poetry shows them that language is fun, helps them be inventive with words and descriptions, and calls on their creative side.
Each holiday season, I give my students a book as a gift. This year I am giving my elementary aged children Jack Prelutsky’s new book, My Dog May Be a Genius. When one of my second graders opened it yesterday his mom said, “Oh, every year Ryan’ class has to recite a poem and they have to limit the Jack Prelutsky poems selected because he is so popular! Kids and adults laugh out loud at his clever, entertaining poems about life and its silliness. There is the one about “The Underwater Marching Band” where the members of this famous band are “renowned for never having played a single sound on land.” His use of enriching vocabulary set this poet apart. “Gusto, unmitigated fear, undaunted knowledge, undismayed, undaunted, and undeterred” are just a few words in his marching band poem to challenge and build language.
Give this to a child, use it in speech language therapy, read aloud to your class or share it at the dinner table or bedtime. As the book jacket says, “Have you ever sat with a skunk in a courtroom, shopped for a dinosaur, or conversed with a Bupple a Wosstrus, a Violinnet or a Celloon? Take on this book and you’ll have a hilarious adventure with language.
I just had to share some funny things that happened to me yesterday. Kids are funnier than any comedians on TV in my book!
I was talking to Emma while she was generating ideas for her fiction story in writing class. Her king’s castle was going to burn down. We got started talking about ashes and she said “What are ashes?” I thought I had a pretty good answer when I said, “They are what is left when you burn wood.” To that she replied, “Well when Grandma Sally died, we got her ashes and they are above the fireplace!”
Then I went to a second grade class that was brainstorming character traits of the main character in their read-aloud. They suggested adventurous, smart, resourceful, daring, tricky and then Margaret called out “predicious.” After asking her to repeat the word several times, the teacher and I finally realized she had coined a new word for “good at predicting!”
I wish all my readers a blessed holiday season with family and friends!
I included the Circo Frog Tent from Target as one of my selected items for holiday giving. Since we celebrated Christmas as a family at Thanksgiving when we were all together, I can report on the success of the Frog Tent! According to Will’s mom, even his great grandmother, Nanny, has crawled in there with him. The tent has been up since Thanksgiving and is used for collecting all his toys, hiding with his brother and playing with Daddy since the pirate ship, dinosaurs and airport were all dragged inside.
Will especially likes the feature where he can zip himself inside, feeling very hidden from the rest of the world!
Pretend play builds language as children invent a world of make believe. Is the tent a house, ship, kitchen or fairy land? Watch them collect props to support their theme and play along with your child, following her lead and supporting with language.
Teachers and speech therapists, this is a real bargain for around $20 at Target. I know what school budgets are like so here is good value for the money!
I love to hear from parents and Speech Therapists with ideas to stimulate speech and language. Keep the e-mails and comments coming!
Today I heard from a former colleague of mine who is an excellent preschool speech therapist:
Parents often ask me for advice on best toys and games for gift giving this time of year.
A wonderful source for top educational materials for kids is the Parents’ Choice 2008 Holiday Gift Guide. This trusted resource is divided by age, price and 20 child interests such as pretend play, bugs, butterflies and backyard fun, family games or dinosaurs and earth science. I just clicked on the age of my nieces and nephews, found a gift matching their interests, a few more clicks and the gifts were on their way! If you are interested in a certain type of media, go to the Awards section and click on DVDs, software, audio, video games, etc. and see reviews of award winners by year. One mom called me and was looking for recommendations for educational video games for her 6 year old. His younger brother has autism and she knew that he would be eventually playing too so she wanted a good educational game. I sent her to the Parents’ Choice winners.
Parent’s Choice Foundation has been a trusted reviewer of children’s media since 1978. I am never disappointed when I get something that they recommend and review.
For my tips and insight on how to build your child’s language through toys and games, see best educational toys for gift giving that build language.
We know that children learn language best when it relates to their everyday experience. This is the season of several religious holidays so parents are interested in reinforcing the stories and significance behind the celebrations that their families observe.
If you celebrate Christmas, take a look at the Little People Christmas Story Nativity Scene by Fisher Price. There are a variety of sets that include kings, animals, donkey carts, hay, Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus at various prices. Kids love re-telling the story, rearranging the figures and assimilating them into their other toys. My son, Peter, reported that 2 year-old Will has been taking baby Jesus and the animals for rides in his airplane all around the house and has hidden them in his play tent too.
Wooden sets are great for older kids too who arent’ tempted to put things in their mouths. You can also assemble your own set, gathering some animals from the play room, using playdoh to make hay, a manger or figures.Encourage your child to look around and gather pieces for the scene. Then watch their imagination take off!
