SOLSC #5 What is there to read?

I am participating in the
March 2018 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

At the end of January, in preparation for our school's participation in Black Lives Matter Week of Action, I made a symbolic change to my preschool book nook - I changed out all the books so that they featured people of color. For my read-alouds all month in February and continuing now into these first days of March, I have chosen books that feature Black characters. These books find their way to the book nook once they've been read aloud.  There are so many amazing stories to share! I am loving these changes in my classroom.

I should share a couple of my favorite read-alouds from the month...I read a great variety, simply choosing books that I knew accented themes that we were thinking about. For example, we have a couple students who are expecting a new sibling. With these children particularly in mind, I read several books about sibling relationships, especially welcoming a new baby; here are three books that hone in on this:

Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson
Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Family relationships are so important to preschoolers. We read so many treasures:

Do Like Kyla by Angela Johnson
Bibbity Bop Barbershop by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Something Beautiful by Chris K. Soenpient
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

I didn't say a word about the Black characters in these books to my students...and they haven't said anything to me, either! I love love love that my preschoolers see these books as "the norm" - nothing unusual, very ordinary...simply a treasure trove of great books.

“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” 
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

sol17-17 When do we go home?

I am participating in the
Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day of March 2017. 

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

This was a draining day at the end of a long, mixed-up, irregular week. If routine and predictability are the best thing for preschoolers, then no wonder this week was so hard. We had the wacky snow/no snow day. We had two days of two hour delays. We had piercing cold temperatures, making outdoor play near impossible. We had one of my teaching team (my Teaching Resident) get chosen for a jury, meaning we had two days of subs and we will have more subs next week. Oh please please please, let it be Friday!

The day was long. L - O - O - O - N - N - N - G - G - G!

Then, during naptime, I got to slip out of my room and down the hall to the kindergarten classrooms, which were having a Young Author's Celebration. Their students had written "How To" books. Oh, this was fabulous! I got to sit and have stories read to me, by students that were - so very recently - preschoolers! How can it be that they are writing and reading? So fabulous. 

Here are the titles of a few of the books that were read to me: 

How to Draw a Tiger

How to Swim in a Pool

How to Play Mario Brothers

How to Make a Salad
How to Read a Book
How to Write a How To Book

I returned to my classroom with just one hour of the school day left, full of energy. I could write a book -

How to Re-Energize

and it would include being read to by former students.

SOLSC #23 What book does your life seem like?

During the month of March, I am participating in
the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers.

Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.

Day 23 and my mind is blank. What to write about? Another very full day at school. I feel as if I have only fragments, remnants, shreds to share. 

On my way into school, I was thinking about picture books and how they can parallel my teaching day...I wonder if this is how their authors imagined them, as metaphors for the adult world? I bet it is so. For example, I often feel as if I am living in the next installment of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

let me run with this, beginning with the yummy donut that started my day...

If you give a teacher a donut in the staff lounge,

she will want a cup of hot tea to go with it.

If she has a cup of hot tea, she will need to put it on a high shelf in her classroom, so that children won't grab it.

If she puts it on the high shelf, she will see the sign-in clipboard and suddenly realize

she needs to do breakfast duty.

If she is going to do breakfast duty, she will leave the rest of her donut with her tea and run to the cafeteria.

If she runs to the cafeteria, she will be thinking about her plans for the school day ahead.
If she is thinking about her plans, she won't notice that his jacket slipped from the chair and has fallen under the table.
If his jacket falls under the table, it will get covered in milk and syrup, because it is waffle day.
If it is waffle day, she will need many wipes and napkins, and she will wish she had them before children hug her to say hello.
If children hug her to say hello,
she will smile, and follow with more wipes.
If she runs out of wipes, she will be glad that it is time for students to head to their classrooms.
If students head to their classroom, she will hold sticky hands.
If she holds sticky hands, she will want to wash her hands in the classroom.
If she wants to wash her hands in the classroom, the children will see her and all want to do some washing, too.
If they help her wash out things, water will go everywhere.
If water goes everywhere, she will reach for paper towels and wish she had a cup of tea.
If she reaches for her tea, she will find it cold. But there will be a donut piece right next to it.
And that is pretty sweet.

Are my students visible?

This is a Tuesday Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers. 

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.


______________________________

The power of visibility can never be underestimated.
- Margaret Cho

When browsing in the children's section at my local library this past spring, I found a beautiful picture book on display  - Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper. I checked it out, knowing my preschoolers would love the heartwarming story of a boy riding in his family car, only to find the moon following him. At the end of the read-aloud, one preschooler lingered at my knee, studying the beautiful illustrations.

I said affectionately,
"Do you think Max loves the moon as much as you do?"
and he replied,
"Yes, he does, but, see, he is brown and I am not."
"Yes, you are right, you noticed his skin color...you and he are different, you and he are the same."

Preschoolers notice details. There was no malice or bias in his words. I love that this little boy studied the illustrations so closely. And what a testament to Floyd Cooper's extraordinary artwork - so realistic, so life-like, so gorgeous.

In reflection of our conversation, I started thinking about my picture book library. I have an extensive collection, gathered through the years, since my own (now adult) children were little. The reality is, the majority of my picture books feature white characters. What must this be like, day in, day out, at my read-alouds, for my students of color?  Children should see themselves in the stories we share.

I do not want it to be a rare experience for children of color to see themselves reflected in positive ways in the world around us.

I decided to spend some time this summer adding more diversity to my existing picture book collection. My summer goal has been to find more books about ordinary moments, ordinary situations, embellishing all the topics that young children love, but with black, brown, diverse faces in the illustrations.

What if it was the norm for me to read books that featured people of color? 

I have unleashed my inner "teacher nerd" this summer!

I have spent time on the web,
chasing down book lists,
reading through blogposts,
searching through articles,
reviewing award winners,
looking up various topics,
on and on,
scanning for books.

The other day, armed with an Excel spreadsheet with the list of possibilities (see, I told you I am a "teacher nerd"), I wandered over to my local library and searched through the stacks, to see if I could find any of them. What a fun afternoon I had! It was so delightful to have endless time to browse, not driven by any particular curriculum deadline, simply to savor children's books. I found a great many of the books on my list, and I spent time reading them, considering their appropriateness for my preschoolers, and imagining how I might fit them into read-alouds throughout the year.

Of course, I didn't find every single book - I have many that I still want to track down. The list itself is a living thing - I keep adding books to it, whenever I find new ones. My initial research has focused primarily on finding picture books featuring black characters...clearly, I have a long way to go before I can consider my book list truly diverse. But, wow, there are so many amazing books out there!

Let me whet your appetite, too...check out picture books by Angela Johnson, Anna McQuinn, bell hooks, Brian Pinkney, Eloise Greenfield, Ezra Jack Keats, Floyd Cooper, Jacqueline Woodson, Kadir Nelson, Mary Hoffman, Patricia McKissack, Yuri Morales. (This is by no means a complete list, but I had multiple great finds for each of these authors.)

Here's to a few more days of summer exploration and a new school year filled with reading new books!

SOLSC 2015 #25: What makes you falter?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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Has this ever happened to you? 

I was in the midst of reading one of my all-time favorite books - Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran (illustrated by Barbara Cooney) - to the children in my class, when my voice faltered, shook, quivered. As if I might cry!

When Marian dug up a tin box filled with round black pebbles

everyone knew what it was:

it was a buried treasure.

Those pebbles were the money of Roxaboxen.

You could still find others like them if you looked hard enough.

So some days became treasure-hunting days, with everybody trying to find that special kind.

And then on other days you might just find one without even looking.

I recovered immediately and pushed on, but the feeling lingered as the day wore on. I challenged myself to put my thoughts and emotions into a poem….

Breathless

It leaves me breathless 

to consider 

creating lean-to's with weeping willow branches

sitting in the grass with all my dolls

mashing pyracantha berries for porridge 

It leaves me breathless 

to consider 

fishing with sticks, string, small pieces of bread, 

large multi-backyard games of capture the flag, and

flashlight tag with my brothers and neighbors

It leaves me breathless 

to consider

the absence of such leisurely play today

the rare gift of children making their own fun

how beautiful life is when explored outdoors 

It leaves me breathless 

to consider

And so it went.

The seasons changed, and the years went by.

Roxaboxen was always there.

It leaves me breathless 

to consider 

how many children have treasure-hunting days?

SOLSC 2015 #24: What do you want to learn about?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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"Quick, Ms. Ingram, quick! Over here!"

"You have to have your feet on the bench! You can't have your feet on the ground!"

"The spaceship is getting ready to take off!"

"Come on, astronauts!"

"I want to get on!"

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!"

"We're going to the moon!"

"We're going to Jupiter!"

"I want to go to Mars!"

We pretend that the rockets blast, there is some turbulence, we bounce into a landing, and all the children spill off the bench, running in all directions, with hands held up to their faces (pretending to have oxygen masks of astronauts). Several are in charge and at a moment's notice, we must get back onto the rocket for another space trip.

Many voices at once, many preschool bodies, squeezing onto one of our big wooden playground benches, James, Katherine, Simona, Julian, Micah, Nicky, Evan, Kaelyn, Dmitry, Avery, Naima, Luke, Jackson...how can so many children fit on one bench? I know I'm pretty much on the bottom of the heap, using my arms to embrace and hold onto a few children...they always allow me to be on the bench first, thank goodness! Others are hanging onto the back of the bench, feet wedged into the bottom part (making sure their feet are not on the ground, interfering with takeoff), still others are on the arms of the bench, entangled with one another and me. 

In recent weeks, on the playground, it's all about going to space, being on a rocket (the bench). Truly, I think everyone in our class has played this game with us at some time...children from other classes join in on it, too. We simply expand the number of rockets (lucky us, there are four strong benches on our playground).

Yesterday, at read-aloud time, I chose two books about the moon, 

The nonfiction Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Book Moon for nonfiction and the lovely story by Floyd Cooper, Max and the Tag-Along Moon. 

I love reading books that parallel their interests, provoking questions, comments, thought. Once again, play helps me see what they want to learn.

SOLSC 2015 #22: How do you make stone soup?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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Stone Soup

1 magical stone (washed several times for sanity's sake)

1 onion (will the children cry when cutting?)

1 rib of celery (chopped up as small as possible)

2 halves of a red pepper, seeded (chopped up as small as possible)

3 small potatoes (let children use sharp knife to cut these into small chunks - with close supervision) 

3 cans of beans (black, cannellini, garbanzo) (fun for children to use can opener)

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 baby carrots (as many as children enjoy cutting)

6 cups of vegetable stock (let children measure each cup)

0 salt and pepper (because "I don't like that, Ms. Ingram!!")

Let cook all day in crockpot, until classroom smells delicious, serve and eat.

0 leftovers

21 happy preschoolers, celebrating the end of our folktale unit!

SOLSC 2015 #17: How do we feel about Mr. Plumbean's house?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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Today, we revisited the story The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater, which is our school-wide text this trimester. At our Learning Showcase later this week, students from every class in the school will share special work that relates to this book. In my class, the preschool Big Cats, this book has been on our bookshelf the whole school year...we have probably read this book half a dozen times, with children perusing it on their own regularly. It has long been a favorite of mine. 

I hope you are familiar with the story - after a bird drops a bucket of orange paint on his house, Mr. Plumbean, the main character, paints his home in a new and wild way, incorporating the big orange splot, and reflecting his dreams. 

At first, his neighbors are less than impressed with his choice to paint his house differently, but, slowly, one by one, the neighbors meet and talk with him, only to decide to paint their own houses differently. The entire street is transformed with each house reflecting individual dreams. 

I think it is a great story for introducing preschoolers to our differences, how unique we each are, how we each have our own hopes and dreams. 

I challenged the children to write a letter to Mr. Plumbean, asking them what they might say to him if they saw him paint his house in this way. I gave them each a blank letter to complete, to give them some writing practice, and I took dictation. Remind you, I've read this book many times this school year, so I knew I was just "preaching to the choir," at this point. 

"If you lived next door to Mr. Plumbean, what would you say?"

I knew they would each share what they loved about Mr. Plumbean's house.

I was totally wrong. 

One after the other, they demanded that Mr. Plumbean put his house back to the way it looked originally:

Dear Mr. Plumbean, 

I don’t like your house. I’m going to just put your house in jail. (James) 

I’m going to take that house away from you. (Ella) 

Get your house back the way it was! I like the house. (Wesley)  

Put your house somewhere else. I do like about it, I do like the crocodile. (Simona)  

Why you turn your house to a jungle?  Get your house back to where it was. (Dmitry) 

You should make your house back to normal, back to your neighbor’s house. But, I don’t like the jungle house. I like the other houses that look the same as the others. (Katherine) 

Get down your house! I do like the crocodile but I don’t like the lion. (Henry) 

Change your house! Or else I will take your pictures and put them in my house! The picture of us. (Naima)   

Turn back your house! I don’t like the lion and I don’t like anything on this house. (Nicky)  

Put your house back to your house! You painted it wrong. I would paint it back to his house. (Julian) 

Get the alligator and get it out of the way! (Jackson) 

I don’t like it. It has a lion. I don’t like that you painted a lion. Paint a different house! (Ellis) 

Change your house or I’m going to put it in jail. Because it is not the same as theirs. (Paxton) 

Keep your house where you were. Make it the way you were. Change your house! (Avery)

What was going on here? Mind you, I worked with the children one-on-one as they wrote their letters, showing them the page of the book where Mr. Plumbean's new house is on full display, and encouraging them to react to the picture. They were not simply imitating one another. 

Their adamance, their opposition, their certainty left me shaking my head in wonder -

Is this pre-literacy, preschoolers remembering how all the neighbors were at first very opposed to Mr. Plumbean's new house? Were my students just recalling/echoing the next part of the story?

or

Is this developmental, preschoolers preferring the same routine, the same old same old, the predictable?

or

Is this developmental, preschoolers wanting to be in charge, have the power, be the boss?

or

Something else?

Truly, I don't know. But they sure caught me off guard! I know the families are going to enjoy seeing these letters in print at the Learning Showcase. 

SOLSC 2015 #7: Where could it be?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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When I had virtually the same experience at the outset of my school day and, again, when I entered my home that evening, I decided to write about it!

Ode to a Shared and Disorganized Life 

I know I have this book.

I own it, I bought it, I put it with all my other picture books.

I know I saw it in these stacks.

Where could it be?

I search and search and search through the spines, thinking,

Why didn't I put these in some sort of order?

What if I categorized them?

What if they were alphabetized?

Where could it be?

There's too many different hands on these stacks, 

there is no sense in trying to put them in order.

Oh, maybe I moved it over near my lesson plans, since I knew I was reading it this week,

Wait, I don't think I looked for it then...I got sidetracked...

Wait a minute, did I put it in my backpack with those others?

Did I leave it at home when I was preparing lessons?

Is it on my dining table at home?

Where could it be?

I know I have this book.

When did I last read this book?

Was it last year? Before our move?

Goodness it could be anywhere!

Oh, maybe it got moved by accident to the early childhood library?

Yikes, I can't begin to look out there! No time for that!

Or did Aftercare ask me for this same book?

I wonder if the children have been getting into my books!?!!

I know I put all my favorites up high, so that they could not reach.

How long have I wasted looking for this book now?

Wasn't it a small book? Let me look again, just focusing on the short spines...

I'm going to have to buy another copy of this, if I can't find it.

It is a classic.

Where could it be?

What if I look through the books backward?

Yes, start with the lowest shelf and move up?

Would it jump out at me then?

I know I saw that book!

Where could it be?

"Mom, have you seen my sweatshirt? I want to take it back to college with me."

I know I saw that sweatshirt.

Have you checked the hall closet?

The upstairs closet?

Where could it be?

Here, I'll help you find it,

Let me go through the closet, one hanger at a time, 

I know it is black, right?

Let me just look for black ones.

I search and search and search through the closet, thinking,.

Why doesn't he know where his own things are?

Why don't we have some sort of system?

After all these years, you'd think there would be one single location!

Where could it be?

I know I saw that sweatshirt.

Oh, maybe it is still in the laundry?

Did you check all the laundry baskets? 

And the dirty clothes?

What about the trunk of your car?

When did you last wear it?

Wait, you haven't had it since last semester?

Goodness, it could be anywhere!

Did you have it at school last semester?

Could it still be there?

You haven't seen it?

Where could it be?

How long have I wasted looking for this sweatshirt now?

Oh, what about the guest room?

Didn't we throw things in there when you got home last semester?

Did we check that closet?

Why do you need this today?

Did you come home just for this sweatshirt?

Where could it be?

Let's look through Dad's things,

maybe I mixed things up when I was putting things away.

I know I saw that sweatshirt!

Where could it be?

Around and around and around, I go.

SOLSC 2015 #4: May I sit and hear the book with you?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

*******

I love reading to children, but it is also a real treat to sit alongside them as someone else reads a book. Sitting there amongst the children, I see them in new ways.

Just this past week, Ms. Kim [my Teaching Resident] was reading the truly fun and fabulous 'twisted' folktale The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury) and I had this opportunity. Ms. Kim sat in our big cozy chair and all the children sat on the rug in front of her; I joined the children on the floor, sitting at the back of the group.

I spent the rest of the day chuckling about some of the antics I observed. 

Truly, it was like putting out one small fire after another!

The children settled in to hear the good story. Within seconds, they were very excited by the title itself, offering immediate feedback - "That's funny! It's not three pigs!" "Why is it the Big Bad Pig!?," many voices at once, a few "No, ME! I'm talking NOW!", and I am on alert, watching the many sparks fly due to their unbridled enthusiasm…Will they settle down? Will Ms. Kim regain control? Do I need to intervene?

[Yes, Ms. Kim's voice was strong and confident, her body language was completely at ease, and she quieted the children with the simple invitation, "Well, let's see! Let's hear the story."]

Ms. Kim had set up her phone on a nearby chair, in order to tape herself doing the read-aloud. From my place in the audience, I notice one preschooler become engaged with this phone...he immediately loses interest in the book. "I see phone, I see phone," he whispers, and he scampers towards the phone, adding, "phone games." 

[That is a fire that must be extinguished! Sorry, buddy, you will play phone games when you are with your family - it's not happening here at school!]

I no sooner intervene, scooping him onto my lap, when another child shrieks "I can't see! I can't see! I can't see!" A small fire begins. Unbelievably, the preschooler in front of her - who is breaking our sitting rule by being on her knees - gives her a quick glance and immediately adjusts her body position, sitting down on the floor, without a word from me! Yes! Fire extinguished!

[This is learning, preschool level - and I get to relax, now, right? Let's hear that book!]

Right next to me, a child gets up on his knees and starts groping his own bottom. Not just scratching, but both hands in - SPONTANEOUS FIRE! I am on the scene! I give him a very strong stage whisper and point towards the bathroom. 

[This same toilet trainer once explained - with similar mannerisms observed - "I am keeping the poop in." We will have none of that during this fine book! Oh my!]

Okay, let me settle back. I realize, somehow, there are now three children on my lap. Something about holding my phone lover in my lap has attracted two others. And these new two become my set of kindling wood, as they begin to argue over space on my lap. "Shhhh!" I admonish, "We are listening!" Both children go quiet. However, one, who always does the right thing, looks at me with furrowed brow, frustrated to be admonished, and her look alone is about to send me into gales of laughter. There are a few residual embers, but this small fire has been extinguished. 

We get to the part in the book where the Big Bad Pig takes a sledge hammer to the wolves' house and the children are beside themselves with confusion, excitement, perhaps even horror.  It begins to feel again as if twenty-one small fires are erupting, there are so many comments and questions. Ms. Kim gains control with a simple, "We are listening to [names of child] now," and this child explains artfully - "Maybe the Big Bad Pig does not know how to make friends?"

I'm not sure I have ever heard something so funny - we teachers are now creating our own small fires, trying hard to not giggle, and it takes a few more minutes for us all to settle down. Ms. Kim adds, "No more questions right now - let's find out what happens."

Okay, I settle in. This should be nice.

Immediately, a girl begins to wail! Not whimper, not a small cry, but a full-blown loud-pitched wail. This is quite a disruption for a videotaped read-aloud! This is an emergency fire! I must get to the rescue! I toss aside the three on my lap (well, I'm sure I was more polite than that), and embrace the one who is crying, turning her wailing head onto my shoulder, to muffle the cry, and I whisper calmly, "Breathe, breathe, breathe" while my eyes race madly over her body to see what is bleeding, what has happened. She begins to soothe, and I whisper, "What happened, what is wrong?" and she whispers back "That boy said I cannot ask any questions right now." 

[Oh, I see, that was not an "I am bleeding" cry; it was an "I feel indignant" cry. This is something else we are working on in preschool - appropriate reactions to problems. I see we have much more work to do!]

Truly, the rest of the read-aloud is a bit of a blur. I know a couple children jumped up to see the book more closely, one stepping accidentally on another child's hand; two "best friends" had to be separated from one another because of their private, staccato conversation in the midst of the teacher reading; someone was pulling at a loose thread on my shirt, who I largely ignored because he was at least very quiet; and a variety of other small fires. 

Yes, it is fun to be sitting in the midst of the children, seeing the book with all new eyes.

Tuesday SOL Why not write a book?

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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This past Friday, our early childhood team attended a fabulous conference presented by the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, entitled "Seize the Moment: Rise to the Challenge of Pre-K." I heard and learned so many great things. I was particularly impressed with a presentation by Matt Glover, a literacy consultant, entitled "Give Kids the Richest Possible Immersion in Read Aloud, Shared Reading, and Talk About Books." 

Isn't funny how you can't judge a workshop by its cover title?
I read the workshop title and I thought for sure I would learn some neat tricks for my own read-alouds on how to engage the children. 

Matt Glover began the session with a brief film clip of his then 2 1/2 year old daughter reading aloud Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny. This was adorable! You could see that she was very familiar with the book, seeming to imitate mannerisms and expressions, reading with a rhythm, laughing at known jokes. Truly precious!

He asked, Was she a reader?

Yes! I think so! Sure, she's only 2 1/2, and I suppose most of what I heard was a little girl reciting words from her memory, but, wow, she was projecting her voice, even changing her intonation, turning those pages with authority - yes, she was a reader!

Did you hear the sound of my hand hitting my forehead last Friday morning? 
This workshop wasn't about adults performing read-alouds for children, but instead it focused on the simple and awesome idea of encouraging preschoolers to see themselves as readers and writers.

This is how you help preschoolers see themselves as readers and writers, 

through simple, daily opportunities just as Matt Glover shared with us in the film clip,

asking children, regularly:

"Would you read this book to me?" 

"Would you like to write a book?"  

You are setting the expectation that preschoolers are readers and writers,

He spoke beautifully of 'nurturing development and honoring approximations' - in other words, with these very young children, notice and encourage the very small behaviors, such as

turning pages of a book,

making up dialogue for characters,
noticing different characters,

reading to oneself,

imagining a story,

remembering a story,

recalling special words in a familiar text,

connecting pictures to words,

looking at a page and making up meaning,
thinking up a plot,

and so much more.

I loved that he wasn't talking about giving directions such as,
"This is how we read a book, see we turn it page by page…" but, instead,
nudging children along,
"Tell me, what do you see? - Oh, yes! You are reading!"
Matt Glover suggested that we not get too hung up on accuracy or on writing down the specific words they say as they read…but, simply, to foster the child's ability to read and write -- making reading and writing 'the norm' for every child. Give children the time and the space to be readers and writers!

This is how we help preschoolers think like readers and writers.

So, what was the first thing I did on Monday morning? What was my immediate take-away from the conference? (Don't we always take away at least one thing?)

Monday morning, I placed many, many blank books (nothing special - several pages of paper stapled together) in the writing center and invited children to write a book. What a hoot! This table was filled all morning along (see photo above). The preschoolers soaked up this opportunity.

The table was filled with writers. 

They were sure of their artistry, sure of their writing. At the end of centers, I invited them to read their books aloud. They were sure of their words!  [And, amusingly - as Matt Glover had forewarned - the story changed, each time they re-read their book!]

It's okay!

They are preschoolers.
They are preschoolers who see themselves as readers and writers.

Let me share one…here is Naima's first book… it has four pages ...

Naima told me it was "a little bit scary book, about loud noises," and that is all she wanted to share.
Again, it's okay!

She sees herself as a reader and writer.