BOOK OF THE MONTH: Spring Goes Squish

BOOK OF THE MONTH: Spring Goes Squish

My absolute favorite time of the year is spring!! I love seeing flowers bloom. I love the spring weather - not too hot, not too cold. Open windows...walks in the parks...what's not to love about the season? Well, according to Marty Kelly there's lots not to like: disappearing kites, runny noses, chirping birds, splashing buses...this humorous and rhyming tale will get more than a few chuckles from your preschoolers!

Related Activities:

• Introduce the word "onomatopoeia." Children just love BIG and funny sounding words. And it's a big word for something that they already know! What other words are also sounds? Squish, tick-tock, chirp, splash... the list will get longer and longer. Keep a long piece of paper hanging in the classroom and add words to the list as children think of them.
• Introduce some letter blends. SPLASH begins with the /sq/ sound. Let the children list other words that begin with this sound: spring, spend, space, speckle, spaghetti, sparkle, etc. SQUISH begins with the /sq/ sound: squash, squid, squat, square, squeal, etc.
• To simulate mud, use brown fingerpaint.
• In the sensory table, add soil, fake flowers, and gardening tools.
• Go on a spring walk and allow the children to take photographs (this may work best in small groups if you have a large class). Make a class book with the photos! You can also post them online for parents to see at home.
• Make spring flowers. Preschool Express has lots of craft ideas for flower-making!

Bonus Book of the Month

This book is one in a series that brings concepts to life for young learners. In this book, children lean about insects and multiplication at the same time. "Nine brilliant fireflies twinkle in the dark - glowing lights flash on and off, How many in the park? 9 x 1 = ?" Children have large, beautifully illustrated pictures where they can count the fireflies. If I were introducing multiplication, I don't know an easier, more vibrant book to use! Ok..here's another one: "Four hungry honey bees dance a buggy beat - tappin' with six furry legs. How many dancing feet? 4 x 6 = ?" This book will be hard for me to give away - my four year old niece loves it! I thought it would be a bit above her head but she really gets it and loves counting each page. For adults and older students (just like Animology and Hey Diddle Diddle), there are six activity pages in the back and more activities online.

The first person to comment on this post will win this awesome book!

More Spring Posts:

• March Comes in Like a Lion...
• ...And Goes Out Like a Lamb
• Teachable Moments
• Bring on the Birds

Gender Equal or Gender Neutral?



Associated Press Photo By Scanpix Sweden, Fredrik Sandberg

  I came across this interesting article about a preschool in Stockholm that seems to strive, not just for gender equality, but for gender neutrality in some ways. I found the article after reading about a family who didn't reveal their child's sex until the age of five.

Some things make perfect sense to me: putting Legos and Blocks in or near the housekeeping area, providing books about adoption and all kinds of families, and downplaying the superhero/princess pitfalls. But I find it a bit curious that the school doesn't use gender words like, "he" and "she" and they've even made up a word, "hen," when referring to a person that has not yet been identified as male or female.  

• What do you guys think of this? 
• Where do you draw the gender line?  
• What do you do to promote gender equality in your programs?

What is your favorite version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

My brother called me today and asked for a recommendation on the best version of The Three Bears for my niece (who is 3 1/2 going on 7). The first version that came to mind was by Jan Brett but I know that there are so many others!

What are your favortie versions of this story? Comment on the blog or tweet me at @LiteracyCounts.

System Overload

Hello Readers, Bloggers, Educators, Parents, and Literature Lovers! I have been M.I.A. for a while I know. It's been a bit challenging to find time to write lately. You may remember that I had to take a break a while back. Life is still throwing some curve balls my way. Because of my current work situation, I'm doing the work of two people (but getting paid for the work of one, LOL. But isn't that how it always is?). Hopefully someone will be hired soon and I can have my free time back. But right now, my life is filled with the JOY of helping to take care of my niece and nephew and the BURDEN of extra work. But please don't take that in a negative way. In this world, I am grateful to be gainfully employed. And even though there is more work on my plate, I work at a place that I want to see THRIVE so I'm putting in all of the extra energy that I have.

I learned quickly how to live a new normal, and when I can return to that normal, I will be back to blog. Every now and then, I will pop in to write a quick post. But if there are any educators or parents who would be interested in doing a guest post, email me at earlyliteracycounts at gmail dot com.

Goodnight iPad

Just last year, I was panicked at the thought of eBooks taking over the world replacing traditional books for children. Since I've written that post, I've had more first hand experience with ebooks for children. My three year old niece (who is almost 4 now!) has her own page of apps on my iPad. She loves The Monster at the End of this Book, Bob Books, I Like Books, and Olivia Acts Out. I am pretty impressed at her proficiency and at the interactive nature of some of these books. But while the iPad versions are fun and educational, at night, when her Dad tucks her in, she still reaches for traditional books (whew!). And her baby brother can't resist his own pile of books - soft books, cloth books, fuzzy books, and all of the books that he can safely pick up, touch, feel, and yes, even chew. So, I'm no longer worried that eBooks will take over the world... or WILL THEY...?

We can Change the World

The Sesame Street Puppet with no name (we should give her a name!) is back with Change the World!  First we loved our hair, now we can change the world. I LOVE it!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Heidi Grange at Geo Librarian! She commented on Literacy Challenges of At Risk Boys and her comment number was randomly selected at Random.org. Heidi will win these two books: