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:

Two Book Give Away: Animalogy and Hey Diddle Diddle

Early elementary-aged children will enjoy this rhyming and catchy tale about the food chain. A beetle is eaten by a snake. The snake is eaten by a hawk: He snatched that snake right off the ground. Gobbled him up without a sound and sang, "Hey diddle diddle - I don't ask why I've got feathers to help me fly." The book has a "For Creative Minds" section in the back that includes 4 pages of additional activities such as "Herbivore or Carnivore," "Predator or Prey" and many more. Even more related activities and links are found at the Sylvan Dell Publishing Website.

Animalogy is a book of, what else? Animal analogies of course! Beaver is to build as spider is to spin. Reptile is to snake, as insect is to bee.  The detail in the illustrations is captivating. This is a great book to teach analogies as well as animal behavior. The book may also be helpful for young ESL students trying to learn the concept of analogies. The book concludes with a 6 page activity guide that extends the learning presented in the story. Sylvan Dell Publishing also has a free 48 page Teaching Guide available.

Here is how you enter to win these two books:

Go to this blog post, Literacy Challenges of At-Risk Boys, and answer one or both of the following questions by November 5, 2011.

1. What are your communities doing to address the specific needs of at-risk learners? 
2. What reading programs or other resources do you know of that cater to the interest of boys?

One winner will be randomly selected to win BOTH books using www.random.org.