The first chapter can be summed up in one quote found on page 16."It's not the toys in the house that make the difference in children's lives; it's the words In their heads." So enjoying this seventh edition of an old favorite.
I really liked that quote too. At my beginning of the school year, we meet with the parents to discuss our school day and our expectations for the school year. I often say that the most important thing we as parents should do is read read read to your child, but I think this year I will show them this book and ask them to read this book too..
I already had this book sitting among 20 or so to read, so I was very happy when this excuse came up to read this book now.I will say that I am beginning a job as a kindergarten teacher at a charter school in a southern state. We have been given books to read before school starts. At first, I was thrilled, but the books are awful. They have no soul, and the one that maybe has a little has amazingly bad methodology(it is supposed to be based on research). I won't name the books. It was time for the blogs to start, so I picked it up and started reading. What a breath of fresh air! There is so much in the intro and chapter 1. Trelease really fills out my understanding of Risley and Hart, and his hints about how to talk about their findings to parents was invaluable. He talks about the importance of reading FICTION! Who'd thought! What with Common Core apparently pushing towards non-fiction(although this maybe misunderstood, and early childhood classes usually have lots of non-fiction what with themes and all)Trelease says,"The purpose of literature, especially fiction is to provide meaning in our lives- which is really the purpose of all education." and later..."fiction forces us to concentrate the most in order to find meaning, and therefore deepens our "engagement" and helps comprehension."....ah..ah.. What can I say?
Reading to children has always been my favorite part of the school day. Like others, it was suggested to "just start reading" when you want kids to settle down and get quiet. It works! My favorites to read aloud in first grade were the American Girl chapter books--THE BOYS LOVED THEM, too! They are historical fictions with a strong male character in the books as well as a beloved animal. This past year I taught preschool. I have two sessions that are 2.5 hours each so there is little time to read all my favorites so I have the preschoolers choose a book for their parent to read every day. They log the name of the book, who read to them and how they felt about the book. I enjoyed hearing the kids talk about their book as they returned it and chose another one. I bought 2 gallon plastic zip lock bags for the books since I have some over-sized books. Some preschoolers logged over 200 books! We have a preschool curriculum and I read all the books last year that complimented the studies, but this year I plan to get back to some great literature that will support the study AND interest the preschool-aged child.
The first chapter can be summed up in one quote found on page 16."It's not the toys in the house that make the difference in children's lives; it's the words In their heads." So enjoying this seventh edition of an old favorite.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that quote too. At my beginning of the school year, we meet with the parents to discuss our school day and our expectations for the school year. I often say that the most important thing we as parents should do is read read read to your child, but I think this year I will show them this book and ask them to read this book too..
ReplyDeleteI already had this book sitting among 20 or so to read, so I was very happy when this excuse came up to read this book now.I will say that I am beginning a job as a kindergarten teacher at a charter school in a southern state. We have been given books to read before school starts. At first, I was thrilled, but the books are awful. They have no soul, and the one that maybe has a little has amazingly bad methodology(it is supposed to be based on research). I won't name the books. It was time for the blogs to start, so I picked it up and started reading. What a breath of fresh air! There is so much in the intro and chapter 1. Trelease really fills out my understanding of Risley and Hart, and his hints about how to talk about their findings to parents was invaluable. He talks about the importance of reading FICTION! Who'd thought! What with Common Core apparently pushing towards non-fiction(although this maybe misunderstood, and early childhood classes usually have lots of non-fiction what with themes and all)Trelease says,"The purpose of literature, especially fiction is to provide meaning in our lives- which is really the purpose of all education." and later..."fiction forces us to concentrate the most in order to find meaning, and therefore deepens our "engagement" and helps comprehension."....ah..ah.. What can I say?
ReplyDeleteReading to children has always been my favorite part of the school day. Like others, it was suggested to "just start reading" when you want kids to settle down and get quiet. It works! My favorites to read aloud in first grade were the American Girl chapter books--THE BOYS LOVED THEM, too! They are historical fictions with a strong male character in the books as well as a beloved animal.
ReplyDeleteThis past year I taught preschool. I have two sessions that are 2.5 hours each so there is little time to read all my favorites so I have the preschoolers choose a book for their parent to read every day. They log the name of the book, who read to them and how they felt about the book. I enjoyed hearing the kids talk about their book as they returned it and chose another one. I bought 2 gallon plastic zip lock bags for the books since I have some over-sized books. Some preschoolers logged over 200 books!
We have a preschool curriculum and I read all the books last year that complimented the studies, but this year I plan to get back to some great literature that will support the study AND interest the preschool-aged child.