First Snow

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story and helping them understand that things happen in order. Coach them through the following questions: “What was the first thing that happened?" [First snow fall] “What happened next?" [Grandma and grandpa invited the mice to go sledding] “What happened after that? [Road was icy] “And then what happened? [Went up the hill and stopped at the pond so grandpa could ice skate] “Next what happened? [They climbed to the top of the hill and went down on their sleds] “Then what did Bitty do? [She was scared to slide down the hill; the other children encourage her to come down the hill; she came down the hill and was so proud of herself] “Next what happened? [Went home] “What happened last? [Bitty fell asleep at the table]

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “first snow” and place on refrigerator or wall. Point to word and say “first snow.” Then ask your child to say the words as you point to them. Emphasize “f” and “s” sound at the beginning of each word.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Spray whip cream on a cookie sheet or table top. Write the name “first” and “snow” on a sheet of paper. Demonstrate how to spell “snow” in the whip cream using your index finger and referring to each letter that you had previously written on the paper. Then invite your child to write “first” and “snow” using his/her index finger; assist him/her by referring them back to the sheet that you had written the words “first” and “snow”.

4. Vocabulary

• Ask your child, “How do you think Bitty felt when she was on top of the hill?”

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Teach them the following rhyming words: “snow, blow, dough”; “bitty, ditty, kitty, and grandma”; “mice, nice, dice and dream”.(As always, I have included some words that don’t rhyme so they will begin listening very carefully to the sounds of each word.)

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas

1. Narrative Skills

• Set out paint, brushes and paper and ask your child to draw something about the duck, cow and pig taking a bath. Once they have completed the drawing, invite them to tell you about it. Write down their exact words on the drawings. It is crucial not to correct their grammar. This is an excellent way for them to begin to see the connection between thoughts and symbols represented by the picture and their words. It is important to provide your child with good brushes and offer a variety of brush tips.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “ Wishy-Washy’s” on an 8 1/2 x11 sheet of paper; place it on the wall or refrigerator; point to the word and say “Wishy-Washy”; asked your child to repeat the words. It is important to emphasize the “w” sound.
• Gather a magazine and highlighter. Sit down with your child and open a page in the magazine. Ask them to search for words that begin with the letter “w” and highlight the word while talking about the word with your child.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Purchase foam letters and sort out the letters that spell “Wishy-Washy.” Run water in the sink, add soap to make bubbles and place foam letters in the sink. Print the words “Wishy-Washy” on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and invite your child to pull out one letter at a time, matching it to the letters on the paper.

4. Vocabulary

• Teach your child the following verses: “The cow mooed, [moo like a cow] No! I’ll wheeze and sneeze!" "The pig squealed, [squeal like a pig] No! MY snout will freeze!” "The duck quacked, [quack like a duck], No! No way I can!”

5. Print Motivation

• Keep it fun. Sit with your child while they are watching the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Make up silly rhymes with some words from the book such “wishy-washy”; “flu-blue-you”; “ice-nice-twice”; “back-tack-shoes”; “tub-scrub-laugh”. (As always, I have included some that don’t rhyme so they will get use to listening very carefully to the sounds of the words.).

The Mitten

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story. Say, “When Nicki dropped his white glove in the snow what woodland animals found it and crawled inside (mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, and bear)? Then ask, “Was the mole larger or smaller than the bear?” You can continue to talk about the different sizes of all the animals and also ask, “What happen to the mitten once all the animals crawled in?”

2. Print Awareness

• Cut out two white mittens from construction paper; on one mitten write the word “mitten” and on the other mitten write both upper and lower case letter “m/M”. Place it on the refrigerator or wall. Show your child the mittens and say the word “mitten” as you point to the lettering. Emphasize the “m/M” sound. Take your child to the pantry and see if you can find a label with either the upper or lower case “m” on it.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Play the “I Spy Letter Game”. All you need is a magazine and highlighter pen. Sit down with your child and say, “We are going to play the I Spy Game." Show your child the letters “m/M” that you had previous written on a mitten; then say, “Let’s find the letters “m/M” on the magazine pages. Once she/he has found the letter(s) have them highlight it with a highlighter pen.

4. Vocabulary

• Ask your child, “How do you think Nicki’s grandmother (Baba) felt when she looked out the window and saw that Nicki was safe and had his new mittens?” Then say, “How did his grandmother (Baba) feel when she saw that one of the snow white mittens had been really stretch and was much larger than the other white mitten?”

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Teach them the following rhyming words: “mitten, kitten, written and fox”; “snow, slow and toe”; “white, bright, night and stairs”; “bear, chair, and sound.(As always, I have included some words that don’t rhyme so they will begin listening very carefully to the sounds of each word.)

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More

1. Narrative Skills

• Set out paint, brushes and paper and ask your child to draw something about the boy in the story. Once they have completed the drawing, invite them to tell you about it. Write down their exact words on the drawings. It is critical not to correct their grammar. This is an excellent way for them to begin to see the connection between thoughts and symbols represented by the picture and their words. It is important to provide your child with good brushes and offer a variety of brush tips.

2. Print Awareness

• Point out the word “paint” on a paint can, jar or tube you may have around the house. Emphasize that it begins with the letter “p” and how the “p” sounds.
• When you are out shopping, look for words that begin with the letter ”p” on billboards, signs, and printed material and point them out to your child.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Draw a large lower case “p” on an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Find some pictures of things that begin with the letter “p.” Cut the pictures out and place them in a bag. Invite your child to pick a picture out of the bag. Have them glue it to the paper, with the letter “p” on it, and then ask them to say the word and emphasize the “p” sound. When done, point out how each picture starts with the letter “p”.
• Invite your child to sign their name on the picture they completed under the Narrative Skills activity. At this stage of a child’s development, it is important to let the child write their name as best they can and not to correct their spelling or formation of letters. We refer to this as their pre-school writing.

4. Vocabulary

• Take some verses from the book and turn them into song. For example, create a tune to these lyrics: “I ain’t gonna paint no more. Still I ain’t complete till I paint my feet. Now I ain’t gonna paint no more.” Teach the song to your child.

5. Print Motivation

• Keep it fun. Sit with the child while they are watching the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Ask if the following words rhyme: “red” and “head”; “neck” and “heck”; “egg” and “leg”; “feet” and “total”; “chest” and “trunk.” (I added some words that don’t rhyme to help them hear the difference).

Hickory Dickory Dock

1. Narrative Skills

• Set out colored pencils and paper and ask your child to draw something about the mouse in the story. Once they have completed the drawing, invite them to tell you about it. Write down their exact words on the drawings. It is critical not to correct their grammar. This is an excellent way for them to begin to see the connection between thoughts and symbols represented by the picture and their words.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words Hickory, Dickory, Dock and place on refrigerator or wall. Point to the words and say “Hickory, Dickory, Dock.” Then, ask your child to say the words as you point to them.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Purchase some foam letters and print off a picture of a mouse. Sort out two sets of the word “mouse.” Attach one set to a white piece of paper along with the picture of the mouse (it is important to always have a symbol of the word you are wanting them to learn). Place the second set in a basket and invite your child to pull out the letters and match it to the letter on the paper. When done, point to the letter “m” and say the word “mouse”.
• Invite your child to sign their name on the picture they completed under the Narrative Skills activity. At this stage of a child’s development, it is important to let the child write their name as best they can and not to correct their spelling or formation of letters. We refer to this as their pre-school writing.

4. Vocabulary

• Watch the video again and talk about what is happening in the story.
• Add adjectives to enrich how they described the book. For example, if they say the “Mouse ran up the clock,” you can say “The little, brown, mouse ran up the tall, black, clock”.

5. Print Motivation

• Provide the child with a stuffed animal of a mouse or one of the other characters in the story (bird, snake, re, bee, hen, pig, billy goat, porcupine, horse) while reading or viewing the story.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Ask if the following words rhyme: “Hickory, dickory, dock”; “three” and “key”; “six” and “chicks.” (I added some words that do not rhyme to help them hear the difference).

A Visitor For Bear

1. Narrative Skills

• Set out paint, brushes and paper and ask your child to draw something about the bear and mouse story. Once they have completed the drawing, invite them to tell you about it. Write down their exact words on the drawings. It is crucial not to correct their grammar. This is an excellent way for them to begin to see the connection between thoughts and symbols represented by the picture and their words. It is important to provide your child with good brushes and offer a variety of brush tips.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “No Visitors Allowed” on an 8 1/2 x11 sheet of paper. Place it on the wall or refrigerator, point to the word and say “No Visitors Allowed.” Asked your child to repeat the words.
• Look for items in your pantry that begin with the letter “n” and talk about them with your child.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Purchase foam letters; sort out the letters that spell “No Visitors Allowed.” Place foam letters in a bucket of rice and mix them up. Print the words “No Visitors Allowed” on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and invite your child to pull out one letter at a time; matching it to the letters on the paper.

4. Vocabulary

• When talking about this story, refer to the mouse as a small, gray and bright-eyed mouse. Refer to the bear as a big, tall, fuzzy, brown bear. Use lots of adjectives.

5. Print Motivation

• Keep it fun. Sit with the child while they are watching the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Make up silly rhymes with some words from the book such “mouse—house”; “mouse—cheese”; “bear--hair”; “bear –bathtub”; “no--yoo”; “no—sign.” (As always, I have included some that don’t rhyme so they will get use to listening very carefully to the sounds of the words.).

If You Give A Moose A Muffin

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story using a flannel board. Purchase a ½ yard of black felt. Find some of the following props and characters on-line and print: moose, 2-muffins, couch, muffin tin, jam jar, sweater, button, old sock, cardboard and paints, sheet from bed, and blackberry bush, little boy and a mother. Print and cut out pictures. Glue felt strips to the back of each picture. Place a felt piece of fabric on the floor or wall and invite your child to retell the story by placing the props and characters on the felt.

2. Print Awareness

• Take your child shopping at the grocery for muffin mix. Show them the words “muffin” on the package. After returning home, make and bake the muffins. Cut the words “muffin mix” from the package and place on refrigerator.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Draw the lower case “m” on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper; find a picture of a muffin and glue on paper; place the paper inside a clear plastic file sleeve (sheet protector); provide your child magic markers and have them trace over the letter and then the muffin.

4. Vocabulary

• Play a scavenger hunt game and invite your child to find the following items that were in the story: jelly, button, sweater, sock, sheet on the bed.

5. Print Motivation

• Inform your child that they are going to watch a story about a moose and a muffin. Tell them that once the story is over, you will go to the grocery and buy a muffin mix so you can make muffins together.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Say, “Do the following words rhyme: moose—loose; moose—jam; muffin—toughen; muffin—sweater; sweater—better—letter?" (As always, I have included some that don’t rhyme so they will get used to listening very carefully to the sounds of the words.)

Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story. Say, “Was it the lion that ate the cookie dough?”; then go through the rest of the animals: zebra, llama, cheetah, hippo, monkey. Then say, “Guess, who ate the cookie dough?”--baby kangaroo.

2. Print Awareness

• Take your child shopping at the grocery for cookie dough. Show them the words “cookie dough” on the package. After returning home, bake the cookies together. Cut the words cookie dough from the package and place on refrigerator.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Draw the lower case “c” on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. Have your child run their finger over the letter several times; hand them some cookie dough, invite them to make the letter “c” out of the dough; bake.

4. Vocabulary

• Ask your child, “How do you think mommy kangaroo felt when she learned that baby kangaroo ate all the cookie dough”?

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Teach them the following part to the book: “Eeny, meeny, miney (emphasize how they rhyme), moe! Who ate all the cookie dough?" Say, “Do moe and dough rhyme?”

Six Pre-Readings Skills

SIX PRE-READING SKILLS YOUR CHILD CAN START LEARNING FROM BIRTH!

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PRE-READERS: THREE-FOUR-AND FIVE-YEAR-OLDS

Narrative Skills: being able to describe things and events and tell stories. Being able to tell or retell a story helps children understand what they read.

What you can do to help:

1. Listen to your child carefully when he talks.
2. Ask your child to tell you about something that happened. Let him tell you about a picture he drew.
3. Share books together.
4. Stories help children understand that things happen in order—first, next, last.
5. Read a book together that your child already knows. Switch what you do. You be the listener and let your child tell you the story.
6. Ask “what” questions. Point to a picture and say, “What’s that?” or “What is happening here?”
7. Add to what your child says. If your child says, “big truck” then you say, “Yes, a big red fire truck.”
8. Ask open-ended questions like, “What do you think is happening in this picture?”
9. Help your child relate to what is happening in the story to her own experiences. For example, “What happened when we went on a picnic?”

Print Awareness: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book and knowing how to follow the words on a page. Being familiar with printed language helps children feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful.

What you can do to help:

1. Read aloud everywhere you see print; labels, signs, lists, menus. Print is everywhere!
2. Point to some of the words as you say them, especially words that are repeated.
3. Let your child turn the pages.
4. Let your child hold the book and read or tell the story.
5. Hold the book upside down. See if your child turns the book around.

Letter Knowledge: Knowing letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds and recognizing letters everywhere. Knowing the names and sounds of letters helps children figure out how to say written words.

What you can do to help:

1. Write your child’s name.
2. Make letters from clay or use magnetic letters.
3. Point out and name letters when reading alphabet books, signs or labels.
4. Show your child that the same letter can look different. Write words that interest your child (like “dinosaur” or “truck”) using crayons, magnetic letters or pencil and paper.
   

Vocabulary: Knowing the name of things. Research shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers. Knowing many words helps children recognize written words and understand what they read.

What you can do to help:

1. Talk with your child about what is going on around you. Talk about how things work, feelings and ideas.
2. When your child talks with you, add more detail to what they say.
3. Speak in the language that is most comfortable for you.
4. Read together everyday. When you talk about the story and pictures, your child hears and learns more words.
5. Learn together by reading some true books on subjects that your child likes.
   

Print Motivation: Being interested in and enjoying books. Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read.

What you can do to help:

1. Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child.
2. Let your child see you reading.
3. Visit your public library often.
   

Phonological Awareness: Being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. Most children who have difficulty reading have trouble with phonological awareness.

What you can do to help:

1. Ask whether two words rhyme. "Do cat and hat rhyme?" "Do cat and dog rhyme?"
2. Say words with sounds or word chunks left out. “What word would we have if we took the hot out of hotdog?"
3. Put two chunks together to make a word: “What word would we have if you put cow and boy together?"
4. Say words with sounds left out: “What word would we have if we took the buh sound away from bat?”
5. Say rhymes and make up your own silly, nonsense rhymes together.
6. Sing songs. Songs have different notes for each syllable in a word.
7. Read some poetry together. Make up short poems together. Say the words that rhyme. Say rhymes and sing songs in the language most comfortable for you.
   

Source: The Early Literacy Initiative: a Partnership between the Public Library Association and the National Institute of child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
This information was created by Dr. Grover(Russ) White hurst, Leading Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York and Dr. Christopher Lonigan, Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida State University.
Funding was provided by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Association.

"The Best Thanksgiving Ever"

1. Narrative Skills

• Ask your child to tell you something about the story.
• Talk about the order of the book. For example cleaning house with dust mop and broom; pie in the oven and table is set; grandmother and granddaddy arrive; shared what they were thankful for; sang song; and ate corn.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “Happy Thanksgiving” and place on refrigerator or wall; point to word and say “Happy Thanksgiving”; then ask child to say words.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Cut out a picture of a turkey and print the word turkey below it; give the children some play dough and have them make the letter “t”.

4. Vocabulary

• Watch the video again and talk about what is happening in the story
  Talk about what you are thankful for and ask them what they are thankful for.

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Ask if the following words rhyme: “night” and “Dwight”; “broom” and “room”; “kisses” and “wishes”; “song” and “along”; and “horn” and “corn”

Are You My Mother? - Literacy Tips

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES: Strategies in which you can help expand your child’s pre-reading skills.

Six Pre-Reading Skills: Are You My Mother?

 

1. Narrative Skills

• Go on-line and print pictures of a baby bird, mother bird, kitten, hen, dog and a cow. Cut out the animals, place the pictures throughout the room and invite your child to be the baby bird looking for his mother. Demonstrate by holding the baby bird picture and going over to one of the animal pictures like the dog and say, “Are you my mother?” Then say, “No I’m not your mommy.” Continue approaching each animal (saving mother bird for last). When you get to mother bird ask, “Are you my mother?” Then say, “Yes, I’m your mother” and give the baby bird a pretend hug. Next, give your child the baby bird and let them do the activity. You can also used stuffed animals you may have around the house for this activity.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the word "mother" in lower case and attach it to a picture of yourself. Place it on the wall or refrigerator and point to the word while saying, “Mother”.
• When you are at the grocery store, look for words on grocery items that begin with the letter "M”.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Put a small amount of sugar, salt, corn meal or flour on a table top and have your child practice writing the letter “M” in it.

4. Vocabulary

• When talking about this story, refer to the baby bird as a little white and brown baby bird with a yellow beak (extending adjectives) who was feeling so scared because he could not find his mother.

5. Print Motivation

• Keep it fun. Sit with the child while they are watching the story video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Make up silly rhymes with some words from the book such as, “mother—brother—other”; “bird—third—word”; “ dog—log—fog”; “kitten—written—mitten”; “hen—ben—den”, and “cow—how—plow”.