See the Learning.™

Today is my 42nd wedding anniversary.  I’m 63 years old.  LeapFrog has asked for a short memoir about transitioning to kindergarten.

I remember the moment I entered the kindergarten doorway and saw a big yellow circle on the floor.  I knew I wanted one.  Soon I’d learn that we were to sit on this circle-of-all-circles when we entered the room and stay there until attendance was taken.  We also headed there whenever the class needed “to talk,” had a visitor, or when we played Duck-Duck-Goose. On that line we had to learn to cross our legs just so (I can see my cotton dress make a little bowl as I write this) and put our hands on our knees.  Then we were to sit still and follow directions.

No one at my house said much about going to kindergarten, but there was a nice fuss over shortening my sister’s dresses to fit me and getting a new pair of saddle shoes.  This was essentially my “transition.”  Getting new shoes was always a big deal because my sisters and I got to put our feet on a machine that made our bones look bright blue. (I believe these x-ray machines were outlawed in the fifties.) The shoe salesman (always a man) would measure our feet with a heavy metal platform that had funny lines and a moving part that would go up and down until it hit the bone sticking out of the inside of each foot, right below our big toe.  Then he’d push on all our toes to see how long each foot was.  Soon he’d disappear into a back room (always mysterious) and come out balancing tens of boxes and—oh my gosh—what fun that was trying on all those shoes!

Just before school started we all got our hair cut, too.  I got bangs for the first time before entering kindergarten, and I loved them!  Every hair lay flat and together each one managed to fall such that together they’d make a fine, straight line right over my eyebrows.  We were all to look neat and clean, and I surely did.  Each sister also got a new lunchbox.

I suppose there was one more thing that helped my transition into school, but I’m not sure it was meant for that purpose.  In the basement of our home, our Dad had a little office where he’d do his engineering work in the evening and on weekends.  I loved watching him draw lines and make plans for dams, or buildings, or truck parts before my very eyes.  And he always had to write reports.  Because I liked hanging out with him, he’d give me paper and pencil and encourage me to draw and write little notes (probably to stay out of his hair!).  I remember feeling big and grown-up and happy to a part of the writing “club.” So, new cloths, an expectation to be neat and clean, and an introduction to writing and drawing through playing office was what I got.  And, boy, that first day of kindergarten was amazing.  Yellow circles still have a fascination. 

The title of my blog this week suggests a learning tool that stands tall and delivers essential literacy skills in a fun and engaging way. Parents—and grandparents who care for their grandchildren, as I do two days a week—respect a learning device that children request over and over again and that delivers essential literacy skills. Unless you’re a reading teacher, you might not know what those “essential literacy skills” are, so my purpose today is to outline how the Tag Reading System delivers on helping children learn to read and write.

1. Listening carefully is a crucial skill when it comes to learning to read and write. In both reading and writing, children must be able to listen carefully to the sounds within words, which is very hard to do! A word, like “dad” for example, isn’t heard in tiny sound bites, /d/ /a/ /d/, but as one pulse, “dad.” But “dad,” eventually, has to be read or written sound-by-sound. Any tool that helps children break words apart promotes this segmenting ability. Throughout the Tag library, activities in every book involve children taking words apart and putting them together again. Bravo.
   


2. Knowing the names and sounds of all 26 letters of the alphabet enables reading and writing development. Letter names often contain the sounds they stand for (as the sound /b/ in B), so knowing letter names, and being able to say them quickly and automatically, promotes literacy. Many Tag stories (such as Ozzie and Mack and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) through story line and/or book activities include opportunities that promote alphabet mastery.
   


3. Stories have different structures, and when children experience different structures, it’s easier for them to read with understanding and to predict upcoming events. Many books in the Tag library have the problem/resolution structure. In The Golden Paddleball, the main character, Bloo, isn’t good at the sport. That’s his problem, which he solves. In The Little Engine that Could, our little gal suddenly “couldn’t.” Miss Spider, in Miss Spider’s Tea Party, can’t seem to get a bug to join her! Problems, all. But solutions are plentiful, and fun to discover.
   


4. Vocabulary knowledge is crucial to understanding, and not considered a “tag-along” at LeapFrog. The Tag Reader introduces children to new vocabulary and includes word explorations, both within stories and in end-of-book activities. In Fancy Nancy at the Museum, children can learn the meanings of words like overjoyed, masterpieces and spectacular in particularly endearing ways.

So, for me, it’s Terrifically Tag! Bravo, LeapFrog.

Mary Poppins says that we say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when we don’t know what else to say. So it’s a great word for you to use when your little one heads off to school for the first time. “Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day!”

Hard to believe, isn’t it, that for many parents (maybe you?) the start of school is almost here. There are still weeks of summer ahead though, and there are many things you can do to secure a perfect “goodbye” moment.

1. Read lots of great stories about going to kindergarten so your child has a sense of what’s going to happen to and for him. Here are a few: Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come by Nancy Carlson (Puffin); I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child (Candlewick); Sam and Gram and the First Day of School by Diane Bloomberg (Magination Press); When You Go to Kindergarten by James Howe (Harper Trophy); and Welcome to Kindergarten by Anne Rockwell (Walker and Company).
2. Anticipate questions your children might have and talk about them. Visit the school with your child, if possible. Here are a few questions that might be on your child’s mind:
   Will there a bathroom and when can I use it?
   What if I have an accident?
   Will there be snacks if I get hungry?
   Will they make me take a nap? What if I don’t want to?
   What if you don’t pick me up on time?
   Will my teacher like me? Will the other kids like me?
   Dr. Ruth Peters, Ph.D. provides suggestions with regard to these questions (and more!) in this article.
3. To promote early literacy skills, visit your local library and read alphabet books together. Sing rhyming songs and share as much poetry as possible, to promote the idea that words are made of sounds. If you’ve got a Tag Reader, the following books are great to share with your to-be kindergartener: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, I SPY™: Imagine That!, Olivia and Miss Spider’s Tea Party. The activities at the back of each book will further help your child understand that words are composed of sounds, that letters stand for sounds, that words have spaces between them and that writing goes from left to right.

During the last weeks of summer, have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time!

Whether a child’s companion is a grasshopper or a mutt, there’s something about a pet in a schoolyard that grabs the imagination every time! (Remember Mary Had a Little Lamb?) This classic theme is reborn in the rip-roaring Tag tale called Ozzie and Mack.

Ozzie Otter takes his pet grasshopper, Mack, to school—and everyone, including Ozzie, knows that’s against the rules. Before you know it, Mack is floating behind ears, dancing in the aisles, turning cartwheels and scattering papers all over the place! Then something magical happens.

Ozzie and Mack is a not only great story—it also gets kids playing with the alphabet and whole numbers, sounding out words and playing against the clock in games that develop reading fluency. Later in the story, children romp through nature scenes while hearing vocabulary words.

Why is this important? There are several reasons:

1. Learning is fun! Ozzie and Mack and the other Tag books keep that idea on track with an engaging story, silly sound effects and fun activities.
2. Children have both control and choice while playing and learning, just as they do in the sandbox.
3. The Tag Reader works with children in a fully interactive way, not only to tell all those great stories, but to literally partner with children in learning games.
4. The Tag Reader and books are fully portable so kids can play and learn anywhere they want.
5. Ozzie and Mack—and all of the Tag books and stories—can lead to great discussions about themes like fun, kindness, learning and even about life itself.

Remember, learning to read takes time, but it can be fun when kids have a new way to play and learn.

 

Discussion Questions

Here are a few ideas you might use to start conversations with your little one about Ozzie and Mack:

Before reading the story: This book is called Ozzie and Mack. Ozzie is an otter and Mack is a grasshopper. What do you think this story will be about?

During the story: Do you think Mack will get Ozzie into trouble? Why, or why not?

After the story: If you could take a small pet to school, what would it be? Tell me about what might happen in your story.

Imagine your child is five and entering kindergarten. His teacher says, "We've assessed Johnny and we think he'll be reading within a few months." Sound like great news? It is! Nowadays many children begin reading this early (and some earlier) because of what parents and preschool caregivers are doing. And none of it is hard!

Here are some easy ideas that will do wonders for helping your little one onto the reading path.

1. From the time your infant is born, read every day. Begin with simple ABC books and rhymes. Reading Reason: Your child gets used to the feel of your lap and sound of your voice, which builds positive attitudes toward reading and a feel for language and letters.

2. Talk to your child a whole lot! It’s important that you not use a lot of baby talk, just talk normally. Reading Reason: Children learn language by listening to others. The more they hear, the faster they’ll learn words and correct word and sentence formation.

3. Introduce your baby to the world. Take your baby to lots of different places: the park, grocery store, a local farm or state park, your local library, the county fair. Reading Reason: By going to and talking about many places, children learn basic concepts such as colors, farm animals, fruits vs. vegetables. Later, these words will be easier to read because your child will recognize them as he or she sounds them out. Even math will be easier, because language won’t get in the way of adding cows and subtracting bananas!

4. Learn to slow down. On walks, take your time. Help your child notice sounds you hear. Reading Reason: By noticing sounds, especially soft, subtle sounds, children learn how to listen carefully. Because words are made of individual sounds, learning to read requires careful listening.

5. Encourage writing. When your child is old enough to hold a crayon, encourage lots of writing. Reading Reason: There’s a lot to learn when it comes to learning to read—following from left to right is just one! When your child points to his squiggles and calls that writing, that’s okay! Your little one has discovered that writing looks different than drawing.

That’s it for now. Remember to read together today!