Last night I watched Maddie (age 3) "read" The Foot Book word for word. Ella was there too copying, trying to read 10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I thought what an advantage these girls had with parents who are willing to take time to read to them and to hold books while they "read".
The morning paper interviewed the Teacher of the Year at Granbury Elem. School Christina Ward. She does not apologize for continuing the use of learning centers in her room while other kindergarten teachers have opted out of centers to incorporate more academics into the curriculum. Along with the usual reading, math, and writing centers, she has some which stimulate creativity and imagination. She says, "The pretend center, where they act out stories we've read or create their own with puppets...is very much about literacy and language. Ward tries to encourage the parents of her children by teaching them about the development of children. She says, "As far as helping children learn no complex computer games or toy can replace the simple act of reading. If they (parents) could just read to their child 10 minutes a night that would prepare them for kindergarten so much better than anything else they could do. Every kindergarten teacher would be happy if parents would just do that."
Music to my ears. But I must put one foot in front of the other and go fold clothes.
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