YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT!

Calling all professional early childhood teachers - you have important information about how children develop.  Don't hide that under a bushel basket; share it with parents, and fellow educators!

WHY YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT

Recently I was speaking to a group of parents (most very highly educated) about their 4-5 year old children and the big "learn to read" event coming within a year or two for most of their children.  It was amazing to me that the science I know was foreign to them. 

For instance, did you know that, within a few 1,000 brain cells, every child (unless there is a major developmental issue) comes into this world with out 100 Billion brain cells?

Do you know how they grow?  Check out Child Care Aware!

The type of talk young children hear is very important to their later reading abilities and how easily they will learn to read?  View Dr. David Dickenson's Powerpoint and check out his research below:

The art of reading aloud to children is going away and we're not doing an adequate job of helping parents understand its important.  Instead of "wagging and nagging", let's try a different approach (plenty of modeling, facts that are meaningful to families, and a warm, caring approach. 

Literacy is my thing but you can probably list all kinds of information you need to be sharing in the areas of emotional/social development, motor skills, concepts and counting, etc.  Get those conversations started and share what you are learning through those and the successes you have had with families when you share your knowledge.  I'd love to hear!

We're In This Together: Are You About Quality?

THE GROWING EXPERTISE OF THE PRESCHOOL COMMUNITY

Slowly but surely the message is getting out.  Preschool teachers are professionals, they have degrees or certification or are increasing working toward those certifications, are improving the support, care and instruction they provide young children, are one of a parent's best partners in understanding how young children learn.  We can see this in

• the rise of colleges listed on the U.S. CollegeSearch website which offer early childhood degrees (did you know there are now over 2,000?)
  
• the large number of states funding voluntary pre-K classrooms (only 12 are not providing according to NIEER and some of them like Mississippi are approaching quality early childhood education from a different angle.
  
• according to an article by Dr. Jean Fahey, a professor at Lesley University, and countless other experts, a child's brain is more curious and malleable during the first five years than any other time in their lives - that demands high-quality, developmentally appropriate instruction.

Those of us in early childhood have reason to be proud but we are on the edge of the wave.  We need to do more.

DEFINING QUALITY

One of the best way I know is to have honest, constructive conversations, based on current research and best practices.  Go to authorities such as NAEYC, PreK Now, and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).  Start a local discussion on what high-quality care of young children needs to look like in your community.  Engage children's policy councils, local schools, and educational foundations.  Begin to organize discussions between preschool and kindergarten teachers.   Get your local PTA/PTO involved in reaching out to families who will be potential members at their school in a year or two.


With this terrific window, created because leaders have spoken up about this important issue, we have a better chance than ever to make a real difference:  to turn children on to learning, prepare them well for the 21st century workplace and empower parents as their child's first and forever teacher.

Policymakers are promoting early high-quality child care, while warning of the dangers of pushing academics too early to the neglect of other developmental areas.  What can we do on the "grassroots" level?  There are many things.  I'd love to hear your ideas.

THIS IS MY IDEA:  I'm starting a FIRE!

One of my initiatives is to partner with Region IV Head Start Association in a collaboration with my company, TLA, Inc.  We have joined the competition for $250,000 in grant money from the Pepsi Refresh Project. 

Especially if you live in the SE states of AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC and TN, helping win this grant will have a direct impact on your Head Start classrooms.  Even if you live in another part of the country, the pilot of this program could, as it proves successful, become a model for building authentic partnerships between home and school in the preschool years.

How do you do that?

It's easy.  In five minutes, you can do nearly all these; certainly in only 10 minutes' time.  That's less than a coffee break to make an incredible difference!  Vote now. . .

1) go to the Region IV/BIG 3 Literacy Project link and vote yourself.  Mark a tickler on your calendar and bookmark the page so you can go back and add 7 votes to our totals by voting each day between now and September 30.

2) while you are on that page, capture the Widget and put it on your Facebook page, blog, or website.

3) before you leave the Pepsi Refresh page, also copy the instructions for texting in votes and share that with your friends (text 102675 to Pepsi (73774).  Use the convenient "Promote This Idea" area to share the link with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. 

4) While you are in the social networking world, follow litambassador on Facebook and Twitter and "retweet" when you see us discussing the project and asking for votes.  That's a great way to get more and more folks voting and sharing!

5) team up with your local Head Start staff to start a wildfire.  Encourage every teacher and parent and staff person (don't forget Board Members) to do the same thing you are doing with voting and sharing.

6) get the local media involved.  Head Start has great stories to tell and the excitement is contagious.

Remember we only have one week.  What will you do to help spread the word?  I'd love to have comments here!

Hot News from NAEYC - Free books (4) to Download Just in Time for the Start of the New School Year

has done it again.

 Going right along with the themes from the previous post on this blog, relating to the recent webinar "Supporting the Literacy Loop in Every Classroom", I just saw this incredible offer from NAEYC:

Back to School Resources for Teachers and Caregivers (click on this link to see details)

I especially like the 10 Tips for Involving Families Through Internet Communication

If you haven't joined this national organization, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, seriously consider it. 

Joining a professional organization is well worth the cost if you are serious about growing your career.  Having trouble coming up with all of the membership fee (there are student, basic and comprehensive memberships)?

1.  Ask your child development center director to support you by paying at least part of it for you.
 
2.  Look for a few local ECE-friendly businesses who want to support your growth as a professional and ask them to contribute. 

3.  Perhaps your director might ask families served at your facility to donate a few dollars to a collection so that someone on the staff (teacher of the year or person with the longest or shortest amount of time in early childhood education) can benefit with a free membership.

Where there is a will, there is a way.  

Tips for Planning in the New Year

In follow-up to my appearance on Robert-Leslie's InvestiGator Club webinar series yesterday, I'm providing even more resources on this blog.  I'll be adding several installments, including a link to the webinar contents.  Here's the first:

If you listened in to the webinar, welcome back.  Many of add-on resources I mentioned will be highlighted here.  If you weren't able to join us, a link to the recorded webinar is now available.  We'd love to hear comments back from you either through an email to tla@readingisforeveryone.org, comments posted on this blog or on Robert-Leslie's Facebook and other social networking locations.  Placing WEBINAR in the subject line on mine will assure you get a quick response.  

On to the business of the new school year

What is the literacy loop?


When you combine efforts of teachers, parents and guardians, community, authors and illustrators, librarians and media specialists, all centered around a child, you have the best chance of success for EVERY child.  That's the concept behind the Literacy Loop. 

We know that questioning is a great way to understand at a deeper level so TLA recommends that you use the framework of questioning to plan how to integrate all these partners into your support for children.  In the partner area of evaluation, you can do the same.

Greater Attention on Early Childhood

I was thrilled yesterday to see that Barbara Chester, President of the National Association of Elementary School Principals was quoted in an Education Week article as calling for "focused professional development to help elementary school administrators meet the higher expectations of modern early childhood education".  I was also pleased to see the National Association for the Education of Young Children weighing in to make sure that developmentally appropriate practices are at the forefront of such training.

This also opens a door for expert teachers in the early childhood world to have the kinds of collaborative conversations I talk about in my book for educators of 3-6 year olds, Before They Read.  By addressing the needs of teachers in both arenas, and helping them understand one another's expertise, we can build partnerships that help make the transition to kindergarten easier for young children.  With the right preparation, they come to school with a rich foundation which brings them to the reading table eager and ready to learn.   This book gives you plenty of starting places and I've even created a facilitator's guide for a book study around this title (great idea for joint professional development). 

Don't Forget The Importance of Play

If we push too much rigorous, structured instruction in the preschool years, the product we send to kindergarten is quite different.  We send children, according to the research of Drs. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, and Diane Eyer (authors of Einstein Never Used Flashcards), more anxious, and less creative. In an overly structured environment, what young children get is deprivation of the "pleasures of creating their own games and the sense of mastery and independence they will need to enjoy running their own lives." 

Here's a bit of play you can engage in with young children that helps them practice (and learn about) rhyming skills.  My friends, Greta and Cora, play Rhymin' Simon with me quite proficiently.  All the while, they are acquiring mastery in the skill through play.  A simpler version, with strong teacher support, helps children learn the basics of how to rhyme.  Teachers have been kind enough to share many stories about children playing the game on their own, once they've learned the basics of knowing when words rhyme.  It's fun!

Extra links to help you grow your own literacy loop:

Facebook/The InvestiGator Club:  Place to watch for updates on the webinar, Supporting the Literacy Loop in Every Classroom:  A Planning Guide for Administrators (and Teachers) in the Preschool Environment.

Resources from Early Childhood InvestiGator Webinar Series.  Here you'll find SEVEN valuable links that extend beyond the content of the webinar (watch it first)!

Visit my website to learn how to play Rhymin' Simon.

Comments in a blog regarding Phillip Kovac's 5 Ways to Change the Status Quo 

Article on The Importance of Play in Human Evolution.

The Cheerios Challenge for First Book - your state (if they are in the top 5) can receive 20,000 books for the children who live there.  Click here to find out more.

Come see The Literacy Ambassador Up close and personal at:

Guest instructor for K/1, 2-3rd grade, 4-6th grade, and 7-8th grade classes for homeschoolers through CCA (home school cover school in Huntsville AL).   More info from 256-882-3668. (weekly September 1 through November 17).

Featured speaker at GA Association for the Education of Young Children - October 8 and 9, 2010 (scholarships for attendance of this conference still available) - Gwinnett Center (metro Atlanta, GA)


Featured Speaker at Region IV Head Start Association Annual Parent Conference - October 14 through 17, 2010 (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Featured Speaker at Alabama Reading Association Conference - November 2-4, 2010 (Birmingham, AL)

Round table session at the Kentucky Engagement Conference - November 19, 2010 (Louisville, KY)

Session at the National Reading Recovery Conference (February 5-8, 2011, Columbus, OH)

Featured Speaker at the IL Reading Council Conference (March 17, 2011), Springfield, IL

More on the way . . .

Not More Professional Development - Ugh!

Do you ever feel this way (or get this response from teachers you supervise?) 

As awareness of the importance of early childhood education grows and we understand the need to share more information about how young children learn and what they need to be learning, everyone in early childhood is focusing more on improving the quality of teaching and so we should.

However, as this becomes a "hot topic", it becomes more and more challenging to find QUALITY training that supports teacher growth and results in improved outcomes for children.  Why spend your money and time if it's not helpful?  How do you find the resources that fit?

First, search out training not just based on availability but also on its impact on your bottom line (does it improve your reputation, does it mean real results in school preparedness with real children, and in the overall development of the children in your care, are you or your teachers positive about the training after experiencing it)?  If you hear "this was a waste of time", don't take it as an empty complaint.  Listen and pass it along to the decision-makers.  In fact, give feedback on every training you attend.

A QUALITY TRAINING CHECKLIST

I encourage all of you to find ways to expand your knowledge.  My area of focus is language and literacy development, but here's a checklist to help you select professional development that fits you (and your staff if you are a director) best in any area.  Also remember that effective training is all about adding value to your organization and to teachers as growing, competent professionals:

#1.  Does the professional development address an area that I or my staff need a stronger knowledge base in? (don't choose training simply because it "fits the required numbers" - that's a waste of time) - think the five domains of learning 

#2.  Is the training offered by a qualified trainer/organization and are they willing to work with you on funding your training event? (hint:  there are a number of inappropriate "heavy on the sales pitch" companies and individuals out there who promote their own agenda without a strong, independent research base - BEWARE!)  Also, free doesn't always mean quality so build your community, state and national collaboratives to fund quality training.  Ask for recommendations from others who have used the trainer you are considering and find out what difference the training made.  If the training is coming from a "mandated source" (such as a state voluntary PreK initiative or resource provider), we sure to give your input to improve the quality of what you receive.

#3.  Does the training involve an opportunity for me (or my staff) to try out and explore, rather than simply overwhelm with information?  This is an essential question to ask before you decide who will provide your training.

#4.  Will there be "take back to the classroom tomorrow" ideas and strategies included?

#5.  What kind of follow-up (internal or external) is provided to assure that the training "sticks"?

Now a few specifics for literacy training:

A Caveat:  Emergent literacy is essential but we can focus too much on it to the neglect of other areas.  Make sure that any literacy trainer you hire understands how young children grow and develop on a broader scale and that they incorporate learning in an "up to your eyeballs, rolling around in the experience" approach..  Balance quality training in this area with training in the other domains.

#6.  Does the training provide you with an integrated rather than "isolated skills" approach?

#7.  Can you envision your children having fun with the recommended approach? (see an example of children learning and having fun playing Rhymin' Simon).

#8.  Are all the strategies and activities tied to a specific learning objective that has at least three research-based foundations?  (this will help you avoid the "fly by night", "fix alls" that really don't work).  Do they address the essential foundations of reading and writing readiness?

#9.  Are there opportunities for the participants to ask questions and get additional information or access additional resources?

#10.  Does the trainer offer you an opportunity to extend the training into a comprehensive implementation plan or just offer an "in and out" workshop?



Now that you know what to ask - go for it!

You'll be making much better decisions about your training plan and budgeting plus you raise the likelihood that you will see meaningful changes as a result of the interaction. 

Don't forget that opportunities for families to learn (in conjunction with teachers or as separate events) are also important.

Happy New School Year! Dedicate This One to Literacy, Life and Love

I don't know about you but I'm excited to see the new school year begin. Fresh new faces replace those we already miss and with those children come new challenges. Here are three tips to get you through the first days (to discover my secret about threes, read beyond these three tips to the end of this post):

1) Do everything you can (with the help of director, other teachers and other staff) to connect positively to every family associated with the children in your class. That will be easy for some - they'll introduce themselves. Others may come from a different place (physically, intellectually, socioeconomically or emotionally) than you and those will be more challenging. Start with a kind word, a complement about their child. Those are sure to get attention. When you talk with that parent, listen carefully to their language, find out a little about their family. That will help you when it comes to literacy in the classroom.

2) Commit that this year, no matter how tired you are when it comes to read aloud time, that you'll take a deep breath, draw on the little bit of energy left in your big toe, and mesmerize your children with that story. You are the commercial for reading; be sure it is a positive, affirmative one.

3) Do a short inventory of your read aloud books. Flag those that have rhyming language in them and make sure that you read at least one of them a day. Whether poems, words to rhyming songs, or traditional story books, keeping that rhythm in your children's ears will open the door for phonological awareness. If you aren't sure about that term, check out TLA's workshops for preschool teachers at http://www.readingisforeveryone.org/pdfs/staff/staff_pre_event.pdf to find "What in the Heck is Phonological Awareness". TLA has a program for out of town clients where you can earn discounts for your own presentation/training by recommending additional organizations, schools, parent groups, libraries, etc. in your area who might want to book at the same time. Restrictions apply so be sure to call for details.

Now for my story about threes. My dear mom (now gone two years) is the inspiration for what I do now and she was a woman of threes herself. She was the third or three girls, married a third child, had three children herself, two of which were born on the 3rd of the month, one that was three days late. I find that hanging my ideas on a tripod always makes me feel like Momma is sitting right there on my shoulder.

Create your own lists of three and celebrate literacy every day with your children (do you know that literacy is now considered reading, writing, listening, communicating AND viewing/observing?)