Studio3Music Blog

Posts Tagged ‘books’

Aug
5

Is My Child Ready to Read?

I recently wrote about the joys of summer reading. But maybe you’re wondering if your child should be reading yet. The question of whether our children are “on track” can cause so much stress. And it’s hard because we can’t compare our children with others. Each one is unique. Let’s look at signs of reading readiness that can help you discern your child’s reading readiness and help you enjoy guiding your little one into a lifelong pleasurable relationship with books.

Signs of Reading Readiness

An interest in books. Your child will pretend to be reading. He will hold a book in the appropriate way and turn pages. At this point, you preschooler is beginning to understand the relationship between print and spoken words. According to author Amanda Movin, she is not merely playing with books; she is “organizing what she knows about books and language and how they work together.” She is beginning to understand that readers focus on the words which convey a message.

Shows comprehension. The child will ask questions and make comments while reading. She can apply story content to her own experiences. If a child hears a story about ice cream, she can infer, “I like ice cream too.”

Recognizes print in his environment. Signs on the highway, at the grocery story, church or gym begin to attract the child’s interest. I vividly recall when I was on a family trip sometime during 1^st grade when I was beginning to read. I noticed highway signs that said, “Passing” and then “No Passing.” Suddenly the signs meant something. I watched them with fascination and excitement for the entire trip.

Letter Recognition and Phonetic Awareness. The child begins to explore the sounds of words. She is interested in and can make speech sounds such as “b” and “k”. He enjoys thinking of several words that begin with the same sound: bat, bug, Billy. She replaces one sound with another turning “hat” to “cat”.

A few other signs

Can give the definition of simple words.
Can pronounce his/her own first and last name.
Can print his/her own name.

In their article on Emergent Literacy, Penn State researchers wrote, “It is fun and pleasant to introduce a child to literacy.” If you’re feeling stressed about your child’s reading progress, it’s time to relax and enjoy the process. The goal is to introduce your children to “pleasurable language experiences.” Here are some simple suggestions for encouraging your child’s reading readiness.

Read to your child—a lot!
Point out printed words in your child’s world—at the grocery story, on road signs, at preschool, at McDonalds…
Use magnetic letters on a cookie sheet to do letter and word play.
Check out alphabet books from the library. Dr. Suess’ ABC, ABC, I Like Me, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Eating the Alphabet; Fruits and Vegetable from A-Z.
Use the fun phonics videos such as Leap Frog’s “The Letter Factory.”
Sing lots of rhyming songs such as nursery rhymes or finger plays.
Play, “I Spy.”
Make picture books: Write “A is for Apple” and paste or draw an apple.

Is your child showing some of the signs of reading readiness? As you help your child begin a life-long love of reading, careful observation, simple language activities, and lots of reading aloud can give you a confident beginning.

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who would like to dedicate today’s blog to her favorite reading chair—the old, green recliner.

Tags: books, Donna Detweiler, preschoolers, reading

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Jul
25

The Love of Summer Reading

Posted in Education, Things to do

When the school year ends, we gladly change focus. We put away the school folders and throw away well-worn stubby pencils. Year-old, slightly smelly lunch bags get pitched in the trash. We turn our faces to the sun and our backs to our books….well, almost.

Summer is the time the library pulls out the stops and beckons, no, bribes our children to come on in. Reading incentive programs promise prizes to all kids who read their way to the goal line. Book bags, books, computers, IPods and 10 speed bikes as prizes entice kids to read, read, read. Library reading incentive programs attempt to draw our kids into the wonderful experience of summer reading—in other words, reading for the sheer pleasure of it.

While some children are born book lovers, helping our children become book lovers often takes incentive, as the library knows, and some intentionality on our parts. A good place to start is to create a book-friendly home environment. Do your kids have easy access to books? Even babies that are a few months old can enjoy a “book.” Granted they chew on it, slobber all over it, and might accidentally turn a page, but nevertheless, they are experiencing their first book. Small plastic books with black and white faces and patterns have been shown to intrigue newborns.

For toddlers, baskets or low shelves with hardy books provide access and opportunity to have positive experiences with books, which is the goal at this age. Board books are more appropriate and comfortable for chubby fingers. Paper books should be used with supervision so that pages don’t get torn or written on. It’s never too early to teach that books are a treasured possession.

Trips to the library can be a positive part of a child’s earliest memories. Today’s libraries often have wonderful large stuffed animal pillows to sit on or snuggle with as kids read. Bubble chairs, puzzles, puppets and computers draw kids in—though I don’t let my children use the computer at the library except to find books. Creative programming such as Read to a Pet, puppet shows and story hours keep kids interested in the imaginative world of stories contained in books. I still vividly recall the story hour at our local library when I was a preschooler. We sat in a circle on a big oriental carpet and at the end, the librarian passed around a small treasure chest filled with hard candy. Even back then the library knew about incentives.

Love for books is contagious. When kids see mom or dad reading, it is assuredly making an impression on them. When do your kids see you read: first thing in the morning, before bed, on the couch at night next to your spouse who is also reading, at the beach, at the doctor’s office? Do you and your spouse or friends talk about the good books you’re reading in front of the kids? Do they hear your enthusiastic reviews or critiques? Is a stack of books on your night stand? When your favorite book is made into a movie, do you share how disappointed you are because movies made from books NEVER get it right? (Editor bias admitted!) Is your house full of loved books that your children can discover right at home?

This summer, my children are doing our library’s reading program that offers all sorts of incentives! My first-born, achievement-oriented son immediately confiscated the kitchen timer and knocked off the first level of required reading in two days to earn a cool cinch sack. Soon he’ll be in the drawing for a laptop computer. Lately, I’ve been finding him reading in the mornings next to my husband. Both my kids have learned to put holds on books. They anticipate the email that tells them their book has arrived. We dash to the library and they eagerly search for the paper tab with their name on it sticking out from their book. I watch this summer routine with joy. As their beloved teacher once said, “See, you’re becoming big, fat READERS!” And they are!

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who feels that being in the middle of a good book enhances the quality of life.

Tags: books, Donna Detweiler, reading

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Dec
5

To market, to market to buy a fat trout?

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things We Love

So I read Allison’s post yesterday, and it reminded me of a fantabulous book. You must march right down to your library and check it out. It’s called To Market, To Market, by Anne Miranda and illustrated by Janet Stevens.

In the book, an elderly lady goes off to the market to buy a fat pig, as the nursery rhyme tells us. But, as we all know, a pig is never enough. So back she goes on subsequent trips to bring home a hen, trout, lamb, cow, duck and goat. But while she’s gone, her other purchases wreck havoc in her kitchen. And just what does she finally do with all those animals? You’ll just have to read it to find out!

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who would like to see what would happen if this particular little old lady ran into three blind mice.

Tags: books, language development, Miss Analiisa, Things to do

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Nov
2

Becoming the Book

Posted in Child Development, Family, Music and the brain, parenting, Things to do

John Archembault. His name might not be familiar, but I’ll bet you recognize the words he co-authored with Bill Martin, Jr.: “Chick-a chick-a boom boom” or “A told B and B told C, ‘I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree’”.

Until I provided commentary for a recent podcast for the BAM Radio Network, I had no idea that he was also a musician (with a band!) and had written a reading program called “The Sounds of Language”. He knows that when we make language musical, children develop a joyful love of reading.

Language contains rhythm and meter and timbre and tone, just like music does. Rhyming, rhythmic books (when they are read well – but more about that later) make melodies of their own, which is why pre and early readers are drawn to that type of language – it’s like music. Those books are fun to listen to, and make children want to learn to read.

When music (in this case, “chanting” in melodious phrases) is brought into the learning environment, the entire brain is engaged. And the more of the brain involved in learning process, the more retention occurs.

Musical reading is different from “decoding” – the sounding out of words. In reading, the music is the phrasing of words. (This is the “reading well” part I mentioned above.) Try it. Say, “And they all lived happily ever after. The End.” The first sentence is the first “phrase”. Read it with inflection and interest. Notice how “happily” becomes the “high” point of the phrase, and then “after”, ends on a “lower” point. The sentence crescendos and then decrescendos. (See the graphic and you’ll understand what I mean, even if you aren’t a musician.) Next you have a natural pause after the period. Then the second sentence (because of the nature of the words, will be read quite strongly, with equal emphasis to both words, and usually a little slower. (We call that a ritardando in music terms.)

Now, read the sentences without inflection or phrasing – monosyllabically. “And-they-lived-happily-ever-after. The-end.” Not as interesting, huh? One out of every two 3rd graders reads in this manner. Do you wonder that 3rd grade is understood by teachers to be the indicator of who will be a fluent reader and love books and language, and who will not? Why? Those children who become life-long, avid readers have learned how to “become the book”. In other words, they are getting lost in the story.

So how do children make the leap from rhyming, rhythmic text and easy readers to getting totally absorbed in chapter books like The Cricket in Times Square? If we can get books to come alive, we can get children to read. Reading aloud to early or struggling readers liberates them from the process of merely decoding, and enables them to make the leap to imagining. They are free to hear, feel and see in their minds what is happening in the book.

I can’t tell you how many times I checked out a book from the library for my oldest when he was in 2^nd and 3^rd grade, and he went, “Nah, that looks boring”. And then I merely opened the book and began to read aloud to him. Musically, lyrically, in phrases. With intonation and inflection. And after a chapter or two, I put it down and walked away. Without fail, he picked it up and read it cover to cover, every time.

One of the greatest gifts given to me by my dad was the reading aloud every night after dinner for the entire time I lived at home. He loved language. He was a musician as well. And music had built into him the ability to read with tone, timbre, phrasing, dynamics, and melody. I gained an ear and feel for language before I could read, and it continued as I became an early reader, all the way through high school as I developed into an devourer of books.

Here’s some ideas for series to read aloud:
Little House on the Prairie – Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Boxcar Children – Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis
The Little Britches Series – Ralph Moody
Any Ramona, Beezus or Henry Huggins book by Beverly Cleary

What are your favorites? I’d love to know! Here is the podcast with John Archambault in its entirety.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is currently reading Peter and the Starcatchers aloud to her children, and enjoying it as much as they are!

Tags: books, brain, language development, listening, music, parenting

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Oct
28

Paying it forward. Barefoot.

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, Things We Love

This year, we found out that our family’s scholarship to Kindermusik was no longer available. In all honesty, we were sad, but how could we expect it to go on forever when Studio3Music was relying solely on the generosity of individual donors? Upon hearing this news, my only thought was how could I not only keep my children enrolled in Kindermusik classes, but pay it forward as well? Whether you call it fate or coincidence, the timing could not have been better! As it turned out, I was in a unique position to do both…

Exactly three years ago, my then 8-month-old daughter began bopping to the beat of the music in her activity seat, so naturally I assumed I had a musical genius on my hands. I wanted to provide her any opportunity I could to nurture her natural tendencies and enrich her brand new life. And, although quitting my job as a teacher to stay at home with a newborn felt somewhat refreshing and allowed me time to explore other interests (such as writing children’s books), I soon realized that I needed to get out and do things as much as I thought she did. But my life had drastically changed.

My husband and I decided, before having children, that I would be a stay-at-home mom. Giving up my income meant that we would lead a very modest life, but knowing that my children would grow up with the unconditional love and attention of a parent 24 hours a day made the financial sacrifices worth it.

One day, while researching ways to get out of the house with my little musical prodigy I was ecstatic to find Studio3Music, and to see that there may be Kindermusik scholarships available. I crossed my fingers and gave the amazing director, Analiisa, a call. Since the session had already started, I wasn’t expecting that any funds would be left, so I was astonished to hear her say that just that day, someone had called offering to pay full tuition for one child, and because we were the first to call, we would be the recipient. This was music to my ears, and that night we prepared a special dinner for Daddy to share the news with him. We started Kindermusik Village classes together at the Seattle Symphony location in November of 2007.

When my son was born 11 months later, I was secretly thrilled that he got to sleep at the outskirts of class and absorb the music and language that was decorating the air around him for 45 special minutes out of every week. When he also started bopping to the beat of music at about 8 months old, I figured this coincidence might be more indicative of a developmental milestone than the sign of a musical genius. However, by then it didn’t matter. I had already experienced the impact that Kindermusik classes can have on the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of children, regardless of their musical ability and I wanted more than anything, for him to benefit just as much as my daughter had.

Miraculously, around the same time, Analiisa informed me that our benefactor had offered a sibling scholarship as well. I can’t even begin to describe how blessed and lucky we felt to have been chosen as the recipients of such a beautiful gift. Every few months, I learned that our scholarship would be extended for the following session and feelings of thankfulness and humility overwhelmed me each and every time. (I truly cannot even write this without tears in my eyes!) The fact that we would not have been able to participate in this, given our own resources, made me cherish the opportunity even more.

Though I absolutely LOVE raising my children as a stay-at-home mom, I am also guilty of feeling that I should be contributing financially to the family in some way. I am educated, and have the student loans to prove it! Shouldn’t I be putting that to good use? Arguably, I am putting my education to good use, but at the moment, it feels like it is only benefiting my 2 beautiful children, and I want to do so much more. As a special education teacher, I want to make sure that our community knows how extremely important language development is in ensuring school readiness and in reducing the need for specialized instruction.

About 4 months ago, while researching children’s book publishers, I came across a company called Barefoot Books. This company’s philosophy and history resonated with me so much that, as a former elementary school teacher, an aspiring children’s book author, and the mother of 2 toddlers, I could not pass up the opportunity to plan events in an effort to share beautiful art and story with children and spread the importance of early literacy with the community.

So I started my own home based business and became an ambassador for the company. Can I have the best of both worlds? Can I stay home to raise my children AND contribute to our household income? That remains to be seen. (Read: Not yet!) But no matter what, I do not regret my decision to give it a try! How could I, when each and every time I share a book and sneak in an impromptu lesson with a child, or counsel a parent whose child is struggling in school, I get that feeling that only donating and volunteering can give!

That being said, I now have yet one more reason to thank Analiisa. I have been given the opportunity, through my business, to volunteer in spearheading the efforts to establish a true scholarship fund for Studio3Music. I get to help make it possible for other families to experience the gift of Kindermusik! I get to give back! I get to remain a part of the Studio3Music family! And I could not be more ecstatic!

~posted by Colleen Marsh, a Kindermusik parent, who is forever grateful to the unknown benefactor of her 3 year family scholarship and the inspiration behind formally establishing Studio3Music’s Scholarship Fund.

We have many exciting fundraising events planned for the year, but to kick off our efforts, we have added a link to this website that connects directly to our fundraiser through Barefoot Books. You can click on this link above or to the left any time and know that by making a purchase, you are also donating 100% of the profits toward Studio3Music’s Scholarship Fund, so please share this with your friends and family. We will also be displaying the Barefoot Books line of books, games, puzzles, puppets, and more at Benaroya Hall on Saturday, October 30 during our Halloween Symphony Serenade. These are truly unique and beautiful items and they make great holiday gifts.