Summer Fun for a Pre-reader

Sounds of Summer

I’m not a classroom teacher anymore, but Memorial Day hits and I’m still ready for summer! We had lovely weather this past holiday weekend; we enjoyed outdoor play, swimming, barbeque, and family fun well into the evening. Our patio small-talk was accompanied by the sounds of B and a friend playing tag on the lawn and another harbinger of summer: the chirping of crickets! When B first noticed the sounds of crickets last year, he found them a little disconcerting – I think mostly because he couldn’t see where the noise was coming from. We got out a book we already owned but hadn’t yet made a real life connection to: The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle.


Intro to the Insect World

The book begins when a tiny cricket hatches from an egg. He is welcomed by a bigger cricket, who chirps by rubbing his wings together, but the little cricket is unsuccessful when he tries to return the greeting with a chirp of his own. On each page, the cricket meets another insect, including a locust, cicada, spittlebug, and others, each of whom make different sounds. The poor little cricket is frustrated again and again by his inability to communicate with the other bugs he meets, and finally decides to enjoy the quiet of the Luna moth. As day comes to a close, he meets another little cricket and tries his chirp one last time… with success! A lesson in perseverance, should you choose to read it that way. Our version is a board book with a battery operated "chirp" sound activated as you open the final page - extra fun. It also helped B connect the outside sounds with the story of the cricket. 


Let Your Pre-reader Chime- (or Chirp-) In!

The text of this book is perfect for pre-readers because rather than being decodable, it is predictable. Repetition abounds, both in form and syntax. Each page reads the same way:

• A greeting: (Good afternoon!) verb: (screeched) insect: (a cicada),
  
• Progressive action with preposition: (Clinging to a branch of a tree).
  
• “Chorus”: (The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together, but nothing happened, not a sound.)

The “chorus,” or repeating text, will likely be the first thing your little one picks up on, especially if you pause for fill-in-the-blank style participation. For example, you read: “The little cricket wanted to answer, so he…” and your child responds: “rubbed his wings together,” and you read, “but nothing happened…” and your child responds: “not a sound.” As the book (and the insects) become more familiar, your child may be able to recall more on her own, including the greetings and actions of each bug.


Repetition Getting Old? Here’s Why You Should Keep it Up:

Parents often tire of reading repetitive books even when preschoolers love them. (This is one you’ll be able to read with your eyes closed before long, which is sometimes handy!) However, repetitive books are ideal for the preschool set for two reasons: they appeal to their developing cognitive skills of recall, order, and sequence, and they help establish a connection between text and meaning which is an important early literacy skill. So, think of your preschoolers favorite repetitive books like the dish you can order at your favorite restaurant without looking at the menu: it may be predictable, but it’s comforting and always satisfying.
Appropriate for babies, toddlers, preschoolers.


Link-ups:

What My Child Is Reading

Where in the World Wednesday

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The Patriot Preschooler

Books Always Help

Whenever there’s a big cognitive concept to be introduced or understood in our house, books always help. Patriotism is no exception. How do you explain love of country to a child that doesn’t yet understand that living in the same town as Grandma and living in the same country as Nana mean two very different things? There are some that wouldn’t bother to try explaining – wait until he’s older and more mature – but kids have questions, and I try to answer them. I know I’m not alone when I say my preschooler has a million questions, about everything, and I could choose to ignore them, or stifle them with trite answers, but I try to maintain the patience to answer (most of them). For B, explaining patriotism came about because of his love of all things athletic. Attend an athletic event and you’ll most often find it preceded by the playing and/or singing of the star spangled banner, maybe even a color guard. When B asked why we stood up and what the song was before a basketball game, I didn’t take a “time-out” for a patriotism lesson. I answered that we were honoring our country and our freedom to enjoy the game we were about to watch, then I made a mental note to follow up on that question later, but how?

An Active Mind Notices

It wasn’t long before B noticed the flag flying in other places: in front of the library, at “Old MacDonald’s,” in front of the bank, at the rodeo, even behind the president during a news conference! He recognized the stars and stripes and we talked about the flag representing our country, and our country is the United States. He also noticed that the same song played at both basketball and football games, and at games in different locations. Now, The Star-Spangled Banner is one heck of a hard song, so I’m not teaching him all the meaning behind that one just yet, but we did talk about it being a song to honor both the flag and our country. Our backyard soccer games are now usually preceded by the requirement that we “hold the ball and stand in a line” while we “listen to” (or while mom sings) The Star-Spangled Banner. It’s pretty cute that he’s emulating his adored activities with such detail, but I’m also pretty proud that he is learning this tradition of patriotism.


Keep Your Eyes Peeled for a Good Book

I’ll admit, that after the first flag question, I didn’t run out and look up the perfect book to teach B about patriotism – I’m not that organized. But like I said, I tucked that question away, and when I stumbled across Meet Our Flag, Old Glory, by April Jones Prince, at our library, I snatched it up and brought it home to be my springboard. This flag-themed book is written in pleasant, bouncy rhyme and illustrated with collage-style watercolor pictures. It’s a child’s introduction to the flag, literally. Prince describes the flag with personification as though the reader might reach out and shake hands. B especially liked the page that reads, “Whenever I spy Old Glory I feel so strong and proud. I see her at the ballgame soaring high above the crowd.” His response was, “WE saw the flag at OUR game!” One page spread shows flags placed about a cemetery, and reads, “I place her near lost loved ones.” This was a great introduction to Memorial Day as well, which is why I decided to share it with you this week. The story ends with a connection to the 4th of July, which would also be an appropriate time to share this book – but I liked it for Memorial Day because the concept of celebrating patriotism and memorializing heroes is symbolized so much by the image of the flag. At the back of the book, there is a useful history of how the American flag came to look the way it does, as well as some background on its display and on the pledge of allegiance.


Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


I’m linking up at Read Aloud Thursday and Feed Me Books Friday (hosted this week at Mom Tried It)! Go find some more great books there!
Saturday I'll be linked up at Meme's the Word if you want to go check out some other meme's!

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