Books Everywhere

Big books, 

Little books,

Fat books, 

Skinny books,

Books, Books, Books!

"I need books!" screams my youngest granddaughter as she runs through the front door.  She heads right for "her" room and grabs books off the shelf.  She carries them into the kitchen, slaps the floor and yells,  "Sit! Baka!".  How I got the name Baka is a whole story in itself.  Sometimes, we are lucky to get one page read and turned before she jumps up screaming, "I need books!"  She jumps up, runs to "her" room, and grabs another book off the shelf.  Before she finally finds the one book she will sit still through, a pile of twenty books can accumulate on the kitchen floor.

Presently, I put only  the board books on the shelves in "her" room (whichever grandchild is in the house, it is "his/her" room).  I don't want to have to say: "No, don't tear the pages"; "No, don't bend the book"; and "No, we can't finish the book because pages are missing."  Similar to the letters, I want them to explore books in a friendly, nonthreatening way.  I want them to run with them, drop them, throw them and even put them in their mouths.

If, in the beginning, they are constantly told no when handling a book, how can they develop a love for books? 

ABC's on the Refrigerator

Plastic letters,

wooden letters,

letters on the refrigerator,

letters in the mouth

letters on the floor,

letters under foot,

letters in the stroller,

letters in the bed,

and letters flying across the room.

Magnetic letters, on the refrigerator, are a very important step in getting children familiar with them in a friendly, fun way.  I put up the lowercase  letters.  Why do you ask?  Well, look at look at the writing you are reading, mainly lowercase letters.  As soon as the first grandchild was born (or maybe a few weeks before), letters were on the refrigerator.  The first time they came to my house, in my arms, they were introduced to the letters.  When the granddaughters were old enough to pull themselves up, they went straight for the colorful wooden letters on the refrigerator.  They explored them by putting them in their mouths, throwing them across the room, and handing them to me.  I would put them back on the refrigerator, only to have the ritual repeated.  While placing them on the refrigerator, I would say the name of each letter.  Then, I would sing the alphabet song.  Also, I would have an alphabet book close by, to quickly read as many pages as their young attention spans would allow.  My grandson is now partaking in the abc ritual.  Letters on the refrigerator should not act as a pretty decoration, they should get used to encourage letter exploration.  There is no sweeter sound than hearing a two year old scream, "I need my ABC's!", while racing to the refrigerator.  As well as your four year old explain,  "The letter c is in my name."


Weekly, at Grandma's, my grandkids are encouraged to explore and play with letters even if it means tossing them across the room.

Note the teeth marks, and the worn edges from getting thrown to the floor.  Oh yes, and lots of finger prints on the refrigerator.  I consider them badges of honor on the road to reading.

Grandchildren's Reading Advocate

Grandchildren hold special places in our hearts.  The only thing I find golden in "The Golden Years" is my grandchildren.  As Grandparents, I truly believe we should take on the responsibility of helping to support, model, and teach our grandchildren how to read.

I retired after 39 years of educating children in grades one through eight.  I also served in the roles as a reading specialist and a trained Reading Recovery Teacher.  I often reflect back on my students, especially the ones who experienced difficulty learning to read in school.  Many of the struggling readers did not have good reading role models at home for various reasons: from parents who struggled themselves with reading to parents who worked several jobs and didn't make the time to read with their children.

In my role as a Grandparent, I have become my Grandchildren's Reading  Advocate.  It is my mission in life to make sure my grandchildren have the opportunity to become fluent readers with a "toolbox" filled with reading behaviors and strategies.

My oldest granddaughter loves books.  When we visit, she wants to sit on my lap and listen to books of her choosing from her special book bag.  She will enter kindergarten next year, I plan to volunteer in her classroom.   Not only do I want to assist the teacher with whatever task she assigns, but and the big but, I want to observe my granddaughter in an educational setting.  I want to discover her strengths and needs so that I can reinforce and supplement.

My youngest granddaughter, 26 months, is fascinated by the alphabet.  She sings the song from memory, can make the letter o and tell you it's an o, wants me to write a, b, and c when we color together, and best of all she loves books.

My youngest grandson, our youngest grandchild, has not sat long enough to get through a book, although we try.  I hang my head low because I have yet to make him a special book bag.

In writing this blog, I want to tell my adventure in supporting them in learning how to read.  Along the way, I hope to give my readers tips and information for helping young children to become successful readers.