Read to Children Month
04/15/2011 -
March was national Read to Children Month and many of the 4Cs thirteen preschools used reading and books as a curriculum theme. At Petaluma Child Development Center, they began the month by introducing Mr. Wiggles, a book worm who is very concerned about taking care of books. During circle time activities, the teacher has a book worm finger puppet, Mr. Wiggles, who gets very sad when he finds a book with torn pages or food smears. Mr. Wiggles "cries" and asks the children what they can do to take better care of books. The children respond well to Mr. Wiggles and will often be found encouraging and reminding each other how to take care of books. There are many Mr. Wiggles finger puppets that the children can play with on their own, as well.
Each child was the author and illustrator of their very own book by dictating stories to the teachers.
We used the theme to further encourage parents to schedule times to come and read to children. Many parents volunteered to read to the children, so many, that we had parents almost every day of the month! The children enjoyed having their family reading with them and their friends at preschool.
Linda Dusek, Site Supervisor at Petaluma Child Development Center, distributed bilingual information to parents with tips about helping their children lean the joy of reading; like reading at least 10 minutes daily, sharing their feelings about the story and limiting TV, computer and video games. Parents were also encouraged to write letters to their children as part of the Post Office and letter writing curriculum. Children wrote and mailed letters, as well.
A highlight of the month was a visit by Kristi Yamagucchi, famous Olympic Ice Skater, who has just published a children's book, "Dream Big, Little Pig". The story encourages everyone to believe in themselves and follow their dreams. Yamagucchi read her book to all the students on the McDowell Elementary School campus. We helped prepare the children by reading the book with them in advance, so that they were familiar with the story. They enjoyed meeting an author and she even autographed the school's copy of her book.
Additionally, the preschool visited the library at McDowell Elementary School, where they practiced library etiquette and checking out books.
The children have truly enjoyed all of the increased exposure about books, reading, writing and art. Our hope is that they will continue with their exploration of reading while learning and loving it for years to come.
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