Recent Book Favs (1)

I know...It's been a long while. Does life get busy, or what? I'm actually supposed to be grading right now, but I said, heck with it!, I'm gonna do some blogging instead!

My husband tells me not to lament about a busy life, that it's a tired complaint. I agree! But here I go anyways- September was a rough and tumble month in my little world! I started a new job as the Director of Education at a local non-profit ministry, Harbor House. I'm 60%, which means I get to spend more time with my almost 3-year-old, but I'm definitely kept busy, even with more mommy-daughter chill time (surprise, surprise!!). Also we started my daughter at a local co-op preschool. So fun! But, also a lot of work! Also my hubby and I teach an online literacy development and assessment class for a credential program. The class runs August-October, so we're online quite often managing the class. WOW! Online teaching is rewarding, but also very time consuming.  Oh, I also joined a fab book club last month!! And, a big joy for us, I am 25 weeks preggars. I'm incubating a little baby boy- which we all are thrilled about.  My toddler is especially thrilled, and interacts with the baby a lot. So, that's where I've been!

I had to share some books we've been enjoying as a family lately. My daughter loves reading before bed each night, and definitely has book favorites. She tends to like to read library books over the books we already have. We have some good books, but the library books win out every night!

Recent Book Favs:

One Naked Baby, by Maggie Smith
This book has stolen my daughter's heart. What can be a better than a naked baby's adventures? I love that this book counts up to ten, and the counts back down to 1 again. My daughter's vocabulary is very development, but her number sense is not quite as strong. So, I'm all for a book that my daughter likes that is also a counting book. Here's some of the text, "ONE naked baby,/ TWO fat cats,/ THREE laundry baskets,/ FOUR silly hats,/ FIVE toes for tickling..." Each one of these lines of text has a page devoted to it, with very detailed illustrations. The baby is on each page being fun and silly- this is what my daughter loves. She can sit with this book for 20 minutes+ just studying the pictures, and that is not something she'll do with most books. And of course, my daughter loves that the book starts and ends with the baby naked in the bath...it makes her smile with glee every time!

Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkin
Who doesn't love this one! We got it from the library, and now I know why it's a classic. my daughter instantly felt bonded to this book: the refrain of "Caps for Sale", the silly monkeys up to monkey business, and the Tsz, Tsz Tszing of the peddler. I have gotten a kick out of my daughter randomly taking the phrase, "Caps for sale!" and making it her own. We were at a cafe, and we passed the trash can, and she said, "Trash for sale!" Don't you love how books and good writing weasels its way into all aspects of you little one's talk!

Five Little Ducks, Illustrated by Ivan Bates
This is another fav! We all know this preschool song. This gets such a high rating from my daughter because it is a book that we sing with her. She loves it, and sings most of it herself. The illustrations are soft, warm, and lovely.

This is the House that Was Tidy & Neat, by Teri Sloat, illustrated by R.W. Alley
This is a super big hit in out house, and my daughter has memorized large sections of it in the few weeks that we've had it. I am amazed that her comprehension is so spot on too- because when she makes a mistake when she's "reading" it with us, her mistakes always make sense. I love the rhythm and flow of the text in this book: "This is the house.../At the end of the street, That was tidy and neat, When mom left./ this is the mouse, Who lives in the wall, Twitching his whiskers, And watching crumbs fall, In the cozy old house, At the end of the street, That was tidy and neat when mom left." And so on... The illustrations are also lively, which I am finding are just the kind of illustrations that my daughter adores.

Do you have experience with these books? Are they your favs too?

My Daughter's Literacy Journey- 2 years, 9 months

Since I'm a reading specialist, I look at a lot of daughter's development in terms of her development into the reader and writer that she will become some day (I know I'm such a nerd). I hope to track her literacy development in monthly posts. I'm also interested to hear what you parents out there are experiencing with your child's literacy development. How do you see your child's literacy developing?

Writing Development/Alphabet Recognition:

When I see this (her scribbles):

I don't see scribbles. I see that her drawings have morphed from circular scribbles all over the page, to smaller, letter-looking, with a lot more control. When she draws/writes she points to her "letters" and says, "H, M, LMNOP...." Her pretending that her "letters" are indeed letters is a step on her path to writing real letters. If your child is "writing" or "reading" this should be praised. They are pretending because they want to be like a grown-up. And lots of pretending will lead my little one to find joy in reading and writing and learning her letters. 

Reading Comprehension:

Also when rereading stories to her, my husband and I will pause for her to fill in words. For example, "Lola and her mom were going to walk to the ---------- (library)." She's starting to fill in words, especially with her most loved books. 

How's your child developing their literacy skills?

One Awesome Book List!

As mentioned in my last post, I put together a list of books for potential donors to purchase for program participants at Harbor House, the non-profit where I'll be working come mid-August.

I'm psyched to join Harbor House as their Director of Education, and hopeful to help deepen the literacy experiences of the youth and families in the San Antonio District in Oakland.

This book list samples some amazing literature! These are some of my favorite authors and books. Some of these books are fun and silly, some are well-loved by most kids, and many are books that offer a multicultural voice or perspective. Harbor House's participants represent Oakland- truly diverse.

A big thanks to the commenters that left ideas on the last post for this book list!! You had excellent suggestions!

I know this list was meant for donors to gift a book to a child at Harbor House, but I hope you also find value in this list for your personal use- it includes some winners!

Click here for this list as a Google Doc

Picture Books

Favorite Authors/Series:
Books by Dr. Suess (Grades K-2, Beginning Reader)
Books by Allen Say (Grades 1-5, Asian American)
Books by Patricia Polacco (Grades K-6, Local and Well-loved)
Books by Vera B. Williams (Grades K+, African American)
Books by Mem Fox (Ages 2-8)
Books by Kevin Henkes (Ages 2-8)
Books by Gail Gibbons (Grades K+, nonfiction)
Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel (Grades 1-3, Beginning Readers)

Specific Titles:
Brothers by Yin (Grades 2-5, Chinese American, Historical)
Mirror by Jeannie Baker (Ages K+, Multicultural, Wordless Picture Book)
Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey to Freedom by Joyce Herold, stitched by
Chue and Nhia Thao Cha (Ages 7+, Southeast Asian)
The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland (Grades 2 -5, Story of a Vietnamese refugee)
Anno's Counting House by Mitsumasa Anno (Ages 3+, Number Sense, Wordless Picture
Book)
Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet S. Wong (Grade K-2, Asian American)
The Bracelet, by Yoshiko Uchida (Grades 2-4, Japanese Internment in the Bay Area)
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi (Ages 4-8, Korean American)
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (Grades 1-5)
My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams (Grades 1-3, Story of a Sudanese Refugee)
January’s Sparrow by Patricia Polacco (Grades 4-6, African American)
Thundercake by Patricia Polacco (Grades 1-4)
Cassie's Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold (Grades PreK-K, African American)
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold (Grades 1-4, African American)
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto (Grades K-2, Latino)
La Mariposa by Francisco Jimenez (Grades 1-4, Mexican American)
Wumbers By Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Ages 1-6, Number Sense)
Rap a Tap Tap by Leo and Diane Dillion (Ages 2-6)
Owl Moon by Jane Yole (Grades 2-5)
Hair by Sandra Cisneros (Grades 1-5)
Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo (Grades K-2, nonfiction)
Drum City by Thea Guidone (Ages 2-7)
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport (Grades
PreK-3, African American, Historical)

 

Chapter Books

Favorite Authors/Series:
Flat Stanley Series (Grades 2-4)
Cam Jansen Series (Grades 2-4)
Katie Kazoo Switcheroo Series (Grades 2-4)
Magic Treehouse Series (Grades 2-4)
Diary of a Wimpy Kids Series (Grades 3-5)
Books by Cynthia Rylant (Grades 1-3, Beginning Readers)
Books by Roald Dahl (Grades 2-5)
Books by Walter Dean Meyers (Grades 4+, African American)
Books by Gary Soto (Grades 4+, Latino)
Books by Kate DiCamillo (Grades 1-5)

Specific Titles:
Anna Hibiscus: Hooray for Anna Hibiscus (Ages 4-8, Beginning Reader, African American)
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin (Ages 7-10, Asian American)
The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis (Ages 9-12, African American)
The Unforgotten Coat, by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Ages 9-12, Asian American)
The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez (Grades 4-7, Mexican American)
Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez (Grades 4-7, Mexican American)
Big Nate Fun Blaster by Lincoln Peirce (Ages 8-12, Graphic Novel)

Religious

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Ages 4+)
NIrV Kids Study Bible, Revised (Ages 6+)

Enjoy and much love!

Help Please! Book Suggestions?!

I have been a blogging bum for the past couple of months and I apologize! It's, unfortunately, easy to neglect keeping up with my blog when life gets busy. But now I have NO excuses....

We (my hubby and I) are in our 3rd week of summer vacation, and it has been glorious! We went to Tahoe last week, and this week we are visiting his fam in Chicago.

I have a request from you all (if you're out there...)

I have the joy of switching up my work position next year and I'm going to rejoin a non-profit, Harbor House, I used to work for as their Director of Education (I'm super excited about this!!).

I was asked to put together a list of books for donors to purchase for program participants. I'd love your suggestions! And, I'll share my final list with you. Here's some things to consider when suggesting books:

• Picture books are needed the most
• Program participants are in grades K-8
• Parents may not be able to read to their children at home, considering many are immigrants or refugees. So text should be at lower reading levels, so children can read them independently, if need be.
• Program participants come from a range of cultural backgrounds: African American, Latino, South East Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc...it would be wonderful if your suggestions represented a diversity of perspectives/children.
• Any highly-engaging book would be awesome. What are your kids/students eating up right now??

Leave a comment if you have a good book suggestion! A book will be given to each program participant for their birthday this coming year. More suggestions=better, because there are over 70 students the attend the after school program daily, and it would be great for them to have some choice when picking their special book.

Hope you're enjoying these summer days!

Learning Language One Noun at a Time

I'm sure if you have a toddler you can attest to fact that these wee ones ask the same question over and over. So my daughter has 3 questions that she asks everyone she meets/interacts with.

I brought her to my school (my work) the other day for our annual field day. As she met people in the hall she would ask, "What's that (pointing to some object)?" or "What are you doing?" or "Where's your home?"

I started to think more about these questions...here's my take on each one:


What's that?
She's been asking think question since she first started stringing a couple words together (at about 12-13 months). This question is handy- this is how she learns her nouns. She asks what something is and we tell her. This question also helps her to create a meaningful interaction with someone- if she asks a questions, she's going to (hopefully) get a response. And my social daughter loves this.

What are you doing?
This question has many variations: What are your toes doing? What is the man doing? What are the kids doing? I especially love this question. This is how she's learning new verbs all the time! Every time she asks this questions she learns types of verbs. Momma is wiggling her toes.The man is working. The kids are splashing in the water.

What I love about these two questions is that she asks them ALL the time ALL day long. It's so interesting to see how she's developing word knowledge day by day. And how her questioning patterns are helping her learn words and the relationships between words.

Where's your home?
My daughter started asking the question over the past month. I'm not sure why she started asking this question. But I think she realized that people live in different places, that she lives in Oakland. Maybe it's because she knows that some of her cousins live nearby and some live in DC or Chicago. It's interesting because it this question has a lot to do identity and the essence of who someone is- where your home? Where do you belong? People are never really sure how to answer this question. I love to hear how people respond.

I also think my toddler loves to ask questions because she's extremely social. Questions help her to interact with the people in her world- her most favorite thing!

While my daughter may annoy some with her very repetitive questions- I marvel at how she chooses her questions careful to get at the essential things in language and life- where, what, how...I'm sure why will be next in her line of questioning!


What questions have your kids ask over and over?

Hope you're having a great week!