Fiction or Non-Fiction?

While you’re choosing books and reading to your children, you can add discussions of literacy elements as extensions of your stories. 

Talk about the title, the author and the illustrator. Use those words so the child becomes familiar with them. Little eyes light up when you tell them, “A man named Eric wrote this book – for you! His whole name is Eric Carle – can you say that? He has an office where he makes pictures and writes words for children just like you to read! Writing books is called being an author.”

Don’t be afraid to introduce big words – four and five-year-olds are able to distinguish between "fiction" and "non-fiction" books and like to play the fiction/non-fiction game. At the end of a story, ask them about the characters and the setting – “Do bunnies wear clothes?” or “Do teddy bears really talk?” - to prompt discussion of real and non-real, fiction and non-fiction.  Let them figure out which category the book falls into!

Sometimes the illustration style, drawings versus photographs, etc. will give clues about the story, as well.  Discuss the choices made in illustrating the book with your child – they might want to try their own illustration! Extending the story in this way also makes it more memorableJ

Have children play with fiction to make it non-fiction and vice versa. Generating conversation with your child is great for vocabulary building, speech sounds, and verbal expression. Ask them questions like,  “What would the story be like if Corduroy couldn’t get around in the store? Would a book about real snakes be better if they lived in a house and watched TV?”

Pair up fiction and non-fiction books with similar topics and share with your child. Spring is a great time for this – there are lots of baby animal stories and books that lend themselves to spring reading! You could pair up “Hopper’s Easter Surprise” by Kathrin Siegenthaler and Marcus Pfister (dreamy illustrations by Marcus Pfister!) with a non-fiction book about bunnies, complete with real photographs. You and your child could compare all sorts of things between the two and learn lots of science information while you’re reading. Any of Eric Carle’s books about animals – “The Mixed-Up Chameleon” or “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” – would be easy to find companions for in the non-fiction section of your library.

  So, get out there and get reading!  J

Fun Easter Reading!

A sure hit with the preschool set are any of the "There Was An Old Lady ..." books - they are fun to read and so entertaining to look at!

The "easter version" -Lucille Colandro's "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Chick!" - will be a favorite from the first time you read it with your child!

Preview the book first, noticing the really cool illustrations by Jared Lee. There is lots of detail to these pictures! Have a color hunt through the pages, seeing how many colors your child can pick out :)

Read with your child all the way through the story, enjoying the unfolding of events and the surprise ending!

Later, read again, noting rhyming words and the sequence of the items swallowed - there are lessons built right into this story that are fun to explore!

As you read, encourage your child to recall and join in on recounting the repeating list of "she swallowed the ..."  Hesitate and have them "jump in" to complete a sentence that they may remember. As with any book, let them pick out words or letters that look familiar.

Play with the story -
... try to remember the sequence without looking
... draw an egg, candy, a basket, etc. with your child on index cards and make a game to play, sequencing them in order
... assemble props from your own Easter stuff and act out the story (use a bag or container for the "old lady")
... check YouTube for a story reading
... check the internet for printables to play with

.... and have fun!

Make a Texture Bunny!

Make your Easter Bunny a texture project!  Here’s what you need:

BUMPY-edged paper plates for the body, face and ears (The base of the bunny is two small paper plates, one for his body and the other cut to make his face and ears J)

 SOFT cotton balls for the body

 HARD plastic googly eyes

 ROUGH sandpaper for his paws 

 SMOOTH plastic for his nose (I cut mine from a plastic container top – make it an upside-down heart)

 WRINKLY paper strings for his whiskers (paper Easter grass!)

Put it all together with some glue and maybe a staple under the nose to hold the whiskers on.

As your child assembles this project with you, use any texture words that apply to introduce or reinforce vocabulary! Have your child say the words as he/she touches the different textures to encourage learning!

Have fun with it! Happy Easter!

Play and Learn with Plastic Easter Eggs!

Here you go - Ten Things To Do With Plastic Eggs!!

Before, during and after Easter, try these fun activities with plastic eggs you may have around the house! 

1.   Use for “anytime” egg hunts! Fill with seasonal stickers or pieces of a craft to be done - extend your hunt by having each child find one of each color, or plant personalized eggs  for each child to reinforce name recognition! If able, try one egg per letter and have them find and make their names :)

2.   Use eggs as a coin counting game! Put different amounts of coins in a few eggs and place in a basket on the counter. “Change” it up each time you play, pick an egg and get in some coin counting practice with your child while you’re waiting for dinner to finish cooking!

3.   Use eggs  to make patterns!  Open the eggs into halves so they will stand on open ends – use two or three colors to lay out in two- and three-part extended patterns – great practice :)

4.   Letter matching! Try matching upper to lower case – use a permanent marker to write uppercase letters on one half and lowercase on the other – mix up and then match up! Use multiples of colors to make it more challenging!

5.   Self-checking addition eggs!  Program each half on the outside with a number of dots, stars, etc. and write the sum on the inside (use one of each color to avoid mix-ups) – have your child count them up and then open up to check the answer!

6.   Use for games to make a rainy day fun! (Or a sunny one!) Place eggs on spoons and have some races ... if you drop one – no problem!

7.   Try another race – each child gets an egg and two or more children can race by pushing eggs with their noses on the floor – carefully!

8.   Like the old pass-the-orange game, tuck an egg under your chin and pass to a partner without dropping – this takes skill :)

9.   Use eggs in a container of sand for a dinosaur dig! Put small plastic dinosaurs in modeling clay and place in eggs. Bury in the sand and dig up “fossils”!

10. Use to plant seeds and grow small seedlings before planting outside! Open the eggs up, place in an egg tray or other container to stand them up, fill part way with dirt and add seeds … a little water and a sunny spot and you’ll be all set!

Have fun!