Inch by Inch

We are delighted to feature a blog post by Tina Bixby, Children's Librarian at Lynden Library, a Fellow from our Early Learning Fellowship Program.

Inch by inch, row by row

Someone bless these seeds I sow

Someone warm them from below

‘Till the rain comes tumbling down.”

David Mallett, from the Garden Song

The soft spring rain falls on the toddlers as they are hustled across the parking lot by their moms on the way to Wednesday Toddler Time at the Lynden Library. The hues of their brightly colored rubber boots are echoed in the drooping heads of the tulips and daffodils that are drenched with the rain.

I just love this time of year! The intense, saturated color of spring green, the small tips of shallots poking up in my garden, the unfurling of small vegetable seedlings and the pink snowfall of cherry tree blossoms — all renew me with hope and energy. But it isn’t just the signs of spring that excites me; it is the signs of emerging literacy that I see in the toddlers that I have been sharing every Wednesday morning with since September. The seeds that I have sown have finally emerged!

I watch 2 year old Andy, softly blond and very serious, for the first time imitating my hand movements and trying to sing along as we sing “Where is Thumbkin?” for the hundredth time.  In the fall, he was very attached to his grandma, leaning close to her knee and watching. Now, he is in the front row, sitting down before anyone else, ready to hear a story.

Khalin and Aidan, darkly handsome, shy twin 2 year olds have bravely left their mom’s lap to suddenly show up at my elbow,  their soft round tummies distended  for a tickle by my alligator puppet, as I recite the “5 Little Monkeys Sitting in the Tree” rhyme.

Miles, one of the younger toddlers,  blue eyes gleaming and quietly chuckling to himself, joins the parade of “helpers”  for the first time, grabbing the edge of the toy basket along with 4 or 5 other toddlers as we put the toys away together at the beginning of story time.

Addilyn, one of my “big girls”, almost 3 years now, begs for another story, which is something the little ones just can’t handle. So I share a book just with her after story time. She hears me reading a word that begins with “F” and asks me to show her where the word is.

In the fall, Toddler Time felt like herding chickens! There were moments that I wondered if the “seeds” that I was planting would ever emerge.  Most of the kids couldn’t sit for a minute or clung to their parent. Few participated in the songs or rhymes. Reading a book that actually had a plot? Or reading more than one book? Not a chance. Sharing and putting away the toys? No way. But gradually, inch by inch, it happened. The toddlers have grown and learned many of the skills that they will need to become literate and do well in school, like the sounds of letters and words, the delights found inside books, and the pleasures and challenges of being part of a group of learners.  Many of them will soon move on to preschool and the story time for the bigger kids. Luckily for me I get to continue to watch them grow and nurture their love of books and learning. I will see them during school visits and library tours or share my favorite books with them when they use the library. Best of all, I will hear my name called out as they run to hug me while I work the Information Desk, calling out “Teacher Tina, Teacher Tina”

Next fall, the cycle will begin again.

Spokane Community Gathering Recap

We are delighted to feature a blog post by Mary Ellen Braks, Youth Services Manager at Spokane County Library District, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

I love talking about early learning and had an opportunity last night at a local Foundation of Early Learning event here in Spokane.  The event was sponsored by Drs. Tom and Barb Richardson of Spokane in support of the Foundation of Early Learning.  It was held at Lindaman’s Gourmet Bistro which has a relaxed and cozy atmosphere plus tasty food. 

The evening started with comments from Barb Richardson, a past Foundation for Early Learning board member, and Vaughnetta J. Barton, executive director. Being a children’s librarian I can’t resist sharing a book, so I started out my talk with Is Everyone Ready for Fun?  by Jan Thomas.  It’s great to read a children’s book to a group of adults and have them be as engaged in the book as the children would be.  I shared a few facts about brain development in young children and talked a bit about the importance of language development.  I was able to share with the group how we all can help get children ready for school through some early learning initiatives that focus on the parents and caregivers being a child’s first teacher.   Some of the brochures I shared with the group were “Ready to Learn, Ready to Read” from the Early Learning Public Library Partnership (ELPLP) and the Foundation, “Getting School Ready!®” from the Foundation, “Every Child Ready to Read” from the Public Library Association, and “Love, Talk, Play” from Thrive by Five.  In addition, I was able to talk about our early learning coalition here in Eastern Washington – The Inland Northwest Early Learning Alliance.

My passion for early learning comes out even more when I have a receptive and engaged audience such as the group I spoke to last night.  They even let me share with them a few more books at the end of my talk that I thought they might like to share with their children and grandchildren.   Two of the books I shared were Who’s in the Forest?  By Phillis Gershator and What About Bear? By Suzanne Bloom.  Thanks to Barb, Vaughnetta, and the wonderful audience for a lovely evening and for listening to me talk about my favorite topics, early learning and books.

Count On Reading!

We are delighted to feature a blog post by Gwendolyn Haley, Youth Services Manager at North Spokane Library, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

Reading with your children opens up the world to them.  It’s a wonderful way to introduce new concepts and ideas—even math!  Stories can bring math to life and help children learn how to use math skills.  Just as children need to develop early literacy skills before they learn to read, they also need to build foundational skills before they begin to do math.     These include learning numbers, counting , the names of math functions, and how to represent mathematical ideas through pictures, graphs or diagrams.

This Plus That  by Amy Krouse Rosenthal,  introduces the concepts of adding and subtracting in a fun and fanciful  way.    This whimsical read-aloud uses math words like “plus” and “minus” in equations like: "wishes + frosting = birthday" or "birds + buds = spring.”  It all adds up to fun. 

Practice counting with How do you Count a Dozen Ducklings?  by In Seon Chae.  Hatching a dozen eggs leads to lots of counting!  Help Mama Duck count her chicks one by one as they hatch, and learn clever new ways to count to twelve—by  twos, threes, fours, and sixes!

Gathering data and presenting it in a chart or graph is a fun way to experience basic math skills.  In Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead,  you can learn to graph while following the growth of T.J., an orphaned Siberian tiger cub who is hand-raised at the Denver Zoo.  Maybe you’ll be inspired to chart your own cub’s growth!

Ask your local librarian for more suggestions of counting books and other math related topics.  Also, you can take a look at Mother Goose Programs (http://www.mothergooseprograms.org)  to find more titles and math related activities to explore with your little ones.