My older son completed a preschool curriculum provided through one of the many cyber schools in Pennsylvania. Although I provided all of the instruction, the school was there as support and to provide feedback at several points throughout the year. One of the assignments that my son was to submit was an original short story. It only had to be a few sentences in length, and, as a preschooler, they were not expected to actually write out the words. Instead the story was dictated, and the parent or instructor wrote it down.
My son was very proud of his story, called “The T-Rex and the Two Dinosaurs”. I printed the words using the computer, and he cut them out, glued them on construction paper, and painted illustrations for each page. I put the pages together with a hole-puncher and yarn, and we slipped the book into the envelope provided by the school.
A few weeks later, the book was returned by his teacher at the school. She had nothing but wonderful comments to say to my son. I read him what she had written, and he was so proud to learn that she had read his book to her own preschool son. Apparently, he insisted she read it several more times and wanted to know if they could buy the book. I will cherish the look on his face when he realized that he really was an author and illustrator.
Read MoreNo Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by Laura on June 23, 2010
There are some stories that children will listen to one time and, although it may be a decent enough story, one time is enough. Children may also go through a story jag where they want to here the same story numerous times each day for a week. Then there are the stories that children will listen to intently no matter how many times you read it for months, even years, at a time. This is how R
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by Laura on May 21, 2010
Most people are familiar with Robert Munsch’s book Love You Forever. However, he is also the author of a long list of other books, many of which will make you chuckle at the least. One such book is Alligator Baby.
A few weeks ago, I downloaded a free mp3 of the author reading this book. (Go to http://www.robertmunsch.com/ ) Yesterday, I loaded it onto my iPod Shuffle, loaded my kids in t
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by Laura on March 26, 2010
To you and I, fingerplays may get boring and repetitive after the second time hearing one. But to your child, fingerplays offer a wonderful way in which he can expressively tell a short story from start to finish. The ability to complete a fingerplay on his own builds his confidence, and gives him practice with memorization as well as storytelling. They can also offer practice with motor skills
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by Laura on January 15, 2010
Although there are certainly many wonderful children’s stories which have been written in recent years, there is just something different about classic children’s stories that were written years ago. The most notable feature that stands out in these older stories is the vocabulary.
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by BRWI Staff on December 18, 2009
As children listen to stories, they tend to remember only the really significant characters and events. This is a great starting point, but we must help them learn how to identify other parts of a story as well.
In the beginning of the story, for example, the author usually introduces us to most of the characters along with the setting. The middle of the story generally contains the problem or c
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by BRWI Staff on November 23, 2009
As the parent of a preschooler, you have probably experienced the repetitive nature young children love to encompass when choosing a book to read. In my home, we are currently reading From Head to Toe by Eric Carle at least five or six times each week. Around Christmas time, I have come to dread displaying a copy of The Polar Express because my oldest child, although he pretty much has it memori
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by Laura on August 28, 2009
“The perro hid the hueso in a agujero in the jardin.” This sentence is pretty confusing if you don’t speak Spanish. However, this gives you an idea of how a beginning reader can feel if they don’t understand the words they are reading or listening to. If possible, you should skim through a book you are going to read to your child to search for words of which they may not
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by BRWI Staff on June 3, 2009
Take a moment to read the following words: “eating zookeeper cage the when lion by the its was walked”. Reading these words one at a time seems pretty pointless because there is little meaning to be found. But when the words are put in another order, the reader can understand what the author is trying to say. “The lion was eating when the zookeeper walked by
No Comments
Digg
Delicious
Favorites
Blogmarks
Magnolia
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Technorati
Written by BRWI Staff on May 27, 2009
