Fingerplay Fun Friday: I Saw a Little Rabbit!

Here's a cute little rhyme about a bunny: I Saw a Little Rabbit

I Saw a Little Rabbit

I saw a little rabbit
Go hop, hop, hop

I saw his long ears
Go flop, flop, flop

I saw his little nose
Go twink, twink, twink

I saw his little eyes
Go blink, blink, blink

I said, “Little rabbit,
Won’t you stay?”

He just looked at me,
And hopped away

I like this one because it encourages imaginative play. When you make your hand into a little bunny by extending your index and middle fingers, you're engaging in symbolic play.  Your hand isn't really a rabbit, you're just pretend that it is.  This makes perfect sense to adults, but to little kids it takes time.

There is a growing body of research about the importance of play in the early years.  From a literacy standpoint, when children recognize that something is a representation of an actual object, they begin to understand how books work.  The pictures and words on the page of a book stand for ideas and objects.  We use these symbols to communicate.  We call this understanding print awareness.  Children who understand how books work have an easier time learning how to read.

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Form the Orange!

Here is one of our older videos: Form the Orange

Form The Orange

Form the orange,
Form, form the orange.
(hold hands apart in half circles, slowly bring together)

Peel the orange,
Peel, peel the orange.
(keep thumbs together, slowly separate finger-tips)

Squeeze the orange,
Squeeze, squeeze the orange.
(give yourself a great big hug)

Form the banana,
Form, form the banana.
(slowly bring palms together over your head)

Peel the banana,
Peel, peel the banana.
(slowly separate palms)

Go bananas,
Go, go bananas!
(dance any way you please)

I like this one because it's super-catchy and loads of fun for kids.  Best of all, it is a great opportunity for kids to practice coordinating their big body movements.  You start by making your hands into two half-circles, which you slowly bring together into one full-circle.  Making your fingers and thumbs meet takes some degree of focus.

Kids who are able to control their body movements will have an easier time learning how to write.  Writing requires a considerable amount of focus and precision.  When kids play with and practice their big body movements, they are working on important pre-writing skills!

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!  Here is one of my favorite love-themed songs: Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink

Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink

Skinnamarinky dinky dink
Skinnamarinky dinky doo
Skinnamarinky dinky dink
I love you!

Skinnamarinky dinky dink
Skinnamarinky dinky doo
Skinnamarinky dinky dink
I love you!

I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon

Skinnamarinky dinky dink
Skinnamarinky dinky doo
Skinnamarinky dinky dink
I love you!

I like this one because, in addition to being a great bonding opportunity for a child and the adult in their life, you can suit your actions to call attention to the homonyms "I" and "eye".  A homonym is a word that sounds exactly the same as another word but has a different meaning.

This rhyme can serve as a great conversation starter about homonyms.  After you have done the action rhyme with your preschooler, write out the words "I" and "eye" on paper and show them the difference.  This will help your child begin to understand how words in the written form work and how we can make the same sounds with different letter combinations.  We call a child's ability to understand how written words work Print Awareness and their ability to connect letters with sounds Letter Knowledge.

When you help your child understand how homonyms work, you also help them realize that much of our language depends on context.  Here is a silly little chant you can share to drive home the point:

I, I, I (point to self)
Me, me, me!!!

Eye, eye, eye (point to eye)
See, see, see!!!

Or, for all the sailors out there:

Aye, aye, aye (nod three times)
Yes, yes, yes!!!

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Pease Porridge Hot!

Here is an old Mother Goose rhyme that introduces kids to the concepts of hot and cold: Pease Porridge Hot

Pease Porridge Hot

Pease porridge hot,
Pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot,
Nine days old.

Some like it hot,
Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot,
Nine days old.

I like this one because it does a nice job of describing the opposites hot and cold.  When children understand how opposites work, they begin to see how one thing can have different qualities.  The porridge (or oatmeal) can be hot or it can be cold.  We use the adjectives "hot" and "cold" to describe or attribute specific qualities of heat to the object "porridge".

Kids who have a broad understanding of adjectives and opposites have an easier time making sense out of what they read once they begin learning.  Knowing the names of opposites helps them to make guesses, as well.

When you share books with your child, try taking a little extra time to describe the pictures on the page.  Use as many different words as you can to describe the objects and ask your kids to help describe.  You don't even need a book to help your child learn more adjectives and opposite words.  Simply describe the things you see throughout your day.

There are many excellent picture books that help kids master the concepts of opposite.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Title: Big Dog... Little Dog
Author: P.D. Eastman
Find this book at your library

Fred and Ted are best friends who are very different.  This delightful book uses a humorous story to introduce kids to opposite concepts.

Title: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest
Author: Steve Jenkins
Find this book at your library

The animal kingdom is explored with an eye to extremes.  While not an "opposite" book, the author does a nice job of including the opposing superlatives.

Title: Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!
Author: Sandra Boynton
Find this book at your library

Dinosaur lovers will enjoy this prehistoric book of opposites!

Title: Tall
Author: Jez Alborough
Find this book at your library

The concepts of tall and small are on display as a lovable and small chimp becomes tall with the help of friends!

Title: You and Me: We're Opposites
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Ethan Long
Find this book at your library

Zoo animals tell each other how their opposites.

CLEL Bell Awards Announced!!

The Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (CLEL) announced the winners of their Bell Picture Book Awards this morning!!

These awards have been given to recognize five picture books from 2013 that provide excellent support for early literacy development in children around five key practices: Read, Talk, Sing, Write and Play.

Without any further ado, here are the 2014 CLEL Bell Awards!!!
(click on each title to see Early Literacy Activity Ideas from CLEL)

Title: Open This Little Book
Author: Jesse Klausmeier
Illustrator: Suzy Lee
Find this book at your library

"Readers open the cover to discover five characters, each with their own little book, all within the pages of the first. Open This Little Book celebrates the pleasures of reading, sharing stories, and having a book of your own."

- Synopsis by CLEL

Title: Moo!

Author: David LaRochelle

Illustrator: Mike Wohnoutka

Find this book at your library

"A very vocal cow commandeers the farmer’s car and sets off on an adventure. The entire story is told with just two words: Moo! and Baa! The speech bubbles and the very limited vocabulary help children make the critical connection between the words we say and the print on the page."

- Synopsis by CLEL

Title: Nighty-Night, Cooper

Author: Laura Numeroff

Illustrator: Lynn Munsinger

Find this book at your library

"A small kangaroo requests song after song to help him fall asleep, and his mother obliges by making up her own words to familiar tunes. Singing songs together is a powerful way to build phonological awareness skills and vocabulary, and Nighty-Night, Cooper models how a parent can use songs to create a comforting bedtime routine with a child."

-Synopsis by CLEL

Title: Things I Can Do

Author: Jeff Mack

Find this book at your library

"Hand-written text and exuberant collages illustrate this story of a boy who takes great pride in his accomplishments. Reading skills and writing skills develop together, and the format of The Things I Can Do invites children to see themselves as authors as well as readers."

- Synopsis by CLEL

Title: Niño Wrestles the World

Author: Yuyi Morales

Find this book at your library

"Niño takes on all the toys in his room with an amazing series of lucha libre wrestling moves. When his sisters wake up from their nap, they challenge him to a match, too! Who will be victorious? Niño Wrestles the World joyfully demonstrates the language-rich, open-ended play that contributes to a child’s narrative skills."

- Synopsis by CLEL