LOL

My storytime theme today was "Sillies."  The early literacy skill was print motivation.  The books I used were Audrey Wood's Silly Sally and Marc Brown's out-of-print (personal copy) Pickle Things, among others.  The first-timer little guy's name was Ryan.  And he was laughing out loud by the end of the program.  Afterwards I locked up the program room with a happy sense of accomplishment.  The most important one of the day.

Return Visit

Looking up over my computer screen, I saw a woman approach the reference desk with two young boys. She introduced herself as the mother of Edmund, who had visited the library earlier in the week with his daycare. She smiled and said that Edmund had been "bugging her" to bring him back to the library. Edmund's class had come to the library for a storytime which I had conducted 4 days earlier. His class had been very attentive, enthusiastic, and well-behaved. I had urged the children to return to the library with their parents so they could get a library card and borrow books. I explained that the library was open at night and on Saturdays and Sundays, when their parents might not be working and could bring them. I told them that I worked almost every Sunday and would be delighted to see them if they came back to visit the library. And Edmund did. And I was TOTALLY delighted. It made my day. And it was a great way to start another intense work week, knowing that I had truly connected with a little boy and had made him feel welcomed at the library. I let Edumund know just how excited I was to see him again. And everyone in his family got a special bookmark to keep.

The Key Skill (Really) Among the Big Six!

The Nov. 2008 issue of SLJ (pg. 33) contains an article, by Renea Arnold and Nell Coburn, on the six early literacy skills that all of us are a-buzz about. The authors describe a presentation by college professor, Christyn Dundorf, which illustrated how the EL skills lead to success in reading. What jumped out at me, as I read the article, was that Dundorf singled out print motivation as the key EL skill. Duh! This affirmed what I have always believed, and even expressed to parents (as a professional opinion, of course) in my programs. Make books and reading fun, and the other skills will follow. Engage them and they'll come back for more. And the more thay come back for, the easier it will be for them to leap into independent reading. And a lifelong appreciation for the power of the printed word. This is big stuff we do with the little ones!

Baby's First Christmas

Today my daughter turned 20 years old. To commemorate the day, I dug out an album of photos taken during the first few months of her life. The very last photo, one taken on her first Christmas morning, is my favorite. She is sitting on the floor in front of me, nestled in the semi-circle formed by my legs. We are both facing out, reading a book together (LITTLE TREE by e.e. Cummings, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray). My daughter is holding the right side of the book, while I am holding the left side. At five months old, she is already showing signs of print awareness. And print motivation. She is looking up intently into the camera as if to say, "Hurry up, Dad, and take the picture -- we want to continue our book!" To this day, the child in the photograph has remained an avid reader.