Reading is Something Magical
A Print Rich Environment
We read books every day at preschool and try to create a print-rich environment. We try to label everything so that sight words become part of their everyday life. It’s not enough to have them master upper and lowercase letters, that’s just an introduction. So, the whole point of this is to open up a whole new world of learning and exploration.
Any book you read can be a learning experience
I even use books as behavioral redirection. Let’s say it’s one of those crazy days where there’s possibly a full moon and everything’s gone wrong and teachers feel crazy and children are spinning out of control… sometimes preschool creates The Perfect Storm. Instead of using an outdoor voice indoors trying to get everyone’s attention, I will just simply sit on the carpet with a stack of books and start reading. I call this technique Feeding the Ducks. If I sit down on the carpet and start reading eventually almost every single child will come over and one by one become a part of the group. This gives my teachers a break and lets them regroup. It gives the children a brain break and allows them to redirect some of that pin-up energy.
Books are some of our most important tools for teaching
They help land a new concept, help teachers regroup, and take children to new worlds and new places in their imaginations. Books are nothing short of magic in the mind of a child. I don’t think it can be overstated: Books are important!
Teaching a child to read is one of the best gifts you can give a person. So by reading to children we show them how valuable reading and books can be. I honestly couldn’t do preschool without books. I encourage parents- go to the local library to get a membership and check out a book. This one act can change your relationship with your child and your child’s relationship with the world.
Thanks for stopping by,
Ms. Heather