1. I Heard a Bird Sing in the Dark of December … (a poem for you).

Give children the most beautiful language we speak – poetry. Invite them to memorize, recite, and perform it. (Learn to sign a few of this poem's words, like bird and sing. See Michigan State ASL translation tool. Letter the words on language charts for shared reading. Place copyright-secured pages of new poems, songs, and rhymes in children's personal Poetry ("I Can Read") Notebooks. For details, see our photo essay How to Organize Poetry ("I Can Read") Notebooks. For over 20 copyright-secured free anthology pages see www.nellieedge.com/whatsnew.htm.

2. For Your Winter Celebration: Performance Songs.

Consider a performance of children's songs about love and friendship for your winter celebration. You Are My Sunshine; May There Always Be Sunshine; L-O-V-E Spells Love; Magic Penny (Love is something if you give it away...); I Love the Mountains; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; See Me Beautiful; and What a Wonderful World have been performed with singing and American Sign Language (ASL) to appreciative parent audiences — even earning standing ovations for the young performers. Here you see Kathy Bridges’ kindergartners singing and signing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Enjoy giving your children and their families the gift of beautiful language this year as you develop speaking and communication skills.

To learn favorite performance songs in ASL, see instructional DVDs listed on Favorite Resources for The Magic of Signing Songs. Teachers often use these DVDs in the classroom and learn right along with their students.

We encourage you to incorporate sign language and fingerspelling into your classroom: All children benefit. Our next Magic of Signing Songs Seminars are June 26-27, 2006, in Portland, Oregon. No previous sign language experience necessary. You can attend one or both days.

Magic of Signing Songs Seminars Flier
See Also: Signing Songs Seminar and Distance Learning

3. CKA Kindergarten Conference - January 13-14, 2007

The 25th Annual California Kindergarten Conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center is one of the most comprehensive and delightful kindergarten conferences available with hundreds of sessions from which to choose. It features some of the most celebrated presenters in the country and the art exhibits are amazing. For more information see: www.ckanet.org. Consider joining the CKA; their newsletter is always informative and they provide important advocacy and training.

4. Learning Classmates' Names: Nurturing Emotional Intelligence

You may be surprised that some — or many — children don't know the names of every child in their classroom. Yet there is nothing so precious to a child as the sound of his own name; being able to say the names of classmates’ builds friendships and develops emotional intelligence. We love songs and games that challenge children to learn each other’s names. The October CKA Newsletter shared a simple name-learning activity: With children sitting in a circle, they are challenged to individually stand up and quickly name each of their classmates. First, the teacher models going around the circle and naming each child – without hesitation and with a smile. You might call this "The Kindergarten Friends Challenge: I Can Say Everyone’s Name!" For details of the game read Full Circle, submitted by Dan Gurney, in the October CKA Newsletter . The article begins midway through the newsletter and continues until the end.

5. Celebrate Language and Accelerate Literacy Seminar - AZ/OR/WA/CO

Announcing our newest seminar:

Celebrate Language and Accelerate Literacy:
Higher Standards • Joyful Learning • Proven Strategies
Presented by Nellie Edge

February 10, 2007 – Phoenix, AZ
March 3, 2007 – Portland, OR
March 10, 2007 – Bellevue, WA
April 14, 2007 – Denver, CO

You may receive the flier in the mail for our new seminar soon. We are excited to share strategies to accelerate literacy through active, joyful learning. This seminar and the accompanying literacy manual reflect 20 years of kindergarten literacy research and gleans the best practices from exemplary Northwest kindergarten teachers. It contains proven strategies that teachers, children, and parents love. Download seminar flier (pdf format).

See new Photo Essay with excerpts from the literacy manual: Photo Essay: Accelerate Literacy Through Joyful Learning

This newsletter finds it cold and snowing in Salem, Oregon, but I have the warmth and pleasure of sharing this with you.

Warm regards,

Nellie Edge

This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It is the perodic newsletter from the Nellie Edge Excellence in Kindergarten and Early Literacy site. For more information and resources visit www.nellieedge.com.
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