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Our Online Learning Community!
New kindergarten writing templates!
Read below. |
Register for Writing to Read Seminar
October 8, 2010
Make your kindergarten writing program the best it can be.
See Seminar Announcement. |
Register for the Joyful and Literate Kindergarten Seminar
October 9, 2010
“WOW” with Katie Nelson
Read more below. |
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At last! Research that validates what we've known all of our careers!
Raj Chetty, an award-winning economist with his research team, have measured the long-term impact of master kindergarten teachers. Following a cohort of children from kindergarten to age 30, they estimate than a standout kindergarten
teacher is worth about $325,000 a year!
See New York Times article.
Our seminars and website honor these master teachers with a passion for excellence; teachers who accelerate literacy while imparting life skills: perseverance, self-discipline, kindness, and powerful speech communication.
Spend an inspiring day with master kindergarten teachers:
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1. Read to Self with Mother Goose Little Books |
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We begin the year with Mother Goose Rhymes to effortlessly give children the rhythm and sounds of the English language and to introduce them to "Just Right: I Can Read!" Little Books which they can use during "Read to Self"
Time. Marie Clay's research reminds us "Rhymers are readers." Using classic nursery rhyme little books is a research-based approach to simultaneously build oral language fluency and reading skills. .
A Becky Leber kindergarten ritual involves an imaginary Mother Goose visitor. She leaves white feathers and new props each week (a shoe, star, candlestick, lamb's wool, etc.) to inspire children to learn each new rhyme.
Children love the feathers and delight in memorizing and dramatizing the language of Mother Goose. Read more about
The Imaginary World of Mother Goose.
One of the most well-known and loved English rhymes is “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”Singing, signing, and reading these familiar words sparks the child's interest in learning about the stars and the natural
world outside the classroom. We encourage children and their families to begin taking night walks to explore the night sky as part of a year-long focus on learning about the natural world. See:
Children and Their Families Learn About The Stars.
Invite children to memorize, recite, and perform “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in American Sign Language (ASL). The hand gestures help build memory connections and enhance meaning. Sign Language also develops
the finger muscles for writing.
Make Friends with Mother Goose: Free Resources for You
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2. I Can Read: Poems and Songs to Celebrate Fall |
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Someone wisely said, “Childhood is for language.” As we begin a new year with children, we think of the songs, poems, rhymes, and caring relationships that are the foundation of our curriculum. Consider starting September with
a Celebration of Language.
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Sunflower Children
Sunflower children
Nod to the sun.
Summer is over
School has begun.
Author Unknown |
Reading is Fun
Reading is fun.
Reading is fun.
Reading is fun for everyone.
The more you read,
The better you read,
So read, read, read.
Nellie Edge |
See You Later, Alligator
See you later, alligator
After while, crocodile
Bye-bye butterfly
Give a hug, ladybug
Toodle-ee-oo, kangaroo
See you soon, raccoon
Time to go, buffalo
Can’t stay, blue jay
Manana, iguana
The end, my friend!
Traditional |
Free Poetry Pages:
Download your favorites from over 200 short poems, rhymes, songs, and chants that we consider “worthy of our children” for Poetry and Song “I Can Read” Notebooks. See:
September Songs and Poems to Begin On
See
Parent Letter: Poetry “I Can Read” Notebooks
Invite parents to make poetry and song posters for you. For innovative language chart ideas, we invite you to see:
Classroom and Seminar Language Charts
Learn more about Poetry “I Can Read” Notebooks and how to bridge oral language into print October 9th with Katie Nelson in her wonderful kindergarten. |
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3. Apple Explorations and New Colored Little Books |
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Make your own Guided Reading Books from Our Expanded Collection of Free Online Little Books! Mount the color pages of these rhymes on cardstock, laminate them, and bind the pages with scotch tape.
See Video Clip: How to Make Guided Reading Little Book Sets
Dramatize, Recite, Perform, and Read!
Once children have dramatized and performed the language in these favorite childhood fingerplays and action rhymes, they will quickly transition from "memory reading" and reading the pictures to focused attention to print.
Our eighteen free Little Books include:
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The Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled down at me.
I shook that tree just as hard as I could.
Down came the apples,
Mmmmmm, they were good! |
The Apple Tree. Invite the children to dramatize the actions! Looking “way up high,” shaking the tree, and taking bites out of imaginary apples are all actions children delight in.
Free Little Books
Visit an orchard: When our girls were in kindergarten, the whole class visited our little farm to pick apples and make cider from an old cider press. Apple cider never tasted so good!
Find some apple trees! Apple Explorations bring delicious gifts from fall!
Here are some great links to inspire your Apple Explorations:
Enjoy short apple rhymes as part of your language-rich curriculum. Download these individual rhyme pages from
September Songs and Poems to Begin On:
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I Like Apples
I like apples
Munch, munch, munch!
I like apples
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Traditional |
Take an Apple
Take an apple round and red
Don’t slice down,
Slice through instead.
Look inside
And you will see,
A special star
For you and me!
Traditional |
I Like Apples
Big apples,
Little apples,
Medium-sized too.
I like all apples,
How about you?
Traditional |
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4. New Kid Writing Templates and Writing Seminar September 8 |
We are excited to share some new kindergarten writing templates with you from our “Kid Writing” and Joyful Accelerated Kindergarten Literacy manuals. We hope these pages will enhance your
kindergarten writing program!
See:
Kindergarten Writing Templates
See:
Book-Making Templates and Patterns
You will see these templates and samples of independent literacy centers at our 5th Annual Kindergarten Writing Conference.
Writing to Read in Kindergarten: Explore the Power of “Kid Writing” With Julie Lay and Nellie Edge
Save $40 with our Early Registration Special of $189
through September 20, 2010.
(Registration is $229 after September 20, 2010)
Click here to register online now! |
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5. Meet Rulee the Puppet:
See Video Clip |
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Every class deserves to have a wonderful puppet friend who can help them reflect on discipline and management issues! Meet Rulee, Diane Bonica’s special helping giraffe, who has a permanent habitat in a tent next to
the classroom meeting area.
Check out the video of Ruleein action and consider how responsive children are to imaginative puppet friends.
Access Diane Bonica's inspiring literacy award website from here.
Mr. Kindergarten, Dan Gurney, a wise California teacher, also has a magical puppet in his classroom. From his informative
Blogspot, you can read more about Archy.
Mr. Kindergarten explains, “Archy comes to my rescue every time I need to navigate some treacherous emotional waters: stealing, not sharing, name calling, cutting in line, being afraid of snakes, cats, dogs, or frustration or
discouragement”
Consider finding an “Archy” for your kindergarten!
Mr. Kindergarten is one of our annotated resource links in our
Literacy Award and Other Favorite Websites. |
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6. Kindergarten Friends Name Challenge |
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Encouraging children to quickly recall the names of every student in the classroom helps build a friendly classroom environment where every child feels a sense of belonging. Learning classmates' names helps develop social
intelligence and communications skills. You will find that many of your more socially mature students automatically learn names, easily establish eye contact, smile, and confidently say, "Good morning, Marissa." These children may easily
become "name experts." Other children will benefit from additional support and practice.
The Friendly Fox Puppet in Celeste Starr's kindergarten helps children practice saying the name of everyone in the class.
The Friendly Fox Puppet in Celeste Starr’s kindergarten helps children practice saying the name of everyone in the class.
For more details see:
Kindergarten Friends Challenge: I Can Say Every Name!
See also:
Parent Letter: The Kindergarten Name Challenge |
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7. The Joyful and Literate Kindergarten: October 9, 2010 |
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Our August workshop with Katie Nelson was both practical and totally inspiring. All we can say is “WOW” and “Thank you, Katie!”
We are excited to present another “Saturday in Kindergarten Workshop” with this master teacher, teaching the all-day kindergarten program at McKinley Elementary in Salem, Oregon, October 9, 2010. The workshop
is limited to 24 teachers and we anticipate it will fill up quickly.
Regisration is now open!
Take advantage of the early registration fee of $189.00 through September 20, or while space is available. After Sep 20, registration fee is $229.00.
Click here to register online.
Salem Kindergarten Cadre News
I will be meeting with Janis Wurgler and other district literacy leaders this month to plan how we can best continue supporting “excellence in kindergarten literacy” in Salem. Your feedback is always appreciated. I am
especially interested in documenting the literacy gains achieved through our “ABC and Phonics Immersion Program” (ABC: Phonics: Sing, Sign and Read!) and I also will be documenting kindergarten-friendly handwriting progress
beginning with the “name ticket” strategy.
Please let me know if you would like to be part of this teacher research.
Smiles for a sensational September!
Nellie Edge |
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