The holiday season is the perfect opportunity for providers and parents use the power of reading to teach children the real meanings behind all the holidays that take place this time of year.
This month, we paired up with providers for our #HolidayReads campaign to record and take photos as they shared stories with children about the importance of the holidays.
With school being out, your child is not participating in classroom activities, which can cause a loss in their language skills like reading, spelling, and writing. That’s why summer reading is so important—it’s a simple way to prevent this “summer slide.”
Summer reading doesn’t have to be hard; it can be simple and fun! Check out our list of 7 ways to incorporate reading into your child’s summer routine—and help prevent summer learning loss:
This is a fabulous way to expand your child’s horizons. They can pick and choose from a variety of books, encouraging them to try new things. Make it a weekly or monthly way to spend quality time together while keeping your child engaged with reading. Be sure to check with your local library about summer reading programs and incentives, like Muncie Public Library’s Summer Reading Program (open to children and adult, no library required!).
Speaking of quality time, step outside to enjoy some books together! You can even make a little picnic out of it. You and your child can bring along a few of your favorite reads while you enjoy the beautiful summer weather. You can lead the reading and have your child follow along, or they could take a shot at it, encouraging them to enhance their vocabulary by reading new, challenging words. If you don’t have a book of your own, check out Minnetrista’s many book walks, which feature stories placed along a walking path.
Not only is reading important, but so is comprehension. To build your child’s reading comprehension skills, try starting your own mini summer book club! This is a great way to get the whole family or friends involved too. Meet regularly to discuss the latest book on your book club list. Ask questions and encourage the children to talk about what they’ve read. Your book club is up to your imagination!
Make reading an exciting adventure by creating a reading pathway that maps out the books you’ll read during the summer. Plus, having a pre-determined map will help keep you accountable. But remember: this map is a guide, so if your child wants to veer from that list, that’s okay!
Online resources that can be utilized as a guide for your child’s summer reading are your best friend, especially if you’re feeling lost about where to start. There are plenty of sites that can inspire ideas of games and activities to make summer reading fun. Some resources we suggest looking at include:
Scholastic: Reading Activities for Ages 3-5
Rasmussen University: Literacy Activities for Preschoolers
Books aren’t the only way for your child to improve their reading skills. Reading Rockets, a national public media initiative, suggests that turning on closed captions during your child’s TV shows can improve basic reading skills such as phonics, word recognition, and fluency. This is a great option to add a little versatility to your child’s summer reading routine, especially for very young children who are still developing their foundational reading skills.
Reading is essential to everyday life. Utilize opportunities to read street signs, storefronts, menu items at restaurants, and other sights in everyday life to improve your child’s reading skills. Pointing these examples out to your child is a fast, fun, and simple way for your child to pick up on the reading skills they’ll need during their day-to-day life. If you’re planning to go on a family trip this summer, you can even have your child do some “research” by looking up fun facts or the history of the destination you are traveling to. They can also collect items like postcards, ticket stubs, or take photos during the vacation to start a summer scrapbook where they can write captions about the items and places they saw.
As Jill Grifehagen, Ph.D, literacy education professor at North Carolina State University, emphasizes, “Reading together supports children’s language and literacy development and is effective at promoting oral language and comprehension skills throughout elementary school.” Get involved in your child’s learning and help prevent the summer slide!
The holiday season is an important time to teach and remind our children that not all families are the same. Some families might have one parent, or two dads, or different races, or two homes. Some families might celebrate Christmas, while others might not. No matter the case, it's important for children to understand that other families might be different from their own—and that's okay.
We've put together a short list of children's books that help teach about diversity of families. All of these books are available at Muncie Public Library.
Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, this book assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way. The Family Book is designed to encourage early literacy, enhance emotional development, celebrate multiculturalism, promote character growth, and strengthen family relationships.
Find The Family Book at Muncie Public Library.
Learn about the best feasts and festivals from around the world. From China to Saudi Arabia, from Venice to Nigeria—you'll find that while the celebrations vary, the reasons we celebrate are actually largely the same.
Find Kids around the World Celebrate! at Muncie Public Library.
This book features all kinds of families and their lives together. From houses and holidays, to schools and pets, to feelings and family trees, this book celebrates the diverse fabric of families around the world.
Find The Great Big Book of Families at Muncie Public Library.
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, there's no better time to teach your children about thankfulness and how to express gratitude.
Of course, teaching these kinds of behaviors often starts with our own behaviors. Show your children how to be thankful by thanking those around you—your children, waiters, and even strangers holding the door open for you.
In addition to setting a good example with your own actions, try one of these fun activities to encourage your children to express gratitude:
Muncie Sanitary District has a blog post for upcycled Thanksgiving crafts, including a fun "Thankful Turkey Box" that kids can help make and decorate. The idea is that everyone writes something for which they are thankful and places it in the box. The notes of gratitude can be read aloud around the dinner table or whenever you see fit! You can even encourage gratitude this whole month (instead of just on Thanksgiving Day) by asking everyone in the family to submit one note of thankfulness each week.
Have everyone in the family write notes of appreciation for each other. Then, roll up each note and stick them inside a balloon—one balloon for each person. Inflate the balloons, and write each person's name on them. Kids will have fun popping their balloon and reading all the notes inside!
This is a fun way to get your kids involved in setting the table—for Thanksgiving or for any dinner! Grab a few blank pieces of paper, and have your kids draw and/or write things for which they are thankful. You can even print out pictures of things they say and have them practice cutting and gluing. Get creative! Once complete, each decorated paper can serve as a placemat around the table. To take it a step further, you can ask each child at dinner to explain what they put on their placemat and why.
There is an unfortunate misconception that childcare is "glorified babysitting." This is absolutely not the case. Early childhood education is critical in helping to shape a strong foundation for future development and growth in children. This is why we partner with organizations like On My Way Pre-K and Paths to QUALITY to increase the amount of high-quality childcare facilities in Muncie and Delaware County and to provide affordable access to such care.
Paths to QUALITY is Indiana's childcare rating system, setting standards of excellence and making sure that childcare providers meet those standards. Through this system, early childhood education centers can obtain a ranking of Level 1 through Level 4, with Level 4 being the highest. With this system, you can be confident about the quality of care and education provided to your child.
At a Level 3 or Level 4 facility, at least 50% of the staff must have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or equivalent certificate, an early childhood degree or equivalent degree, or 60 clock hours of educational training leading to an early childhood/child development degree or CDA credential. These facilities must also have a robust curriculum that supports a child's physical, cognitive, language, literacy, math, and creative development.
You can review all Paths to QUALITY requirements for each Level here. To learn more about BY5's work with On My Way Pre-K to increase access to high-quality childcare—and to view a list of Level 3 and Level 4 providers in our region—visit muncieby5.org/on-my-way-prek.
Early childhood care and education is important work, not just for the children but also for our community's future economic success. There are many job openings within the early childhood sector in Delaware County, and these positions critically need to be filled. If you or someone you know is qualified and would like to make a difference in our community, please consider becoming part of the solution. For updates on job openings, follow us on Facebook.
Did you see 7-year-old Molly Wright's TED Talk on how every child can thrive by five? Molly perfectly articulates everything BY5 is striving to do locally and even demonstrates how a parent's engagement—or lack thereof—with their child can affect the child's stimulation.
Serve & Return is essentially recognizing cues from your child and responding with a shared interest or with information. Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child outlines how to Serve & Return in five simple steps:
Recognize the serve: Notice if your child is pointing or picking something up.
Return the serve: Support and encourage their interest.
Give it a name: Identify and name what your child is focused on.
Take turns: Keep the interaction going by patiently waiting for your child to respond to your returned serve.
Practice beginnings and endings: Let your child indicate when they are no longer interested, allowing them to lead the interaction.
When people talk about kindergarten readiness, they often talk about children being able to write their own name, count, identify primary colors, and cut paper with scissors. But there are many other basic skills children need to be successful in their first year of school.
Go to the bathroom by themselves
Eat their lunch by themselves (we recommend practicing eating within a timed schedule and eating out of a lunch box)
Remember their bus number
Provide basic emergency contact information, including their address and their parents' names and phone numbers
Listen to a story without interrupting
Follow multi-step directions
Ask a non-relative adult for help
Some parents believe preschool consists of just nursery rhymes, storytime, and playtime, and they wonder if it's really necessary for their child to attend.
Should your child attend preschool? Yes! Preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten and is a vital element to a child's development and future success.
Studies have shown that those who attend preschool—and who are ready for kindergarten by age 5—are more likely to graduate high school, commit fewer crimes, are more likely to hold a job, and tend to earn higher wages.
Blog continues below photo.
Those who believe preschool mainly consists of nursery rhymes, storytime, and playtime are not wrong! Preschool does involve a lot of fun, and that's a great thing! These activities all help with crucial brain development.
Learning and singing nursery rhymes improves memory, vocabulary, language skills, and more. Listening to stories also improves vocabulary and language skills, and playtime stimulates imaginations and helps children problem-solve.
Preschool often incorporates several arts and crafts activities, which are used to help children with their fine motor skills. Threading beads, using scissors, and holding crayons or markers all help to improve a child's coordination.
Preschool is an excellent opportunity for children to socialize not just with other kids, but also with adults who are not family. In preschool, children learn how to play with others and how to cope without their parent or guardian. Children who don't attend preschool may have a harder time acclimating to a day away from home in kindergarten.
To learn more and to register for preschool, be sure to stop by Preschool Palooza at the Muncie Children's Museum from 4–6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 2021!
