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    Blogging A to Z: Talking

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    What kind of talking is found most in your home? It is one-sided, directional talking? As in, “Little Billy, go wash your hands for dinner.” Or is it conversation talking? Where you and Little Billy talk back and forth each listening and responding to each other. Both types of talking…

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    Blogging A to Z: Singing

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    Very similar to rhyming, singing helps kids hear the smaller sounds of words. Many songs also tell a story teaching kids about narrative skill – how stories work with a beginning, middle, and end. Plus, where else would you ever talk to your kids about a “tuffet” as in “Little…

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    Blogging A to Z: Rhyming

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    Probably some of my most favorite books to read aloud – rhyming books! Rhyming books have such great rhythm and really are so much fun to read aloud. Rhyming is a great early literacy tool to practice with PreK kids. The skill of rhyming helps kids to distinguish the different…

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    Blogging A to Z: Questions

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    Can you believe we’re already at the letter “Q”? Typically, Q is a hard letter for the Blogging A to Z Challenge, but this year, I knew exactly what to focus on! Questions! When you read aloud to your little one, do you read the book straight through, close it…

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    Blogging A to Z: Play

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    I think Mr. Rogers is an American institution. A man who was truly an wonderful human being who lived by the golden rule. He created Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood and spoke directly to kids about growing up focusing on social and emotional needs. The show ran for 895 episodes! Besides the…

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    Blogging A to Z: Openness

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    Openness can mean a lot of different things, but for today’s post we’re talking about diversity. And the importance of creating a purposeful home library full of books that open your child’s world beyond their lived experiences. On a very basic level, that shouldn’t be too difficult. Because small children…

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    Blogging A to Z: Native Language

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    I live in a community where on any given day I can hear a handful of languages in the library. We have a large population of families from India in our area, plus Spanish, French, Chinese, some Eastern European languages, and more! Children in our school district speak 40 different…

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    Blogging A to Z: Multiple Readings

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    Do you have that one book in the house that you wish with all your might would just “happen” to disappear? And you’d totally make that happen if it wasn’t for the inevitable meltdown that would occur because of it? Yep, that one book that you kid wants you to…

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    Blogging A to Z: Visit the Library

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    As a public library director at least one of these letters had to be focused on using the library. I think it might be shocking to many, how much the public library offers to their community. Now, public libraries are organized differently all across the U.S. and even more so…

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    Blogging A to Z: Know When to Stop

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    As much as I love to read and believe it’s the answer to all your questions and problems! That’s not accurate. Reading should be fun and enjoyable for your child and for YOU! If it feels like a chore for you to read aloud, guess what? Your kid is going…