| In my work as a family advocate,
I realized that many of the families that I work with did
not have enough information about literacy and developing
language skills.
This revelation came from a home visit I had with a single
mother of an 18 month old. While making a home visit, I asked
her how often she was reading to her daughter.
She replied that she becomes very frustrated when trying
to read because she is only able to get through one or two
pages before her daughter becomes bored and fussy, so she
wasn’t reading very often.
When asked to expand on what was happening, she explained
that she would try to read each word on every page, but her
daughter was not interested. She understood this to be necessary
in order to expose her daughter to reading and writing.
We discussed that all she really needed to do was to take
a book and point to a picture, engage her daughter about what
they see and then turn to the next page. She expressed great
relief to find she was trying too hard.
We also discussed other ways that she could introduce her
daughter to language and literacy (i.e. singing to her while
riding in the car, identifying items in the grocery store,
playing games with fingers/toes). This mom was grateful to
learn about other opportunities that she could take advantage
of while going about her daily routine. Many of the ideas
we talked about she was already doing, but it gave them value
and meaning. It also eased her mind to know that on days when
she was too tired to read at night, that she still provided
a learning environment for her daughter by talking and singing
to her through-out her day.
This led me to think about all of the families I work with
and whether they are aware of the many ways that they can
infuse language and literacy into their child’s life.
I decided to do a Professional Development Plan on learning
more about language and literacy for children birth to 5 years
of age. From what I have learned, I developed handouts that
outline simple activities that parents/caregivers can do as
they go about their daily lives. The handouts also validate
the importance of talking with your child and really listening
to what they have to say.
One of my "aha moments" while working on this was
learning about the need to give children enough time to respond/express
themselves.
Children need between 5-30 seconds to express themselves.
A baby needs five seconds to return your smile and the three
year old wanting to tell you about the bug in the grass will
usually take no more than thirty seconds of your time.
This has been very helpful for me personally. On busy days
when I am feeling rushed, I found that I would say (more than
once) “just a minute” and after the fourth “just
a minute” both child and I were pretty frustrated with
each other!
Once I started to listen, and I mean really stop what I was
doing and listen, whatever they wanted or needed to share
was accomplished in thirty seconds or less. This has taught
me to be more patient and responsive to all children, and
more importantly, the end result is that children feel valued
and heard while developing language and literacy skills. You
also to get hear some wonderful stories!
So take the time to describe that big red truck you see out
the window, have a puppet show, or just talk and really listen
to children. These exchanges, no matter how big or small,
are valuable learning experiences for you and the families
and children that you work with.
Opportunities for building a healthy relationship and literacy
are everywhere so take advantage of them!
I am happy to share copies of my handouts and all that I
have learned. Please let me know if you are interested.
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