The Very Hungry......App!

Happy Spring!    What beautiful weather we have been enjoying this month.  It has made me want to spend less time inside and more time outdoors. For this reason and a couple of others, I am the proud owner of an iPad!!!  After all the research during this class, I had to experience one myself.  I have been exploring apps for the early childhood learner and can't believe my eyes! 21st century learning is here to stay.

This week I will be introducing new ways to teach traditional skills such as reading and listening skills.  I will provide a short video to get you excited about iPads in the classroom and provide reviews of my favorite FREE apps for early literacy learners.  Let's start with a quick video to demonstrate how 21st century learning is changing classrooms across the United States.

I have been memorized by the amount of apps available. When reviewing the free versions, I wanted to look for content related to my topic, literacy and everyday skills, possibilities for use with ESL students, ease of use for all students...and FUN!

               My Top 3 App Picks ....this Week!

Preschool Memory Match

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/preschool-memory-match/id368542467?mt=8.

This app received great reviews. The categories relate to the early childhood curriculum and interests. Students can explore a variety of topics from animals and bugs to transportation. There are no timers or high scores, which I appreciate this change of pace. Conversations can change among students from high scores to "what did you like the most." The voice recordings in this app are by an early childhood speech therapist, which is an added language development bonus.

Read Me Stories

http://iTunes.apple.com/us/app/read-me-stories-childrens/id362042422?mt=8

The Read Me Stories app is terrific and the reviews by users are exceptional. The creator has organized whimsical stories in a virtual library.  Stories can be chosen easily by students. You can pause, preview, and reread books, which are essential tools in literacy development.  The books have great sound effects and illustrations.

Amazing Shape Puzzle Lite Version     

http://itunes.apple.com/app/amazing-shape-puzzle-lite/id469339346?mt=8

Lastly, the free version of this app is a little limiting, but t I couldn't resist including it. It contains puzzles and great animation for the early learner. Skills such as spacial logic and vocabulary are evident through this app.  I also appreciated the ease of use for students who need extra support during this lesson/game. It is also offered in several languages, which is another example of how 21st century learning is limitless.

As I promised....the author of the week!  I am choosing the wonderful Eric Carle...in honor of my ALEX lesson planning and years of teaching from his great stories.  Here is my favorite Eric Carle App....
http://itunes.apples.com/us/app/eric-carle-my-very-first-app/id392077095

If you give a kid a book.......

I love reading with children.  It is my favorite time; whether, I am in the classroom, with toddlers in the church nursery, or at home with my own children.  My favorite part of reading a book is when we revisit it again and again. A little one studying a picture or personally relating to the text is a wonderful teachable moment.  I believe encouraging children to be actively involved in answering questions and making predictions are essential in literacy development.  I believe this is essential to simply enjoying a book too.  Interaction with the text makes the book come alive in the classroom.  Pointing to pictures, gesturing, varying the pace of my voice are all ways I attempt to make the book come alive and encourage my children to participate.  Literacy in the early childhood classroom can be magical. 

I wanted one of my first blogs to begin by discussing ways to create a literacy rich environment in an early childhood classroom.  As a teacher, I was constantly looking for ways to create a classroom environment that set the stage for literacy learning.  I have attached a link to a great article from Early Childhood News.  It provides a comprehensive list of ideas for a literacy rich classroom. These are only suggestions, but I found the author to have a great grasp on literacy learning.  Creating a Literacy Rich Environment

I also want to provide an author’s  personal story during my posts.  I enjoy hearing authors describe their early literacy experiences and inevitably; it begins with an encouraging teacher or parent at a very early age.  This further supports my belief that a love of learning begins in the early childhood classroom.  I couldn't resist this story by Tomie dePaola about his literacy experiences at age 4.

As indicated in the article link provide, integrating books into every part of the classroom, whether directly or indirectly, provides students with great literacy opportunities.  Providing students with at least 2-3 books at each learning center that support the activity in the center is a great way to promote a literacy rich environment.  For example, when working on numbers in the math center, have several books about counting in the center with the mathematical attributes being used for the activity. I would like to provide you with an example of a book experience in my classroom. 

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. This is a great book to have in the math center. After reading the book whole group, the children can further explore the book in the math center.  I always provide story problems with fun manipulative that support the learning process.  I have included a few of my favorite story problems below:

The mouse and the boy have a box of 24 crayons. The mouse lost 10 of the crayons. How many crayons are left? (I provide a box of crayons for the problem about crayons.)

The boy has 4 cookies and the mouse has 6 cookies. How many cookies do they have altogether? (Paper cookies for the cookie problem)

The mouse has 3 cookies, 5 straws for his milk, and 1 glass of milk. How many things does he have? (An empty cups with straws for the milk problem) 

This is a fun way to combine literacy and math.  I like to extend stories with a technology “link” in some way. Whether sharing whole group or providing it in a center, students can continue to enjoy a literacy experience.  For this particular book, there is a great site to enjoy other books by this author and participate in online games related to her stories. I hope you have time to check out this technology & literacy link Technology Link to Literacy

I hope you had a great time visiting my blog today.  Teaching reading is my passion & I hope it shows!

Happy March!  As the weather changes and the flowers start to bloom,  I can’t help but think of the similarities in an emerging reader.  As an emerging reader begins to discover how letters work together to make words, they are taking the first steps toward blooming into a reader. The road to reading can be a beautiful process.  I think this is what makes an early childhood classroom so special. Just as some flowers bloom more quickly than others, so does the emerging reader bloom in their own time. As teachers, we must find innovative ways to teach reading and meet every reader’s needs. 

I discovered, during research for my Twitter list, there are hundreds of people who share the same love of reading in the early childhood classroom.  There are teachers who blog, parents who research, professionals who discuss, and everything in between.  It is an assortment of resources readily available to anyone willing to explore.  When developing my list, I was interested in many perspectives in early childhood.  I wanted to include people from all walks of life interested in education.  I enjoyed reading blogs from professionals, but there is also something very inviting to explore from moms of preschoolers. I tried to include a multitude of resources to make the view of the child a well-rounded one.  I wanted to show the beginning reader from all viewpoints home and school……parent and teacher.      

One of my favorite resources is from @readingrockets.  This Twitter account is concerned with reading and filled with great articles, podcasts, video links, and everything in between to encourage reading.  Any early childhood teacher would benefit from this site.  You can research a specific reading topic and find links to the skill you are teaching.  For example, I found a great story mapping link and was able to reference it in another class. This would be treasured resource for any professional in the classroom.  The articles could be used to gather information for you or to share with parents about the reading process. It was a perfect spot to visit on Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  The contributors provide great author study links and book reviews too.  This account should be visited often by educators and parents.

Mrs. Dr. Seuss sharing about her husband   In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, here is one example of the @readingrockets wonderful resources.  (click to view video)

Another one of my “must visit” sites is @skypeclassroom .  It is similar to a global want ad for resources in the classrooms.  Teachers post requests to teachers all over the world and share projects in the classroom.  From Flat Stanley’s travels to comparing landforms in different countries, it is an amazing resource.  It would be wonderful to have book buddies across the world to share a love of reading with in the classroom.  Each time I search this account, I find something new to introduce in my own classroom.   An educator should seek out this resource to use in their classroom to enhance learning across the curriculum. 

Twitter List of Early Childhood Literacy Resources  Thanks for visiting my list & blog!