Between the Stacks: Week of October 29th

I have once again hijacked the Whitehall Community Library's weekly column! As I have stated before, Early Literacy is my passion. My journey started 23 years ago when I started homeschooling the first of our four children. I watched their abilities and vocabulary grow, as well as their love for not only books but also learning. To this day, my kids are avid readers.

Fast forward to 2022, when Jeannie took a chance and hired this crazy woman who spent the last several years homeschooling her children. Roughly a year and a half ago I was attending a workshop on Early Literacy and Library Story Times and heard the statistics for kids who struggle reading at grade level and I was heartbroken. I then spent a year studying, researching, and taking the classes necessary to become a reading coach.

Since completing my training, I have started implementing the early literacy strategies I learned and have started Reading Rangers, a program geared toward three- and four-year-olds, as well as Mommy & Me, for two-year-olds and younger. Kids need to master six key early literacy skills: phonological awareness, print awareness, print motivation, letter knowledge, vocabulary, and narrative skills. These foundational abilities are developed through activities like talking, reading, writing, singing, and both directed and free play.

If you attend my class, you may think we are just playing around, but each activity is designed to help the child master the above skills. It is said, "Play is the work of childhood." Older kids are doing activities that help with their critical thinking and problem-solving, fine motor skills, pattern recognition, and understanding that words are broken down into individual sounds and that letters represent those sounds. For my littles, I set up activities to help with fine motor skills, cause-and-effect play, music, and stories.

I have also started tutoring kids to help them reach grade-level reading. I test each child's reading level, find their greatest need, then use research-based, proven methods to bring all necessary components together in a way that is easy for their brain to "digest." It's exciting when they come in for their session and I get to see their improvement from week to week, their confidence grow, and they are excited to take on harder passages.

I want to see every child thrive. Once they master reading, the world opens up to them, and I am fortunate enough to be a small stepping stone along their path to a successful future.