Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-17-2018 03:45 PM

    At her mother's request, the little girl went to the almost-too-high mailbox and brought the mail into the kitchen, holding the various envelopes and documents at arm's length, she pointed them at Mom. She watched as her smiling mother muttered to herself while tearing envelopes open, tossing some of them unopened into the recycle bin. Magazines and other more substantial publications were set in one pile, the remainder placed where mom could get to them later.

    "What is all of that?" The little girl asks.

    "Oh, things that people want us to have.

    They pay the letter carrier to bring them to us."

    "But you threw some of them away."

    "Right. Well, some of these things I didn't really want to read.

    But I saved that letter from grandma to read and enjoy later on."

    Wide-eyed, the little girl said, "I didn't get a letter."

    "Well, if you want to receive a letter, you have to send a letter.

    That's how it works. We sent Grandma a letter last month and she replied.

    I'll probably call her to thank her and you can talk to her, too."

    "I could give you letter," said the little girl.

    "Of course you could," the mother answered.

    "There's still plenty of time today for you to write me a letter and you could be your own letter carrier and deliver it to me tomorrow. And then, I'll write you back.Would you like to do that?

    But the little one didn't hear that last sentence. She had already vanished back to her diminutive desk to compose a note to her mother.

    This was a huge literacy lesson for the youngster. In this brief conversation she encountered concepts about reading and writing, the postal service, junk mail, recycling and the function of piles. She also learned that the printed word retains messages until you are ready to receive them, plus it can make you feel good, initiate other actions, and on and on. These are the essential seeds for growing the culture of reading and writing in the home.

    Home literacy lessons are sometimes planned, but more often, they just happen. Children are always alert to anything  grownups do that they might want to imitate. They also are essential for children to come to recognize the power of print and the positive and compelling role it can play in their lives.  Then, conversation about these events deepens and reinforces initial perceptions about how the world works.

    Many parents have no idea that they can play such powerful roles in ensuring success in school and life. All they have to do is talk with their children about what is going on at home or in neighborhood life, and invite them to try things out.

    Check out this website for free stuff that you can have sent to your children. They will love receiving their own mail.



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    Mark Condon
    Vice President
    Unite for Literacy
    Louisville KY
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  • 2.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-18-2018 09:51 AM
    Mark, I have clicked on all the links in the article and do not see the link that has information on how to get mail sent to your child. Am I totally missing it? Thanks

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    Beverly Woodward
    Murfreesboro TN
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  • 3.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-18-2018 04:12 PM
    When I was teaching, we had "Prop Boxes" that were rotated through the dramatic play area and one was a Post Office. We had some postal carrier type bags (goodwill/yardsale), lots of paper (recycled), envelopes (ditto), and rectangular stickers (that came from a soliciting charity) that look like stamps. The children made mail boxes by painting/covering shoe and other boxes; liquor store boxes with all the divisions also make good mail boxes. TONS of real life literacy happened every day and who doesn't like to get mail?? (none were asking for money)  The art area was extra busy too because children made cards, party invitations, etc..

    We added literacy to other prop boxes too: the doctor's office prop box had appointment calendars and prescription pads as well as a "going to the doctor" book, the restaurant had menus and pads for taking food orders (and a book), the grocery store had coupons (cutting skills also) shopping lists and department signs (and a book), etc.  

    We had books in the house area to read to babies and magazines (children's) to just read, books in the block area about architecture and buildings, books in the art area with pictures of famous paintings, and posted the snack in writing every day on a white board in the snack area. With every new center you set up in your room ask yourself, "How can I add literacy?"

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    Vicki Knauerhase M.Ed.
    Child Development Specialist (retired)
    Weston OH
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  • 4.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-24-2018 04:29 PM
    A thousand pardons, friends. I still haven't quite gotten how the NAEYC system works.

    Here's the link for the free stuff in the mail.

    https://save.lovetoknow.com/Free_Stuff_for_Kids_by_Mail 

    Mark C.

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    Mark Condon
    Vice President
    Unite for Literacy
    Louisville KY
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  • 5.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-20-2018 12:52 PM
      |   view attached
    Keeping Literacy Real-This struck one of my own, early childhood memories, and I feel compelled to share. When I was near the end of my 3rd grade year, I was desperately shy. The youngest of 5, I had many family changes occurring that were out of my control. In NC, Kindergarten was not mandatory, so I began 1st grade with a birthday on Sept. 8th, making me one of the youngest in class. 1st & 2nd grade for me were terrible experiences! I still have horrid recollections of both. However, my 3rd grade teacher was young, with long, shiny, brown hair. She had the biggest, whitest, most perfect, gleaming smile, I had ever seen. She was young, (20s?), talked of a boyfriend, who drilled holes in her wooden paddle (it was the 70s), she was lean and dressed nice and smelled like flowers. For me, it was the first time I felt 'safe' in a school environment. She read to us, LOTS, she taught us LOTS of songs, we REALLY got to know our classmates through our discussions and activities in class. She made everything seem meaningful and exciting, and she taught us to take time to pay 'reverence' to an occasion & the environment. When I found I had to move away, I was devastated!!​​ Here's the part that changed my life:
    She got my forwarding address. She mailed me big, manila envelopes, stuffed full of handwritten cards and drawings from my 3rd grade class, to keep me up-to-date. And I wrote back to the class, and told them all about my new school, and town, and home. This was 1978! There was no internet or cell phones. She also got her Godfather who was a Sea Captain, to write to me about the ports he was in, & his adventures, and he mailed me a shark's tooth necklace!!! Do you know what this meant, to an 8 year old girl?! He sent maps & post cards. When one of the boys from my class house burned down from a fire, everyone wrote about it and talked about the school drive for materials for his family. I cried. She got me a one-year subscription to HiLights for Children magazine, all for myself! I devoured, every single, one! I bought them for my own children, and still subscribe, to this day, for my class resource. The following year, when my family moved back, she arranged a 'play-date' lunch with myself, and the 2 girls that were my closest friends, the year before and picked us up & paid for it all. We all went to different schools, fell out of touch, but the thing is--that teacher Ms. VELDA BENFIELD, AT BESSEMER CITY ELEMENTARY IN GASTONIA, NC, she changed my life & the way she did it was through literacy. A couple of weeks ago, I was researching how many EC magazines were out there now, and jotted them down on my lunch break. Maybe you can change ONE child's life, and they'll go on to change 10 X 10 X 10 X 10. Thank you for this post & this time of year was that memory.

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    Meg Marchese
    Preschool Teacher
    Belmont, NC
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  • 6.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-20-2018 07:59 PM
    Meg, thanks be to you for such a vivid recount of how a teacher impacted your life with literacy. I admire how she incorporated her family members into your literary development as well as how she kept your updated contact information on each student in her class. How do you think she did that?

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    Victoria Mobley

    FL
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  • 7.  RE: Literacy happens best when we keep it real.

    Posted 05-21-2018 06:52 PM
    Meg, thank you for that warm, wonderful memory.  It gave me an opportunity to stop the mad bustle of work, take in your story, and reflect on how I might change one child's life for the better, as that teacher did yours!

    Thank you for that moment!  Andrea

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    Andrea Dekker
    TA Specialist
    United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona
    Tucson AZ
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