Instilling a love of reading

Instilling a love of reading will take our children very far in life. From enhancing their language skills early on to contributing to later academic success. The very best way to encourage reading is to read to our children. And to enjoy reading to our children. Children can very much pick up on subtle signs when we are reading, so an enthusiastic voice and making comments throughout the story really help drive home that you too love to read. Even older children will benefit from simply listening to a parent read a story to them and just enjoy the story itself. 

An easy way to help young children grasp the concept of letters, words and sentences is to simply follow the the words with your finger as you read them. You will soon notice your child doing the very same thing as they are 'reading' which gives the children more of a sense that they are actually reading. Also, children love to hear the same story over and over - so keep on reading that bedtime book that now makes you nauseous at the thought of reading it one more time. The ability to read a book from memory is one of the first steps in learning to read. Furthermore, hearing a book on cd or an Ipad is also a valid form of reading and can sometimes spark an interest in kids.

For preschoolers there are a few practices that you can put into place to really encourage a love of books. The first is to have books around the house. Creating cozy reading nooks will invite children into these spaces. Ewan has a reading nook in his room as well as in his playroom. In the playroom (above picture) we have a few shelves that are our central library and hold the majority of books sorted by holiday themes, baby and board books and books for Ewan. Sorting books by author or theme is also a great way to be able to quickly find the book your child may be looking for. Displaying some of your books by facing them forwards can also bring more attention to the books. In Ewan's playroom, the tall book shelf is used only to display books facing forward. In Ewan's bedroom, I choose only six books to have displayed at one time. This really encourages Ewan to read many of the books that might go unnoticed when they are all lined up with only the spines visible. Again, making the space simple and inviting plays a large role in getting the children to the area. So displaying only a few books, so that it is not overwhelming to look at and adding in some soft blankets or pillows can make a big difference. 

At A Gym Tale, books are read in circle time to the whole group, in the reading nook during free play and used in various play centres. We have incorporated big pillows as well as a canopy over the book shelf to create a soft, quiet space for the children to go and read. A teacher is always ready and willing to read a book. It never ceases to amaze me to see a child ask a teacher to read a book, only to have 16 of 24 children sitting around her within minutes. Books are also included in various learning centres depending on the themes. Children love field guides about various science themes. Ewan's current favourite read is a guide of native plants in canada. Including books on rocks, bugs, birds - or whatever your child may be interested in is a great way to incorporate books into learning. In addition, felt board stories or finger puppets let children play out the stories again and again. The more interactive reading can be, the more children will be drawn to the activity.

I also have baskets around the house with themed books in each one. I have a basket in my bedroom for when Ewan wakes up early (trying to buy myself a few more minutes of sleep!) as well as a basket in Isla's room to give Ewan a quiet activity when I am trying to get Isla asleep. Having these baskets around the house is a sure way of always having a book readily available. His jungle themed basket has various stories with jungle animals - ranging from board books or disney books that he has memorized and can 'read' to himself to new books that he will look at the pictures or make up a story. I also try and include a few themed toys to encourage him to interact with the stories - such as a barrel of monkeys and some Lion King figurines. 

And don't forget the babies! Isla also has baskets of books in her room as well as the living room. Many of these books are soft picture books or board books. However, with her teething and chewing she is quickly melting the board books. But she is also learning to turn pages, look at the pictures and enjoy listening to the stories as they are told.

Reading to your child every day really is one of the most worthwhile activities that you can do with your family. 

Inspiring Writing in Young Children

I believe that when you entice children to write at a young age it helps to lay the foundation for an understanding of the importance of language development and reading later on. When I say 'write', in reference to preschoolers, I am not meaning letters, tracing or worksheets. Simply using various mediums (crayons, paint, markers etc.) to allow children to express themselves and to connect with others is a form of writing.

The best way to encourage writing is to offer meaningful writing experiences. When writing your grocery list, offer your child the tools to write their own list. When going through the mail, suggest your child 'write' a letter to a family member or friend and actually mail the letter. Even having your children dictate to you what their picture is all about is a great way for children to see you put their thoughts into words.

Providing opportunities for children to 'write' anytime they wish is also helpful to encourage young writers. Now leaving writing tools out in the open and accessible at all times may sound scary to many of you - I have to admit, I have not done this in the past with the Nursery School program. I always pictured children adding their own details to my wall murals and decorating my padded floor! However, when I have thought more about this idea and having seen how my son, Ewan, interacts with his writing materials I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. In addition, providing the right tools can also make all the difference. I have created a writing caddy for both Ewan and the Nursery School writing centre that includes crayons, pencil crayons and markers (all washable of course, let's not get too crazy!), as well as a variety of paper (coloured, lists, letter paper), envelopes and stamps (even just penny stamps to add to the imaginative factor). With all of these items at his finger tips he never strays far from the caddy and always has plenty of inspirations as opposed to getting bored and moving to the walls. The caddy is also just a basket that is portable and can be moved from one room to another and even outside if that is where his inspiration strikes.


I also include an alphabet chart in the caddy just so that Ewan is exposed to the letters of the alphabet. In past years, the students in the Nursery School program have created alphabet books over the course of the year to demonstrate their progress in writing skills. However, I will not be continuing this practice this year as I feel there are more effective hands-on activities to allow children to explore the concept of letters. This year, students will be exploring letters by identifying them around the class, and making the motions in various mediums such as sand, paint, sensory bags and creating the letters using natural materials found all around them. Again, all children develop at their own pace and by no means need to be 'writing' letters at the preschool level. But, I do feel it is important to create a print-rich environment where children are exposed to letters and words. 


I would encourage everyone to create a space dedicated to writing in their home, even a basket with plain paper and a few crayons, and observe any changes that may arise in your child.


Several spaces are still available in the afternoon program, so please pass the word to family and friends. For more information on the Nursery School Program, please visit http://www.agymtale.com/Nursery_School.htm. This is going to be an exciting year filled with new experiences!

Nursery School - New Year and New Program!

I am very excited about the upcoming Nursery School year. Over the past 6 months on my leave from A Gym Tale, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the past 6 years of Nursery School as well as becoming a parent and my parenting practices with a preschooler. I have also taken a course on creating children's play spaces and creative learning practices. As a result I feel it is perfect timing to begin implementing some changes to the program. These will not be big changes to the overall program, but some little adjustments that I think will have a big impact. I have met with the Nursery School teachers this morning and I am really happy that they are just as excited and ready for some changes as well.

To begin with, we will be focusing on the very basics - our goals for the children. Some of these include fostering independence as well as instilling a sense of capability and confidence, increasing attention and involvement with activities and promoting social interactions and friendships. Many of these goals are the ones that I hold most important for my own children.

At home, I place a lot of importance on making my home completely 'child friendly' and encouraging Ewan to be able to do things on his own - for example we have stools at every sink, a learning tower in the kitchen for Ewan to help prepare his lunch and help with cooking, his own drawer for plates, utensils and snacks and clothes placed at his level so he can dress himself. These practices had a huge change on Ewan's level of confidence and he takes such pride in being able to complete these daily tasks all by himself. What better time to introduce these self help behaviours than now, when he naturally wants to do everything on his own!

As a means of increasing Ewan's attention span and encouraging him to bring his play to a deeper level, I have begun creating 'invitations' while he is napping or before I go to bed for him to wake up to. These invitations can be as simple as a hose beside a giant bucket with bath toys, an art easel ready with paint, or trucks outside his sandbox. But sometimes I will put more preparation in and leave out squirt bottles with coloured water or a variety of spices and baking powders with lots of spoons and bowls for mixing. I have also begun leaving out themed baskets that might include some jungle animals, along with the Lion King book (Ewan's new favourite), and a barrel of monkeys. When invitations for play are set up Ewan tends to spend more time playing independently and often goes back to the invitations over several days.

I am overjoyed with how social Ewan has become. It was exactly a year and a half ago that I did not think Ewan would ever leave my side. And now Ewan does not even look back and can make friends within minutes. Ewan has learned how to approach children at play as well as initiate play interactions. He doesn't beam any brighter than when he has met a new friend! I am so very excited for him to get to know so many more children this year in the Nursery School program!

With these goals in mind, myself and the teachers are set to get down to the children's level, see things from their perspective and act as co-learners and collaborators with the children in order to create a fun, play focused approach to natural learning.



 Over the next few weeks I will be doing a series of posts on further changes to the program and learning centres. These will include learning through play with an emphasis on writing centres, reading nooks, creative art, science and math as well as dramatic play, music and gym time.

If you are still looking for something for your child (between 2 - 5 years of age) to take part in this Fall,  I do still have several spaces free in the afternoon program. Please do not hesitate to send me an email with questions or call A Gym Tale directly.

Summer Fun!

I have not updated in some time as we have just been enjoying our days outside too much to stay in to use the computer! So far, the kids and I have filled our days with friends, visits to the splash pads & park, the farm, and lots of relaxing time lounging at home. It has been a wonderful summer so far!

Isla is also 6 months old this week. I cannot believe how fast time is passing. She is now sitting up, she can reach and grab things, everything goes in the mouth and is very excited about the prospect of eating - she repeatedly grabs food right off my plate! Isla and Ewan are also interacting so much more now. It is amazing to see her personality beginning to shine through. Here are a few shots of them being silly -

Lots of exciting things have also been happening at A Gym Tale. To begin with, the Canada Day celebrations in Barrhaven were so much fun - we had a fantastic day! I could not believe the show that Alan and some of our family and staff put on at the children's stage. It was a complete surprise to me! The put on an amazing musical show incorporating some Disney songs and songs of their own! We will be doing an encore presentation at A Gym Tale for a customer appreciation day in the near future.

The kids and I have also spent several mornings at the camp program - Ewan has had a ball with the teachers and kids and special visitors. It has been great getting to meet so many new faces and seeing everyone - staff and kids really enjoying themselves! Some of the special guests so far have included Rays Reptiles and Radical Science. We will also be having a Super hero, princess, Captain Jack Sparrow and many more fun visitors. The camps also include favourite activities such as the indoor playground, gymnastics skill building, arts and crafts and some outdoor events.

The summer is also the best time to review the past year - the ups and downs, the successes and areas we need to address and alter. I am excited to be taking a course on creating children's spaces to maximize imagination and learning through play. I am sure there will be several ideas I will be able to incorporate into our Nursery School and School age programs.


I hope all of you are also enjoying your summer!

Our first CSA pickup from Riverglen Farm!

Yesterday was our first pickup of our veggie box from Riverglen Farm (http://riverglenfarm.ca/intentonal-eaters-community-supported-agriculture/). Over the past few years we have become much more conscientious about what we are eating and where are food is coming from. We are still growing some of our own summer veggies in our back garden - tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, beans, peas, carrots, peppers, lettuce, spinach, onions and cabbage - our little 12x4 garden patch can actually grow quite a bit! But we decided this year to supplement our garden with a bi-weekly box of organically grown veggies from a local farm - this service is called Community Supported Agriculture. It helps farms sustain their business and it offers your family the freshest and healthiest food options. It is a young couple that run the farm and are trying to make a go of their business. Everyone is so very friendly and really puts an effort into getting to know the people supporting their farm. They are so great with Ewan and he absolutely loves getting to see their animals and people actually working the farm.

Yesterday, our basket of goodies had lettuce, salad greens, peas, onions, garlic scapes, turnips, radishes,  herbs, and swiss chard. The farm also sells eggs year round as well as chicken three times a year - so we also added some farm fresh eggs and three huge chickens to our order. The radishes, turnips and garlic scapes are the three veggies that we are not familiar with so I spent last night coming up with some new recipes to try.

I am excited to be sourcing almost all of our summer - fall foods locally and knowing exactly where our food is coming from and how it is being grown. I think it is a great experience for Ewan seeing exactly how food is produced as opposed to it magically appearing in the grocery store. As well as beginning to understand that different seasons and weather bring around different types of foods. In fact our grocery store trip this morning was so very short and sweet with only one bag of dried goods and we were in and out in only a few minutes.

My only dilemma is how to explain to Ewan that we are eating his beloved chickens. As I was putting the chickens into the cooler, Ewan said "you don't have those chickens over there, right?" I said those chickens over there gave us the eggs that we have and these are eating chickens in the cooler. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we were going to eat the chickens that he had just spent 30 minutes running around and playing with.

Getting Creative!

So over the past few weeks I have been feeling a lot more creative - probably because Alan has been travelling for work a lot and I have had more time on my hands. I have been working hard again at my scrapbooking and Ewan's book is now up to date as well as a scrapbook that I made of 'Just the 3 of us' - between Ewan's 1st birthday and up until Isla was born. I have also been making some good progress on Isla's baby book. After Isla's baby book I am definitely going to be making yearly books online with a digital album - they are not nearly as time consuming and easier since all of my pics are organized online.

Besides scrap booking, Ewan and I also made stepping stones and a 'children's garden' for him to take care of and play in any way that he would like. In the garden we included lots of different 'feely' plants, colours, smells, logs and rocks, and a little place for him to plant seeds. Ewan absolutely loves being in this garden and can water it from the rain barrel all day long. The stepping stones were a really nice personal touch - we used the plastic tray for under pots, cement and then made footprints in them. Word of advice - make sure you have someone quite strong with you if you are buying a bag of cement. I definitely did realize how heavy cement is and had to wonder around the store and parking lot for some one to lift the bag for me - I couldn't move it at all!

Another artsy thing we attempted was dying play silks ourselves. If you have never used scarves or play silks I highly recommend them. They are a great sensory activity for babies and toddlers and then turn into a great imaginative tool for older kids. the are simply scarves of all different sizes that can be dyed lots of fun colours. Isla loves sucking on the scarves and playing peek a boo and Ewan dances with them, uses them as grass when playing with his farm, water with sea animals or as part of a costume. I will be placing another order of these soon - they are quite reasonable when ordered in bulk, so let me know if you are interested in placing an order with me. Again, a really great open ended 'toy', a perfect addition to any playroom.

My next project is going to be making a mobile. I have all of my supplies and I am hoping to begin this week. My thought is that it might make Isla like her crib more. I know I am just grasping for straws here. But it is also really beautiful.

I have also been thinking of some great craft ideas for the kids at the summer camp program. There are sure to be a few new ideas in addition to some A Gym Tale classic art projects this summer.




What have you been crafting?

Strawberries!

This week Ewan, Isla and I ventured to Miller's farm in Manotick to do some Strawberry picking. This is the first time that I have taken Ewan strawberry picking and he absolutely loved it! We chose the largest basket (which didn't look that big at the time) and Ewan picked away for a good hour. He loved digging through the bushes and walking down each of the rows. I had picked some, but my back was in a lot of pain having Isla in the sling while picking - I sure wish my baby would sit in a stroller! So Ewan actually picked almost all of our berries. He also enjoyed walking around the farm and looking at all of the tractors and helping to water some flowers.



Since then we have baked some strawberry muffins, made strawberry smoothies, strawberries in yogurt and on ice cream and just eaten a whole lot of strawberries! Any other strawberry ideas? Send them my way:)



We will definitely try making it out a few more times before the strawberries are out of season. It was really a great activity for the whole family and created a positive experience about growing our food and eating healthy.

I can't wait for raspberries next month!