Our Littlest Learners

According to neuroscientists, the human brain contains about 86 billion neurons. Most of these are produced during pregnancy, when the brain creates close to 250,000 brain cells every minute! Many others develop during the first year of life, when so much critical growth takes place. It goes without saying that a newborn baby arrives with a pretty impressive toolbox to begin his or her job of learning!

We are wired to care for and nurture our babies, but sometimes it requires more awareness and training to become sensitive to our children’s cues about stimulation and learning. They tend to explore, naturally and voraciously, almost from the time they’re born, seeking out the proper stimulation that will provide them with what they want and need to know. They may be restricted at first to visual exploration, but quickly move on to more tactile and auditory experiences to feed that natural desire to learn all they can about their environment.

When considering how to approach this amazing journey with your baby, just remember that simple things are best. There’s no real need for fancy toys or programs. You are your baby’s favorite plaything! Your voice is the one they long to hear because it reminds them of the familiar sounds they heard in the womb. Reading exposes them to more unusual words than they will encounter through conversation (one-sided as it may be for a while). Singing soothes them and helps to create a safe space in which to soak up the world. Repetition of words, phrases, melodies, and actions is critical to learning; it is essential for imprinting information and strengthening neural connections. Almost anything you do with your baby is fuel for growth. They know they’ve got a job to do, and you are their first, and best, teacher.

Guest post by Bridget W. 

Reading with Your Baby

Reading with your child is the most important activity you can do to help your child get ready to read. It’s never too early to start! Reading, talking, and singing to your baby help form the brain connections that build language and literacy skills during the time of most rapid brain development. Reading also strengthens the bond between you and your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents and caregivers read to babies from birth onward.

Here are some tips for reading with the very young:

· Snuggle up together and read with feeling. Your baby knows and prefers your voice and your face. He may not be able to understand the words or story in a book but will respond to your expression and the emotion in your voice when you read or talk with him. Just hearing your voice and being cuddled up with you will associate two things he loves – your voice and you – with reading. This will make reading a pleasure, not a chore, later when he is in school.

· Choose colorful and sturdy books. Babies learn with their mouths and hands. As they get older they will want to touch the book, hold it, turn the pages, and put it in their mouths. They also like books with simple, colorful, and high-contrast pictures.

· Plan a special reading time. Make this time special – turn off the TV, put your phone down, and give your baby your full attention. Babies and active toddlers may lose interest in a book after only a few minutes. That’s okay! Put the book down and come back to it later, or try another one. Don’t give up. Your baby’s interest and attention span will grow as she does. Just keep reading with your child.

· Read together every day. Establishing a reading routine can be very helpful as babies grow into toddlers, especially reading aloud together as part of a nightly bedtime ritual. Toddlers love to make their own decisions, so let them pick the books you read together. They also love repetition, quickly develop favorite books, and may ask for the same story over and over, so be sure to offer choices that you like too!

· Make time to talk about the stories and illustrations. Toddlers can point to pictures and characters in the stories. Preschoolers can point to letters, count some of the pictures, and answer simple questions about the story. Sometimes they may even “read” a much-beloved and often-read book, turning pages and telling the story as they go along.

Reading aloud with young children is fun and rewarding. It strengthens the bond between parent and child and provides tremendous learning benefits that will last a lifetime.

Guest post by Allison C. 

The Importance of Music

Music and singing are some of the early literacy practices that we promote at the library in our storytimes and when talking with parents. Music can be pleasant, catchy, and nearly universal in its appeal; children almost always respond in one way or another when they hear it. Lyrics are usually fairly easy to follow, and repetition is always helpful in reinforcing sounds and words. Music also helps develop rhythm and coordination, while fostering creativity and giving children a context in which to express themselves.

We may never really know what’s going on inside the minds of babies and young children when they hear a lullaby or a lively make-you-want-to-move song, but researchers are finding a biological connection between music and the development of the brain. Specifically, there are signs that listening to music regularly can accelerate the speed and efficiency with which the brain processes sounds, language, and speech, the basic building blocks that form the core of solid reading skills. It appears that there is a special brain function designed to deal just with processing music, and there is some evidence that the auditory pathways of both children and adults who listen to music mature more quickly than those of people who don’t. In fact, there are even some researchers who believe that, without the ability to hear language musically, it would be very difficult to learn to speak.

So do your children (and yourself) a favor. Listen to music whenever you can. Sing and dance to your heart’s content, just for the joy of it. It’s good for your brain!

Guest post by Bridget W. 

Hello...Can You Hear Me?

If you sung this post’s title instead of reading it, then I can only assume that you are under the same Adele spell that took hold of me from the very first time I heard that glorious song. Seriously, I know it’s played everywhere constantly, has been spoofed on Saturday Night Live, and remade with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots using classroom instruments (my personal favorite), but I CAN’T GET ENOUGH. So, you can imagine just how thrilled I was to realize that I could get Adele’s new album, “25,” for FREE! Yes, I’m talking about the same album that is featured in Target commercials as a critical Black Friday purchase. No, it doesn’t involve being trampled by crazed bargain-hunters. Yes, I said free. And, yes, you can have it too. All you need is your library card!

If you’re not familiar with Freegal, a fabulous music service provided by our library, it’s time to change that! With your library card, you can download five songs each week to your computer and/or smartphone from Freegal’s massive music directory. Unlike most things you check out from the library, these songs are yours forever. So, that means you can download almost half of Adele’s new album right now (or more, if more than one family member has a library card!). Now, THAT’S something for which we can all be thankful this Thanksgiving!

If you want some more tips on other life-changing library services, check out my Top Ten post from last Thanksgiving here.

And if you’re wondering what Adele has to do with early literacy, you bring up a great question...But, I have an answer! Singing with your children is one of the five early literacy skills that we promote at the library. So, if you’re singing Adele’s songs (or one of the many children’s songs found in Freegal’s catalog), you’re helping to improve your child’s early literacy skills. See? I wouldn't let you down! J Have a safe, happy, and music-filled Thanksgiving!

Rhythm and Rhyme

With our summer storytimes in full swing, we’ve been doing tons of reading, rhyming, and singing here at the library. Because listening to the rhythm and rhyming words in songs and rhymes helps kids hear the smaller sounds in words, we try to incorporate as many as we can into our storytimes. These are fun to do at storytime, but they’re great to do at home or in the car, too. We’ve posted some of our favorites on our website so that you can access them from home or when you're on the go. Check them out!

For babies - click here
For toddlers - click here

Holiday Tunes

Singing, one of the five early literacy practices, is a great way for children to improve their phonological awareness. Songs help slow down language and let children hear the smaller sounds in words. This is really beneficial for children as they begin to learn to read. What better time is there than the holidays to make singing part of your daily routine? If you need a little inspiration, check out our extensive collection of holiday music.

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a safe, happy, and musical holiday!

Encourage a Breakdown...of Words!

Children who know that words are made up of smaller parts have an easier time tackling new words when they are reading. This allows them to break words into parts to sound out or decode them. Here are some fun, easy ways to help your child understand this concept:

RHYMING – Rhyming is one way that children hear parts of words. This aspect of phonological awareness helps them later in sounding out words. So, make up rhymes when you’re talking with your child. Play rhyming games. Read rhyming books. Encourage your child to come up with rhyming words on his own. Making up silly, nonsense words is okay, too, and will undoubtedly make it more fun!

SINGING – Songs are a wonderful way to build phonological awareness because there are different notes for different syllables. Babies are learning the rhythm of language, and young children are hearing parts of words. So, sing songs to your child. Listen to music. Teach your child songs that she can sing on her own. Sing often, sing everywhere, and don’t worry about singing on key!

CLAPPING – Though any type of clapping is usually pretty enjoyable for kids, clapping out words—one clap for each syllable—helps break down the words, improving your child’s phonological awareness. Clap when you talk, and clap when you sing. Have fun with it!

While, unfortunately, this is not guaranteed to prevent other types of breakdowns from occurring, it is one kind that you can encourage—even in public!

Happy Holidays!

Who doesn’t love a little holiday music to get in the spirit of the season? If you haven’t already, try teaching your kids some of your favorite holiday tunes. Singing is an important early literacy skill because it slows down language, allowing children to hear the smaller sounds in words. If you need a little inspiration, check out some of our library's great holiday music.

So, whether you’re on the road traveling or enjoying the holiday at home, try giving those vocal cords a workout! I hope all of you have a safe, joyous holiday with your families!

Sing Your Heart Out!

When was the last time you and your children had a good, old-fashioned sing-a-long? Now, even though I, personally, love to sing loud and often (something my family and friends don’t ALWAYS love…), I do understand that it’s not everyone’s favorite pastime. I will say, however, that the benefits of singing with your children might just make it worthwhile for those of you who wouldn’t otherwise be inclined to do so. And, luckily for us, kids are a very kind audience and don’t tend to be bothered by subpar vocal abilities.

 

Did you know that every time you sing songs with your children, you are helping them to hear the smaller sounds in words? This early literacy skill is called phonological awareness and will help them later when they try to sound out words as they learn to read. So, singing isn’t just for fun; it’s actually teaching your kids an important skill.

If you’re looking for some good, new kids’ music, I’ve got a couple of suggestions for you. We sing some really fun songs during our storytimes here at the library, and we’ve made a Storytime Playlist of our favorites. The playlist gives the song title and tells the CD’s name and call number, so you can easily locate it.

Another great place to find kids’ music is through the library’s new service, Freegal, which can be accessed from our eCollection page on our website. I’m OBSESSED with Freegal, and I think you will be, too. Freegal has millions of songs that are available for you to download and keep forever (yes, you read that correctly—FOREVER!). All you have to do is enter your library card number, and you’re able to download 3 songs per week to your iTunes account or whatever music program you use on your computer. There’s even a smartphone app that allows you to download songs straight to your phone. It’s amazing. Each library card number can get 3 songs each week. So, if everyone in your family doesn’t have a library card yet, you may want to take care of that!

It's time to get out there, get some new music, and start singing!

 

Hot Wheels

The wheels on the bus are burning rubber through the jungle in Jane Cabrera's new picture book version of this favorite song.

Singing is a fantastic way to help your child's language development because it stretches out words and makes it easier to hear the smaller sounds within them.  Try reading this story and then singing the song to see how your children respond to the slower pace.  Children are more likely to sing along with an adult (especially a parent/caregiver) than alone to music.  So, even if the rest of the world believes your singing should be confined to the shower or car, it's time to belt it out!

If you need a little help getting started, pick up a copy of our Storytime Playlist next time you are in.