Early Childhood Division October 2005

Dear Early Childhood Division Parents,

Saklan Valley School’s Early Childhood Division is re-launching our Early Literacy Program component within our Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten classes. We know that children learn about books and stories by actively listening and interacting with them. Looking at and recognizing pictures in a book are beginning skills that eventually lead to language, reading, writing development, and promote a strong learning foundation.  Family reading time enriches your children’s cognitive growth while bringing your family closer together.

 

The California Department of Education states in a report that language and literacy development during the preschool years has a significant impact on how well children learn to read and write during kindergarten and the primary grades.

 

From ages three through five children experience tremendous growth in language. Their vocabulary grows from 900 to 3,000 words, and their sentences expand from simple three- or four- word utterances to complicated expressions using a dozen words or more. Wide exposure to books and reading dramatically enlarges a child’s vocabulary comprehension and usage. Successful early language learning is closely associated with achievement in later schooling, social relations, and work (National Research Council).

 

Know that it is natural when your children are asking you to read the same book over and over again. Although telling the same stories over and over may not seem very exciting to you, learning happens with repetition, and it empowers our children to be able to masterfully retell or act out a story that they truly enjoy. (Stanford University, The Bing School Study)  You may consider trips to your local library, possibly checking out books related to whatever their class is currently studying, or perhaps subscribing to our monthly Scholastic Book Club that each class participates with.

 

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have regarding this program. We look forward in helping our children gain a healthy appetite and a love for books as we begin this journey together.

 

One of our goals is to make participating in this program simple and enjoyable so that it becomes a special part of each day that everyone looks forward to. Please follow these simple steps to become involved with this program:

 

1. Keep track of the number of minutes you read to your child daily by simply documenting them on each of the monthly calendars that we will provide you with. You can always print additional calendars through this Saklan link. (Download PDF - Calendar October - Calendar November - Calendar December)                              
2. Please list 2-5 books that your child especially enjoyed, including the author’s name on the back of this calendar.
3. At the end of each month, please turn the completed monthly calendar in to your child’s teacher. They will pass it on to me, and we will publish your recommended books directly to our Saklan website. You will have access to this link at all times.

 

Sincerely,

Ben Lederman

Director of Early Childhood Education