december 2023
“It’s More Than Just Storytime” (the power behind an everyday routine)
One of my favorite ways to build relationships with children is simply to sit with them; on the floor, at their level and interact with them. only a few days at our St. James site, the children established a routine with me, which has now evolved into a regular part of the rhythm of their day. We gather on the carpet, and the children bring over a selection of books for me to read out loud with. Sometimes we spread out over the entire width of the carpet, and other times we sit in a tight cluster. This routine (let’s be honest, I think at this point in time it’s more accurate to call it a ritual) has become a joyous and relaxed way to start off the morning.
At first you might think, “Aw, that’s so sweet”. And yes, it absolutely is; but have you ever considered the true depth of what is happening?
First of all, let’s consider the relationship aspect. The children were quick to welcome me into their ‘circle of we’. Some took a little longer to warm to me than others did, and every child responds differently; but it’s amazing to think how quickly that bond developed.
Second, we need to talk about the learning that’s occurring. This is a group of Toddler aged children, and the fact that they had the ability to attend an activity that often extended well beyond 15-20 mins (often almost a half hour) really speaks to how they keep engaged for such a long period of time. Another really interesting component to this (and this is a very recent observation) is that the children have started to learn one particular book by rote.
“Machines At Work” by Byron Brown is a book that has remained on our bookshelf for nearly two months. The book is a small, hardcover book that is well loved by the children and has been read daily for roughly three weeks to a month now. Just to satisfy my curiosity, I started reading it one morning and intentionally left out the last word on each page. To my surprise, most of the children were able to finish the sentence with little to no prompts from me! A day or two later, I changed it up by reading the first word instead. Again, the children were able to complete it with minimal prompts. This morning, I barely read any of the words; the children did most of the work!
This was so exciting to witness! Are they memorizing the words? Are they making connections between the pictures and hearing the words spoken aloud? I can’t wait to try this again to see what happens! Perhaps it’s time to expand to other ways of storytelling!
Stay tuned…..
Don McMahon RECE, Smriti Bhoray ECE BEd BA in special education
