It's annual conference time! Who's going to DC? Alas, I am not going this year, but if I were, I would be sure to attend this one:
Monday, June 28 (From the ALSC site):
Hey, fellow early literacy supporters! The Center for Hearing, Speech, and Language is in the running for a $25,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project. Their project is entitled "Children that can't read suffer - help low-income kids battle illiteracy", and will work to boost kindergarten reading readiness, among other goals. Your votes decide which projects get funded, so start voting!
At a recent U.S. Senate hearing titled "The State of the American Child", Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., called for the formation of a national commission dedicated to finding ways to improve the lives of children in this country. This came as a result of a 2007 report by Unicef that found the U.S.
Adding a song or two to your storytime is a great way to encourage phonological awareness -- the ability to hear the smaller sounds that make up a word. One of the cds I LOVE is Songs for Wiggleworms, which sadly isn't available anymore except in downloadable form. Many libraries still have it though! It has great participatory songs like "Walking Walking" and "Wheels on the B
A study in the journal Pediatrics has concluded that children who have limited vocabulary and language skills at age 5 are more likely to have lower literacy levels in adulthood. However, the study also found that adults who overcame this childhood language deficit were most often those who were read to by their parents. "Our study suggests that reading to a child might also have long-term beneficial effects," [Dr. Ingrid Schoon] said.
By now I'm sure you've all heard that Jerry Pinkney's beautiful book The Lion and the Mouse is the recipient of this year's Caldecott Medal. I was personally so taken with this book, that uses only pictures (and a few animal sounds) to retell the Aesop's fable of a Lion who lets a mouse go and how the mouse is able to return the favor. Sharing wordless books, or nearly wordless books (like Jez Alborough's Hug
If you haven't already, check out 
By now I'm sure you've all heard that Jerry Pinkney's beautiful book The Lion and the Mouse is the recipient of this year's Caldecott Medal. I was personally so taken with this book, that uses only pictures (and a few animal sounds) to retell the Aesop's fable of a Lion who lets a mouse go and how the mouse is able to return the favor. Sharing wordless books, or nearly wordless books (like Jez Alborough's Hug
