Discovering Sounds

       After the beginner has progressed to where he is acquiring a list of recognizable words and is adding other words with ease, he is ready to be helped to the key of word recognition, namely, phonics, or recognition by sound. Unlike her predecessors, a modern teacher starts help in phonics with words which are interesting to children and which lend themselves to phonic analysis. In one first grade there were four T names: Thomas, Terry, Teddy, and Tim. Wouldn't it have been absurd for the teacher to have overlooked this situation, and taught her children, by way of introduction to phonics, the consonant B when there wasn't a name beginning with B in the group? Instead, this teacher put all four T names on the board, and asked the children to take a look and see if they noticed something interesting. Her class noticed the four T's, and had fun loudly exploding the T sound. They also added other words they knew which began with T. In teaching phonics, the trick of associating the appropriate sound with the symbol is what should be stressed. 
       Many playful experiences of children help develop a keener ear for sound, and a greater interest in the relationship of sound to language-making rhymes and jingles, for example. These may be written for children to see. This will help some ready youngsters observe word endings which rhyme. 
       During these initial stages children make discoveries which should be given more recognition than a busy teacher or parent often finds time for. A serious reader comes up to the teacher, book in hand, and with eyes wide with surprise, says, "Look, here are two words almost alike-some and same." Or, "This word begins with the same letter my name does, W." Such discoveries are important moments in life. They should not be chilled with, "Why, of course, didn't you know that?" or "I'm busy now; don't interrupt me." The more a child discovers and mulls over in the process of learning to read, the greater his satisfaction and the surer his accomplishment will be. This, of course, means that the adult must take time for short periods of individual help to look at a word here, listen to a response there, and still be able to go ahead with the work at hand, accepting the interruption with as little to-do as possible. This is artistic teaching and guidance. 

       Leapfrog has it's own channel at Youtube. This company has been around for a very long time and they know "how" to make learning to read fun! But so does Sesame Street and Scholastic Kids.

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Getting Acquainted With Words

       While this understanding of the purpose of materials is being developed, other important learnings are taking place. Perhaps the number one job for most teachers is helping children learn the techniques of remembering words so that unaided they can recognize them and really learn to read by themselves. This is an indispensable part of learning to read, but it best develops if it is acquired while the foregoing points with regard to reading environment and understanding guidance are also being nurtured.

Learning together.

       Let's look at this business of helping children master words and grow from two or seven word readers to book readers. A child who looks at a given word sees it as a design of lines going up and down, with some circles and components resembling circles. For a child, it does not necessarily have to be a group of letters in proper order. For example, Susette, who doesn't know a single letter, will go to the blackboard where a list of ten names is written, will point to her own and say, "This says Susette." Although she may not specifically recognize the prominent capital S, or the crossed T's, she knows and doesn't forget "Susette" she reads her name in the true sense of reading. Later, when she writes, the letters and their proper sequence become important. She doesn't have to be able to spell her name in order to read it. In the same manner she learns to recognize other words, some long like "Halloween," others short like "baby.” She sees them as distinctive pictures or patterns. 

        In a classroom, what one child knows is eagerly demonstrated to others: therefore there is a great exchange of learning. Bob will learn his name and Polly's too. Under the teacher's direction the children look at the words: "Today is Alice's birthday." The teacher helps them read what the words say. They discover which word is "Alice," which is "birthday." Looking at words, repeating them, and noticing their interesting features, such as length, height, number of letters repeated, similarity to other words known, is how words are recognized. Children remember words by meeting them often. 

       Equipped with only a minimum of words, a child is often eager to try the real business of reading a book. Simple books, the pre-primers, are published for this stage. Many first grade rooms are supplied with a dozen or more different pre-primers so that children will have ample experience in reading simple books. The teacher may read a short passage to two or three children as they look on; then they will try, with whatever memory and word recognition they are able to apply, to start reading a book! Again and again, a child rereads the one or more pages he has mastered. At this stage of reading growth every available older person is stopped and asked, "Do you want to hear me read?" And immediately after a first audition the adult is asked, "Do you want to hear me read it again?" This voluntary reading over and over again is the best kind of practice, and, interestingly enough, it is self-imposed by the child, if the relationship between child, other children, and adults is a friendly one.

       Do sight words right! Susan Jones Teaching channel talks about "how" to do sight words the scientific way. Learn to do Phoneme Mapping, Use a Multisensory Approach and Compare Sort Match.

Go here to download the Dolch Word Lists in English...

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Learning New Tricks

        Children need to turn to books for fun, adventure, information, in short, for the same satisfactions for which adults turn to books. Therefore, a wise teacher helps children find fun, adventure, and information in books. She may do this by reading to them. Miss Brown, telling first grade children how to care for a pet kitten which had been given the group, finished by saying, "I found out about all this in the book called Cats and Their Care." As the children examined the book-written for adults-and looked at the pictures, they grew in the fundamental understanding that books help us find out what we want to know. 
       Comments about books by young children reveal this understanding of their value. "Here's a book with interesting and informative pictures." "This is a funny book to make us laugh; even the pictures are funny." "Look at the big words in this book. It's about turkeys. I can read two whole pages." "This book is about a puppy, and he's just like our puppy at home." "If you want to find out about airplanes, here's a good book."

• The Colorful Apple channel introduces parents and teachers to the "How To" picture books. These are important to teach children writing skills, process ordering steps and reading things in order discover the art of creative making...
• How to Spot a Great Picture Book by Simply Charlotte Mason
• Writing: Lists for young students - master this
• Now middle schoolers learn about writing from lists.
• Six skills in order from a writing teacher at The Structured Writing Teacher
• Writers Share by Alan J. Wright "The Value of Making Lists in a Writer's Notebook"

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Carpenter Rebus

        Children will enjoy helping their parents and/or teacher read about carpenters aloud. They can read the tiny pictures while listening and watching a parent read the words aloud in between.

The Carpenter 
by Maude M. Grant

Upon the hill the tall trees stood,
With an axe men chopped them down.
The logs were take on a raft
To the saw-mill in the town.

There buzzed the big saw blades all day long;
The cut the logs so round.
And soon a pile of neat, smooth planks,
Out in the yard were found.

The carpenter came with his ruler
And measured round about;
And then the best and smoothest planks
With great care he picked out.

With saw and hammer then he went
Most busily to work;
He pounded nails and used his plane
The good man was no shirk

And soon the little house was done,
Complete in every way,
Windows, shutters and door, even a gate in front,
All neatly painted gray.

Craft a Felt Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas

Finished and plated doll-sized Swedish tea ring.

       When I was a young girl, my mother loved to bake. One of her favorite things to bake for Christmas was a Swedish tea ring. This took nearly all day to make because it needed to rise several times before baking. This little craft brought back positive memories for me; I hope you will enjoy making one for your own 18 inch doll friends...

Supply List:

• a variety of four shades of felt sheets
• sharp scissors
• needle and threads
• metallic beads

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Roll four colors of brownish felt together starting with one of the long horizontal side. Make certain the felt sheet on the bottom of the stack is the warm brown color of the outside the Swedish tea ring after baking. 
2. Use a tight binding stitch to keep the roll intact all along the inner edge of the tea ring.
3. Stitch together end to end of the felt roll to make an "O" shape.
4. Now score the felt every half inch along the outer edge using sharp scissors without cutting all the way through to the inside center of the tea ring. You should see a spiral on the inside sliced cuts. This will make the tea ring look like it has cinnamon inside of the fancy bread roll.
5. Cut some curvy shapes from a cream colored felt to make it look like icing. Sew this on to the top of the tea ring using matching thread.
6. Then sew on beads green and red to represent Christmas candied fruits.
7. Purchase a decorative plate to display your doll's fancy felt tea ring at a party during the holidays.

More Special Christmas Treats for Dolls:

• Doll Plum Pudding
• Chocolate and Caramel Dipped Apples
• Christmas Popcorn In A Tin

Serving Cardboard Crackers and Dip for 18" Dolls

Yummy crackers, cheese, cucumber and salmon spread
for your next doll party. The dips are for those who like
jalapenos or fresh tomato Bruschetta.

        Our dolls are always in need of crackers and cheese to serve to guests whenever they either visit for the holidays or just for those occasions when they are stopping by to say "hello" and  play a board game, do a puzzle or watch a movie on a Friday night. 
       To make a cheese and cracker tray like ours, you will need a old cracker box with photographs of doll sized crackers printed on it, masking tape, a recycled jar lid, extra thin cardboard, white school glue, black tissue paper and a selection of acrylic paints.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Wash off the jar lid till it is squeaky clean. Let dry.
2. Cover the lid with masking tape. Take care to smooth it out and press away all of the wrinkles and trapped air bubbles.
3. Brush on a layer of white school glue.
4. Then layer a solid colored black tissue paper on top of the glue. Press out the lumps and bumps and then let the covered lid dry.
5. Cut out the photos of doll-sized crackers from the box used to sell real ones in. 
6. Arrange, stack and glue the crackers to the inside of the jar lid.
7. Cut little strips of cardboard and roll these to make tiny container-like cups for dip.
8. Glue these onto the platter. 
9. Paint the inside of the "dip" condiments with green and red paint. 
10. Serve up these delicious looking snacks to all of your doll's friends on Friday night movie dates and at holiday gatherings!

More Party Dips, Cheese and Crackers:

• Charcuterie for 18 inch dolls like: American Girl, Journey Girls, and Our Generation Dolls
• Veggies, chips and cheese for Doll parties here...

Getting Learning Started

       Many schools, when admitting children for their first year, ask questions about the child's background in order to have a better understanding of him. This is not done so that the teacher may restrict the child to his preschool learning, but rather to help her provide materials which meet the needs of the child at his particular stage of growth. For some children, large and small picture books may be the first books which they will have a chance to handle. For others, books with simple stories printed in large type may be more satisfying. Some youngsters will scribble with crayons, fascinated by the idea of using a variety of colors. Others who have passed this phase will settle down and write, even announcing, “I am going to write my name." Each child within this wide range of growth should be an acceptable entrant to school if he is in good health and of the designated age for admission. 

       The responsibility primary teachers have is a large one. It is up to them to guide large groups of children in such a manner that those who are normal retain their eager attitude toward exploring new fields of learning. For those who have already been pushed too hard, or who are overly shy, or fearful of doing the wrong thing, the task is a more difficult one. They will have to be carefully helped in order to recapture the fun of again trying their wings. 

       The classrooms which we see today have toys and games, paints, plenty of pictures, books, posters, and nooks or corners for individuals to work on building, playing, or writing. These classrooms are designed to inspire the children who come to them, to stimulate and to warm them with the sheer delight of living and learning. In them, children will be busy doing worth-while things; they won't be bored by patiently sitting at their desks, with folded hands, waiting for their teacher's next direction.

• The Kindergarten Smorgasboard by Greg Smedley-Warren
• Brittany Olga's Homeschool Curriculum Resources and Ideas
• The Believe Project inspires young students to fall in love with reading!
• Promise Center of Homewood returns to the basics to help students...
• Welcome Parents! by Enterprise Elementary School District for children starting kindergarten

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Help When Help Is Sought

The show-off parent.

       Marked beginnings are made toward reading by some children even before entering kindergarten, usually by those who learn to talk early, and who have had an opportunity to enjoy stories in books. At the age of four, they may recognize letters, want to write O's or A's, copy their older brothers' and sisters' names, and learn to write their own names. Parents may wonder if it is right to help them when they ask, "How do you make a T?" A sensible plan is to offer the child help when he asks for it, and show him how to get fun out of his exploration. Give him a crayon rather than a hard pencil, and provide a large sheet of paper and a good surface on which to write. 

       It is very important that the observing parent doesn't become too proud over early signs of literacy. It is the parent, hoping he is guiding a budding genius, the one aiming to have his child read at four, who constitutes a threat to a child's security. The show-off parent is not only a bore to all of us, but is endangering his own child. Children must be accepted by their contemporaries, enjoying work and play with them, and they will not be accepted if they are forced by their parents to stand apart and think themselves smarter than their playmates.

       A child who is tutored by an overambitious parent may grow up thinking it is smart to be different, to be superior to his neighborhood and school fellows. Grave emotional problems too often result from his attitude-an attitude which so frequently begins with the child's perfectly normal urge to imitate those with whom he lives, who read and write. So the counsel is: help when help is sought, but don't exert pressure. Another suggestion: these interests with young children are sporadic; they wax and wane quickly. When a child loses interest in writing and looking at books, the best course is to accept it as normal behavior. Later on, he will come back with renewed eagerness to these experiences; he will want to read and write. We will find that although he may have forgotten some previously learned skills, he will soon, and happily, acquire others.

Create organic pre-reading activities by

Teaching Little Learners.

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In The Pioneer's Cabin Home

From a story of the making of Kansas
by McKeever.

And now as the seasons passed on, the cabin

 alone on the prairie,

 Enlarged and partly rebuilt and with out-

buildings clustered about it, 

Became the inspiring scene of many of life's

 young endeavors. 

Conveniently near the place had Archibald

 planted an orchard 

Of apples and peaches and plums, and small

 fruit of every description. 

Adorning the dooryard and walks were elm 

trees and maples and cedars. 

Underneath whose cooling shade the children

 could play in contentment. 

And oh! the many young souls to be 

clothed and nourished and cared for! 

With not a device or convenience and very 

scant means for buying 

At shop or store or from peddler the plainest 

of things for the household. 

But some there be always among us who 

seem to be marked for hardship, 

For peril or sword or privation or other dire 

earthly oppression, 

And yet whose spirit undaunted seems destined 

forever to triumph. 

Such was the spirit of Archibald, such was 

the strength of Elvira, 

And so by the light of the fireplace or homemade 

candle dim burning, 

Elvira would sit with her sewing at night, 

while nimble her fingers 

Would fly through the stitches of garments 

new, or at mending the old ones. 

And though a fierce storm might be raging 

without, and hungry coyotes 

Mingling their blood-curdling cries with the

 moan and the sigh of the north-wind,

And Archibald off at the village a two-days

trip for provisions. 

Yet was she not afraid. Fondly in thought

would she picture the future 

Of the little ones lying asleep on cots or on

pallets about her. 

Seeing for each one a career of success, of

fame and of honor. 

And firm indeed was her faith in the love 

of the Heavenly Father, 

To whom she resigned all her cares, receiving

new strength for the morrow.

How to make a dollhouse floor lamp that really lights up!

A floor lamp battery operated tea light.

        Don't throw away any old doll stands folks! Because these may be easily transformed into floor lamps for a dollhouse and you can make them actually light up by including battery operated tea lights. These stands are best used when they are "weighted" at the bottom, so that they will stand upright properly. 

Supply List: 

• recycled doll stand
• a straw that fits over the pole of the doll stand 
• paper condiment cup or a Dixie brand drinking cup
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• sandpaper
• rubbing alcohol
• acrylic paint
• stickers or watercolor paints (optional) to decorate the shade
• scrap cardboard
• battery operated tea light
• Mod Podge

Left, Ask an adult to cut a small hole the size of the top tip of the doll stand in the center of your
 lamp shade's bottom cardboard piece so that the shade has a place to attach to the narrow pole
 of the stand. Center, Draw around the battery operated tea light on top of a thick cardboard to
cut the correct size of shade base for the lamp. Right, See what cardboard layers look like from 
the side view.

Left, I want to cut-away the bottom of the paper condiment cup so that I may attach the nicer 
edge of the rolled cup opening to my shade. Right, So you can see that I needed two condiment
cups to make this shade larger than the tea light's circumference. So, I just over lapped the small
opening with a second cup to make the shade's pleated paper continuous looking. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Wipe down the recycled doll stand using rubbing alcohol; this removes oil from your skin that repels paint applications. 
2. You may need to further sand the stand to rough it up for painting.
3. Paint the recycled stand to match the furnishings of your doll's home.
4. Mod Podge these parts to help prevent scratching on the metal surfaces.
5. Draw around the battery operated tea light on top of a thick cardboard to cut the correct size of shade base for the lamp approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch larger.
6. Carefully cut the bottom of a condiment cup off. This will become your floor lamp's shade.
7. Hold the cup upside down with the cut-open bottom facing up and glue the edges at the original bottom directly onto the cut cardboard round. 
8. Finish the cardboard round with a trim or ribbon. Glue this carefully to the outside edging to cover the cardboard nicely. I just used a plain white paper ribbon for this lamp.
9. You may also choose to paint the cardboard on the bottom of the shade the same color as the stand parts as well.
10. Ask an adult to cut a small hole the size of the top tip of the doll stand in the center of your lamp shade's bottom cardboard piece so that the shade has a place to attach to the narrow pole of the stand.
11. I also glued a straw to the bottom of the shade piece to further secure the shade to the stand. The shade fits snugly over the pole during play but when in storage I detach the shade from the pole to keep the fragile shade from rough handling. 
12. Insert the tea light through to top of the shade to light up the floor lamp. Turn it on and off as desired.
13. You can also make a floor lamp using paper Dixie cups instead of condiment cups for shades.
14. Decorate the lamp shades if you wish with any kind of paints, stickers or markers as well or leave these unadorned if you prefer.

See More Doll Lamp Crafts: 

• Doll lamps made from recycled parts and decorative papers 
• An authentic tiny kerosene lamp for our Pioneer, 18 inch dolls here. 
• How to make a camp lantern that really lights up for your American Girl Doll! 

Authentic shade designs from the Deco period for students to copy
if they wish for their own dollhouse lamps.

A Friendly Lift

"Listen, Mom!"

       There is no one best way to teach children to read. A friendly, personal lift over a rough spot is a safe, general rule for parent and teacher to follow. 

       As methods of teaching reading have changed, parents yes, and teachers, have become cautious, even afraid, lest they do the wrong thing. Especially with reference to beginning reading has this wave of doubt as to procedure and hesitancy in helping children prevailed. It is essential that children are not confused by two sets of instructions, one from school, the other from home, especially if the instructions are contradictory. For example, at school a teacher suggested to her children, "If you come to a word you don't know, ask me." She had not taught her pupils letters but had helped them listen to stories, look at stories in books, recognize some of the words, and try to read a passage by themselves or with her assistance if needed.

       One of these youngsters went home with a pre-primer and fairly burst into the house to demonstrate his new-found success in reading. He had scarcely spoken before he came to a halt. "What is this word?" he asked, holding the book for his mother to see, as he was accustomed to do in school. "Spell it out," his mother answered. The child didn't know what she meant, and the mother wondered how a teacher expected a child to read when he wasn't even able to spell the words. Obviously, home and school need to come together sufficiently to understand basic ways in which both work with a given child. In this case, a simple note to parents might have sufficed: "When your child begins to read and asks you what a word is, tell him. If he forgets it and asks again, tell him again. Eventually, he will learn." 

Reading WARS! Phonics vs. Whole Word?

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Wanted: "A Helpful Adult"

       "EATING it up," was how a boy described his young brother's reaction to learning to read in the first grade. That's what all of us wish for beginning readers, the avid, eat-it-up appetite for reading as a highly pleasurable experience. Teachers and parents alike feel it their compelling duty, a very important role, to help children experience this enjoyment of reading books. 

       Reading skill doesn't just spring from a child's great desire or his parent's family background. There is specific learning which must be mastered in the process. But the job of helping children is not so mysterious or so technical as some teachers and parents have been led us to believe. A mother reported she never really taught her twins how to read. "I just read to them with one sitting on either side of me. They began to choose the book and the story that they wanted to hear, find the page, say a word here and there, and all at once they started to say, 'This is sheep.' 'This is lamb.' 'This is where it says tiny kitten.'" 

       Or, take the case of a father who was asked by his ten year old son about plant parasites. The subject of parasites had been discussed in school; the boy was fascinated, and wanted to learn more. The father suggested that they see what they could learn  about parasites in their encyclopedia. He showed his son how to locate the correct volume, and said, "Now, you see if you can find parasite, and we'll talk about it after you read what it says." Later, in reporting the incident, the father said, "I hope I'm not out of step with school methods in showing my young fellow how to use an encyclopedia." Most teachers would be overjoyed to have such excellent help from parents.

Finding the volume together.

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