February is Library Lovers Month! What better time to introduce preschoolers to the world of library books? Being around such an ample assortment and collection of books is likely to boost your child's interest in reading and knowledge. Libraries also host puppet shows, story times, author visits and craft groups for preschoolers. Check S.I. Parent's Family Calendar for times and activities for all the local branches on Staten Island.

What is your child's favorite subject? From dinosaurs to cooking, the library will not only have books on the subject, but magazines, movies, and games as well. You can even find selections on popular TV characters such as SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer and some old favorites from Sesame Street. It's the ultimate place to introduce your child to literary favorites including Clifford, Courdory, Goldilocks and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Get into a routine of visiting the library every week or two to stock up on all of those wonderful preschool books your child will want to read repeatedly. Let your child select some books himself. After all, you don't want anyone picking out all of your reading material. Even if the book is above his age level, he will absorb knowledge from looking at pictures and discussing them with you. Three- to five-year-olds love a challenge! The best parts of the library are that it is free, easy to renew books online or by phone, and it teaches a good lesson to your children about responsibility.

By observing reading and writing around them and by being read to, preschoolers begin to imitate reading. At first, they rely exclusively on picture clues and memory and then with increased experience, they begin to focus on the information that print conveys. Next comes writing. Initially, they will just scribble for pages and pages. Eventually they will progress to letters and numbers that they see in print. As they think about how to represent the sounds of words through their writing, they are building skills that will be useful for reading as well. This is beginning literacy.

Reading aloud to children should begin with infants. By three years old, they can begin making predictions about what will come next. They recognize words and phrases and can read with you.

It is important to read authentic literature to children. Authentic literatures are stories that are natural and enjoyable, written the way the author tells a story. They are not controlled vocabulary telling a story. Generations ago, I was taught with Dick and Jane books, which were written around a controlled vocabulary. I learned my sight words but they were not very enticing. It was the library that saved me from boredom with all the wonderful biographies, fiction and other genres that piqued my interest.

As a second grade teacher many years later, I smuggled authentic literature into my classroom and read aloud to my students much to their delight! It is authentic literature that builds what we call prior knowledge. How else will some city children learn about all those wonderful animals on the farm? It is how he finds out about Icky Bugs, and Little Blue and Little Yellow and what happened to The Old Lady That Swallowed A Fly. Today's books represent many cultures presented from diverse perspectives and today's schools are rich with authentic literature.

At this age, reading to children builds their understanding of concepts, like shapes, colors, opposites, numbers, and rhyming words. These all lead to oral language skills and increased vocabulary. Tell the story with enthusiasm and do not be afraid to really get into it and make funny faces and voices. If you enjoy reading time, so will your kids.

Preschoolers enjoy books that share some of the experiences they share. They enjoy familiarity, stories about kids their age, making friends, or going to school, the doctor or the vet. They like books about having brothers and sisters and they like books they can memorize and repeat. Preschoolers are more competent at handling books and turning pages. They can listen to longer stories and retell familiar stories. They understand what text is and they can move their finger along to follow the text. You can ask them "what's happening?" and move towards letter recognition and eventual word recognition. Preschoolers can begin to learn how to write their name and should be encouraged to write and draw.

While reading to your child is most important, other activities, such as these will also help give your child many advantages and a solid foundation in literacy. Begin activities long before you expect your child to actually read and continue long after your child is an independent reader.

• Make your own dictionary. Help your child head every page or two with a letter of the alphabet. Collect or draw pictures and words from magazines for each letter. Label each picture. (This is a long-term activity and don't get discouraged if your child loses interest in it for a while. Put it away and then revisit.)
• Make a book. Paste pages of your child's writing or drawings onto pieces of construction paper. Number the pages. Make a cover page and a table of contents page. Staple your book together or if you're crafty, use ribbons or scrapbooking materials. These books will be keepsakes!
• Monitor what your child watches on television. If you could, watch TV together and discuss the shows. So many of my students use SpongeBob as a reference, I had to watch a few episodes so that I could join the conversation! Note: Many experts recommend that children (3-10) watch no more than 10 hours of television each week.
• Write with and for your preschoolers. Have them dictate stories to you. Respond to their writings and drawings with enthusiasm and don't be overly concerned with misspellings at this age. Over time, they will concentrate on spelling correctly. Remember a new writer runs the risk of criticism; it takes courage to continue. Our job as parents is to help them find the courage. Express appreciation of their efforts.
• Teach your child to write love letters by writing to him. When my children went to school, I always slipped little "I love you" notes into their lunchboxes. They learned to read them quickly and started writing me back.
• Encourage children to express themselves. Have them tell stories to other family members. Don't worry about the natural "yentas" who need no coaxing. Focus your efforts in encouraging dialogue in the shy child.
• Label things in your child's room and encourage copying words whenever your child is in a writing mood.

Remember, it is better to talk too much than too little with a small child. Conversation enables children to expand their vocabulary and their understanding of the world and is an important part of reading development.

Parenting takes a lot of patience and although some of it may be "old hat" to you- especially for a parent of several children- it is all new and exciting to a preschooler.

Recommended books for Preschoolers 3-5
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
Jamaica Tag-Along by Juanita Havill
Chickens Aren't The Only Ones by Ruth Heller
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate The Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
Curious George by H.A. Rey Gregory
The Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Corduroy by Don Freeman


By Staten Island educator Marianna Randazzo