I've been volunteering at my neighborhood elementary school. There is a program called SMART, an acronym for Start Making a Reader Today. I read with and to kindergarten kids for an hour. I have three charges, all girls, and I spend 20 minutes with each, one day a week. It goes quickly, most of the time. These kids can't read yet, but they are learning to love books. We read together whatever they choose from among hundreds of titles distributed around the small classroom. Most of the books are clever little titles that can be read in about 5-7 minutes. I did read one last week that was 48 pages long. It took almost the entire 20-minute segment.
My three "Smarties," as they are called, couldn't be more different. The first little girl is very quiet and shy. But she smiles freely and responds to my occasional questions with bright, alert, answers. I've learned her favorite foods, animals, and colors. The third child I see each week is more of an extrovert, but equally as bright and alert. With her two front teeth missing, she smiles freely and seems to be able to read a bit. I'll find out more as the weeks go by. She also tells me how she likes to read with her daddy, so I know there are books at home there.
The middle child is the most challenging because she's most often distracted. I could call her hyperactive because she often needs to move around when we are reading a book. She is antsy, likes to move around the room and visit others during the 20-minute session, and sometimes gets easily off task. She's also very tactile. She likes to touch my arms, and will spontaneously give me a hug.
We're not supposed to touch the kids in any way and do not play the role of teacher as far as discipline or classroom environment goes. I thought that might be difficult for me since I', a grizzled veteran of the high school classroom, but no, I just try to reel in the distracted moments and keep the focus going. Nevertheless, I'm wondering about the differences in the behavior of these three kids. Maybe someday I'll be able to talk to their teacher who might provide some insight; maybe not. What kind of readers will they actually become? So many ways to read today, what will come from these early attempts to make readers? For now, I'll do my best to help make these kids readers, whatever that may be in the changing literary landscape. I recall a colleague of mine used to have a poster in her classroom that read: "Unless we read, we will have but one tiny life." I wish all readers very big lives.
My three "Smarties," as they are called, couldn't be more different. The first little girl is very quiet and shy. But she smiles freely and responds to my occasional questions with bright, alert, answers. I've learned her favorite foods, animals, and colors. The third child I see each week is more of an extrovert, but equally as bright and alert. With her two front teeth missing, she smiles freely and seems to be able to read a bit. I'll find out more as the weeks go by. She also tells me how she likes to read with her daddy, so I know there are books at home there.
The middle child is the most challenging because she's most often distracted. I could call her hyperactive because she often needs to move around when we are reading a book. She is antsy, likes to move around the room and visit others during the 20-minute session, and sometimes gets easily off task. She's also very tactile. She likes to touch my arms, and will spontaneously give me a hug.
We're not supposed to touch the kids in any way and do not play the role of teacher as far as discipline or classroom environment goes. I thought that might be difficult for me since I', a grizzled veteran of the high school classroom, but no, I just try to reel in the distracted moments and keep the focus going. Nevertheless, I'm wondering about the differences in the behavior of these three kids. Maybe someday I'll be able to talk to their teacher who might provide some insight; maybe not. What kind of readers will they actually become? So many ways to read today, what will come from these early attempts to make readers? For now, I'll do my best to help make these kids readers, whatever that may be in the changing literary landscape. I recall a colleague of mine used to have a poster in her classroom that read: "Unless we read, we will have but one tiny life." I wish all readers very big lives.
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