Educating the Heart shared Fred Rogers Center's post.
“How do you know the needs of the community if you’re not in the community?” Never underestimate the power a caring adult can have in a child's life via Washington Post.
"Children need to experience and learn firsthand how to socially interact with others; how to become confident and capable when encountering new situations; and how to develop strong character traits such as generosity and kindness. Similar to learning new motor skills, the more practice children have in child-led play experiences, the more comfortable they will be in varying social situations."
PICTURE BOOK MONTH!
Here's an old post from my cobwebbed blog about my favorite sensory books. What are your favorites?
PICTURE BOOK MONTH!
I'm sharing some of my favorite picture books this month in honor of Picture Book Month. I'm starting off with wordless picture books. I shared a few of my favorites yesterday and here are a few more! What ones do you like best? Remember that if you leave a comment and share a book, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a wordless picture book for your household! You have until midnight Pacific Time on Thursday, November 5 to enter (I'll draw the winner on... Friday). Enter early, enter often 
Have you enjoyed any of these?
Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno-Lawson. This beautiful book is described as "an ode to the importance of small things, small people, and small gestures." Not only is it a wonderful read for all ages, it makes a fantastic gift!
http://www.amazon.com/Sidewalk-Flow…/…/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_2…
Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman (author of Museum Trip, which I mentioned yesterday). This wordless picture book depicts the adventures of a bored little boy on a rainy day.
http://www.amazon.com/Rainstorm-Bar…/…/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0…
Bee Bird by Craig Frazier. This book is vibrant and eye-catching. It's engaging for infants and toddlers on up through elementary school. The bold illustrations lend themselves to plenty of conversation.
http://www.amazon.com/Bee-Bird-Craig-Fr…/…/ref=pd_sim_14_10…
PICTURE BOOK MONTH!
I want to start us off by talking about books with just pictures or mostly pictures. These books have value for all ages, as they encourage a deeper appreciation of the art of illustration, and prompt imaginations to run wild. They can encourage more conversation than their wordier counterpoints.
In parent-teacher conferences at my workplace last week, the topic of parents who are unable to read came up. For some parents, this is the reason that they don't... engage in booksharing routines at home. It's painful for all involved. Picture books that have no words are a great way to bridge this gap for these families. I have always encouraged parents who struggle to read to go ahead and "read" with their children anyway -- just tell a story, talk about the pictures, and allow children to handle books and enjoy the time together. You don't need to "read" to share this valuable experience. Eschewing words all together can boost the confidence of these parents and allow them to relax enough to just talk about what they imagine is happening.
What are your favorite wordless picture books? Here are a few that I recommend:
Chalk by Bill Thomson. Children find a magical bag of chalk on a rainy day and begin to draw. Imaginations run wild.
http://www.amazon.com/Chalk-Bill-Th…/…/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_2…
Wave by Suzy Lee. A beautiful day at the beach.
http://www.amazon.com/Wave-Suzy-Lee/…/081185924X/ref=sr_1_3…
Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman. This wordless book combines real and imagined world, like all the best books do!
http://www.amazon.com/Museum-Trip-Barbara-Leh…/…/ref=sr_1_1…
Hug by Jez Alborough. Nearly wordless -- this one features just one important word: HUG
http://www.amazon.com/Hug-Jez-Albo…/…/0763615765/ref=sr_1_1…
Snowman by Raymond Briggs. This classic is one of my all-time favorites. The illustrations are muted and stirring.
http://www.amazon.com/Snowman-Raym…/…/0394839730/ref=sr_1_1…
Share your own favorites in the comments below and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a wordless picture book for your household! I'll draw a name and announce the winner on Friday, November 6. You have until midnight Pacific Time on Thursday to enter I can't wait to see your recommendations!
It's Picture Book Month! Each week, I'm going to share a few of my favorite picture books and invite you to do the same. For sharing your own favorites, you'll be entered in drawings to win picture books from me
The children in my program have been sharing a stomach virus for going on three weeks now, so when we're playing in the water table, I have been gently discouraging them from drinking the water. "Maybe we could take some water over the plants!" I suggested the other day. One young toddler looked quizzically at me. "It's been so hot," I said, "and they get thirsty." She nodded her head, filling a cup with water, and said, "Firsty... AND sweaty."
Educating the Heart shared Heidi Powell's photo.
Thanks to Dee from Caring and Courageous Kids for sharing
I really love this. Thanks to Janet Lansbury - Elevating Child Care for sharing.
I work with a young toddler who is simply amazing. All toddlers, all infants, all children, all people are amazing in their own ways, I believe, but this girl ... she astounds me every day with her language development and her sophisticated understanding of so many things. She is generally the first in her little group of peers to notice things. For example, today there were clouds in the sky (which is unusual around here!) and she was the first to look up and say, "Clouds!" ...She then encouraged her peers to look as well.
This evening we were reading a book together that we hadn't read together before. It's a book without words, but with a lot of flaps to lift and things to see and talk about. She was pointing out many things to me: "A strawberry! Oh, apple. Sssssnake. Monkey. Monkey up and down," etc. I lifted one flap and asked, "What do you think this is?" She looked down and said with confidence, "Oh, carrot." "This looks like a carrot?" I asked, her pointing to the picture. "Yeah, carrot," she repeated. "Why?" I wondered aloud. "Oooorange," she pointed out. "That is true," I said, kind of dazzled that she had understood my question and articulated a reasoned response. It was orange. Carrots are orange. Therefore, it's obviously a carrot. Did I mention that this girl is seventeen months old?
It was actually a picture of a squirrel. An orange squirrel. I said, "To me it looks like a squirrel. Do you think it might be a squirrel?" She wrinkled her nose at me and carefully repeated, "Squuuirrel," then shook her head, "No. Carrot," and pointed for emphasis. "Maybe you're right!" I responded, and we looked at another picture together. I'm not 100% certain it was a squirrel, to be honest. And I'm only about 10% certain that it was not a carrot. 
Educating the Heart shared Salha Zain's video.
OMG... I just had tears in my eyes watching this. There are things that technology can never replace.
This semester, I am mentoring more college and university students than I ever have before. Some are shadowing me and actively working in my classroom, while others are just joining us to conduct observations for a few hours at a time. I'm really enjoying all of them, but most of all the few who seem to have a future in infant and toddler caregiving. They are a very rare breed. The majority of students that pass through our program are on their way to quite different places: ...becoming speech pathologists, occupational therapists, pediatricians, and elementary school teachers. I hope that they all carry away something of value from their time with us, but it's the future infant and toddler caregivers that I most fervently wish to reach. I want to help them stay true to their calling, no matter the (lack of) salary and disrespect from the outside!
Yesterday two students were with me. One is in her final year of a university program, while the other is finishing up her community college program, looking to transfer to university next year. Both have worked in preschools, but this is their first time with infants and toddlers. One is determined to be a teacher of older children, while the other is less certain about her path (and I feel her heart could lead her right to babies). The one who is looking ahead to working with older children said to us yesterday, "This is really just like babysitting. I don't know why anyone says it's not." The other student looked at me and raised her eyebrows, like, "What do you think about that?" I made what I hope was a fairly noncommittal sound. I was tongue tied.
I don't class myself as a "babysitter" (although I do spend a lot of time sitting with babies) because I guess to me that sounds less professional. I have invested a lot of time in becoming a professional caregiver. "Babysitter" sounds dismissive of the quality of what we do all day, every day. But when pressed in that moment to articulate the difference, I was kind of speechless. Talking about it later with my coworker, my only thought was, "When she has her own preschool classroom one day, I wonder what she would think if I walked in and said the same to her. Because if what I do is no different than babysitting, what will be the difference in what she will do? What about elementary school teachers? College professors?"
I have respect for all caregivers, don't get me wrong. I've been a babysitter and I loved doing it, although it was different than what I do in my current program. What about you? Do you chafe at the label or do you confidently do what you do, not worrying about justifying your professionalism?
Edited to add: I am not the first or last to ruminate on the subject! http://blogproviders.4cforchildren.org/…/more-than-babysit…/
http://www.hermagazinemidmo.com/want-infanttoddler-teacher/
https://www.newamerica.org/…/teachers-of-toddlers-should-e…/
