Dust Bunnies with Jan Thomas: When less is more!

Dust bunnies. Who knew they were so funny?

Jan Thomas did and let us in on their secret.  You’ll never look at cleaning under the couch the same way again.

Thomas writes picture books with bright, bold illustrations, lovable characters, humor, suspense, action and irony. She writes short, punchy text that sometimes rhymes and repeats, often with a surprising twist at the end.





The combination of bold illustration, spry text and witty story lines makes her picture books excellent read-alouds. Thomas adeptly builds suspense and drama through her characters' facial expressions and crisp dialog. And like Mo Willems' work, although her books look very simple and can be read to very young listeners, their wit and irony engage older listeners, too.

What Will Fat Cat Sit On?

The answer to that burning question drives this story. Full of suspense, emotion and animal sounds, this picture book will keep listeners predicting and laughing right up to its surprise ending.

A Birthday for Cow

Some of the same characters from Fat Cat make a cake to surprise Cow for his birthday. Duck keeps trying to add a turnip to the recipe, but Pig and Cow stop him. Does Cow really want cake for his birthday? Explore irony and birthday tradition with this winning picture book.

Can You Make a Scary Face?

This interactive book asks the reader to follow directions. Young kids will love wiggling, dancing and making faces. Pair it with Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems, The Monster at the End of the Book by Grover (and Jon Stone) or The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak for more interactive fun.

Is Everyone Ready for Fun?

Keep the kids moving after reading Can You Make a Scary Face? with this action-packed picture book, where the goats and Chicken disagree on what is fun. Encourage the kids to predict what the goats will do and how Chicken will respond, while acting out the story as you read it.

Pair Thomas' books with Mo Willems’ Pigeon or Elephant and Piggy books and Doreen Cronin’s books for a wry take on animal antics. Or, on their own, Thomas' books could be used to introduce the concept of irony to an older group of kids.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of Thomas' illustrations or text. She has plenty of surprises tucked in her picture books. Reoccurring characters allow for inside jokes and allusions to other stories that older readers will enjoy. Even younger kids will love finding "Easter eggs" Thomas includes for her readers.

Rhyming dust bunnies? Elegance and silliness in the same book? Through her picture books, Jan Thomas proves that less is more.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Race and reading: developing personal relationships

When is a name tag not just a name tag? When it helps TRC kids and volunteers develop personal relationships even though they are divided by race and social groups. Knowing and using someone's name is a powerful affirmation of his or her value.  

TRC recently conducted a volunteer seminar focusing on racial identity development and TRC programs. In it we explored several aspects of race and mainstream culture and how they affect our Read-Alouds. With issues of race and racially-rooted conflict in the news, and recognizing that the majority of the children and parents we serve are people of color and the majority of our volunteers are white, it was a timely topic.

Currently our Read-Aloud volunteer corps is made up of 86% Caucasians, 5% African Americans, 3% Asians, 3% Hispanics and 3% mixed race individuals. Our current Read-Aloud partners report having 0 to 30% Caucasian clients. Because we have long recognized the importance of having a diverse group of volunteers, TRC actively seeks to increase the number of people of color in our volunteer pool. 

TRC Read-Alouds provide opportunities for the kids we serve to have positive, supportive experiences with caring adults who are, based on our current corps of volunteers, most likely white. It's a chance to have frequent personal experiences with adults that may counter the negativity of mainstream culture toward people of color. Based on recommendations from Marty Swaim of Challengeracism.org and Cheryl Robinson and James Sample of Arlington Public Schools, we examined three factors volunteers could control to ensure all TRC kids feel welcome, valued and engaged.  

Factor 1:  Personal relationships 

Build relationships with the kids and let them know you are interested in them and respect them as individuals. Show them you value them, their culture and their race. When you do this, you model a relationship built on communication, not on cues based on exterior appearance. As you get to know each kid and each kid gets to know you, you help the child bank positive experiences that build strong and healthy self-images.

How do you build relationships at a Read-Aloud?

Come prepared and arrive early to set up. You'll be showing the kids you've planned a special Read-Aloud for them and are excited to see them.

Welcome participants by name and use name tags. Using kids' names shows respect and interest in them as individuals.

Do a group welcoming, team building or settling activity. You'll be easing the transition into Read-Aloud time and building a sense of community.

Create a balance between volunteer control and kid choices. Provide both choice and reasonable boundaries.

Providing clear boundaries and as many opportunities as possible for the kids to call the shots helps balance the adult/kid power imbalance and demonstrates your regard for the kids.

• Use TRC's Promises to set expectations for behavior during the Read-Aloud and follow up if kids need reminding. You'll be showing the kids that you see them as responsible and capable and that you will ensure their time with you is safe and enjoyable.
• Let the kids choose books they want to read with you in small groups. An adult has already chosen the book to read to the group as a whole. Letting kids choose what to read next balances out the power dynamic.
• Provide open-ended activities that foster creativity and individual expression. You'll get to know each kid better and each kid can enjoy being herself.
• Take time to talk with the kids and answer their questions as they choose books to take home. Don't choose books for them.

Make eye contact. Like using someone's name, making eye contact creates a connection between you and the child.

Sit down on their level. Be one of the group instead of towering over the kids.




Have conversations with the kids

• Share information about yourself. When you do this, you create opportunities to connect with the kids.
• Encourage kids to share their ideas and feelings.
• LISTEN to what they have to say. You'll gain insight into their thoughts, feelings and experiences.

When you have a genuine conversation with a kid, you get to know him as an individual and he gets to know you, too. These relationships can go a long way in helping build understanding and positive experiences across racial or social lines.

You've probably noticed that all the strategies recommended are ones that TRC has encouraged you to do at your Read-Alouds already. We want volunteers to use name tags and TRC Promises and to come prepared to help the Read-Alouds go smoothly and be enjoyable. We include conversation and choice because those are important factors in reading development and motivation. It turns out they also help kids build positive racial identities and are components of culturally competent Read-Alouds.

TRC will provide more posts on this topic, exploring two more factors that volunteers can control to ensure every Read-Aloud is culturally competent.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Summer Reading: A New Take on an Old Tradition

As school lets out and kids head to the pool and camp, schools and libraries remind parents to encourage summer reading. It's a hot topic these days (pardon the pun), but it's not a new idea. What are we talking about when we promote and participate in summer reading? Where exactly did “summer reading” come from? 

Decades of research show that reading is one way to stem kids’ summer learning losses and bridge the achievement gap. But many, many years before those studies, adults were looking for ways to help children stimulate their thinking, improve their reading skills and have something constructive to do when school was out of session. 

Public libraries took the lead. The origins of the summer reading log are more than a century old! Beginning in the 1890s, libraries began concerted efforts to reach kids in the summer with special programming, including read-alouds and book distributions on playgrounds and activities themed to children’s interests. Take a look at this paper on the history of youth summer reading programs in public libraries if you are curious to know even more about “vacation reading clubs” and summer reading themes of old.


When public libraries started summer reading programs, there wasn’t any research on how best to encourage kids to read during the summer months. There’s a growing body of research on what makes summer reading effective, but not everyone is on the same page when it comes to stemming the summer slide. 

For some kids, summer reading is assigned — a list of titles from a teacher who wants certain books read and readers ready to discuss them when school begins again. Others get more relaxed recommendations and encouragement to head to the library, where summer reading is logged and rewarded with activities and prizes. Publishers and others offer incentive programs, but any one strategy to promote summer reading is unlikely to close the achievement gap all by itself.

TRC has created its own summer reading initiative, We Are Readers, that includes several strategies to prevent summer learning loss and build reading motivation. If you want summer reading to have a real impact: 

Connect kids with titles that match their interests and abilities and are books they choose to read or have read to them. Find out what they like or are curious about by asking lots of questions and waiting for and listening to kids’ answers. 

• If you need book recommendations, the free resources from Start with a Book build on what young children already like — dinosaurs, bugs, building, animals, sports, space, music and more — and provide fiction and nonfiction titles along with ideas for activities and suggestions to help get kids thinking, talking, creating and exploring.

• You’ll find similarly helpful recommendations for book titles and constructive conversations about themes with kid appeal in the Reading Road Maps featured on TRC’s Volunteer Central or in Read-Aloud summaries on this blog. Take cues from kids, then dive into topics like flatulence, superheroes, alligators or extreme weather.

Get books into kids’ hands. Kids need access to lots and lots of quality books that they can and want to read or have read to them. Do you spend your summer reading stuff you don’t want to? Don’t expect kids to either. 

• Children participating in TRC's Read-Aloud program choose a new book each time they attend a Read-Aloud. Families in the Book Club are also given a choice of books when they order each month. Get to know the titles that are available for ownership and what’s on the shelves of the reading corner so you can be knowledgeable whenever guidance is needed.

• The public library is also a great place to choose books for summer reading. Search subject headings in local library catalogs online or WorldCat to help kids find books they want to read.

• Remember that reading material doesn’t have to be a book. Magazines, comics and graphic novels may be a better match for kids’ reading abilities and interests.

Talk, talk and talk some more! Ask questions and guide conversations so you can gauge whether kids get what they are reading or listening to. Talking with kids about what they read is one of the best ways to help them learn to read and think critically.

• Talk as you would when you read aloud, with appropriate pauses, good inflection and enthusiasm. Practice turn taking in conversation and try not to answer kids’ questions until they have finished asking them.

• It can be tricky for kids (and adults) to take what they are thinking and put it into words. But this process leads to a deeper understanding. It takes practice, as does listening to the thoughts of others. Make time to talk and listen. 

As the days get hotter, summer reading might not be the first thing on kids’ minds. But get books in front of them, start reading and talking together and you’ll definitely make an impression with this old-fashioned way to beat the heat and fill long summer days.

Guest blog post by TRC Advisory Council member and Belle of the Book, Rachael Walker.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Breaking Rules: Better on Paper

While I was searching through Reading Road Maps on TRC’s Volunteer Central, looking for a theme, I came across Trouble Makers. It was perfect. My Read-Aloud team had been looking for a way to reinforce TRC’s Promises and reset expectations at the beginning of a new year.

I picked out a slew of great books, including one of my childhood favorites - Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Tales tells the story of 9-year-old Peter Hatcher, and more often than not, Peter’s mischievous younger brother – Fudge. Fudge is always causing trouble: destroying Peter’s homework, dumping food on the floor, cutting his own hair. All in all, Blume penned five books featuring Fudge and his antics (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-mania and Double Fudge).

Picking books was the easy part. When I began to plan an activity to reinforce the theme, I worried I had made the wrong decision. Columbia Grove readers are a large, enthusiastic, vocal bunch. An invitation to engage in troublemaking seemed like a recipe for disaster. Instead, I decided to have the kids write about Fudge doing something wild and crazy – rather than doing anything wild themselves. 

At the Read-Aloud, we used the TRC Promises (especially "RESPECT") as a way to introduce the theme and start a discussion about getting into trouble. In a large group, we read a chapter from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing where Fudge gets into all kinds of trouble. In small groups, we read other books about mischief from the Trouble Makers Reading Road Map as well as M is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children.

The kids were given a prompt and each wrote one sentence about something mischievous Fudge did on his first day of school. Their responses were wonderfully all over the place, with many (mostly those written by the boys) involving various bodily functions. We compiled their sentences, added a conclusion and bound the pages together into a "book": Fudge-a-Palooza.  

For kids who quickly finished writing their sentence, we had a word search waiting with synonyms for "trouble maker". And for a snack we served, appropriately, fudge.

The Columbia Grove Fudge story

That week, Columbia Grove readers had two things to sign. As always, they signed their new books to grow their identity as readers as well as their personal libraries. They also signed the title page of Fudge-a-Palooza and, hopefully, also began to identify as writers.

The kids showing off their Fudge book and their new books

Guest blog post written by TRC Read-Aloud volunteer, Erin MacKay.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Emergency Read-Aloud kit

Sometimes a structured, well-planned Read-Aloud just isn't possible. Unexpected things happen; volunteers get sick or stuck in traffic. 

If the volunteer with materials for your fantastic pre-planned Read-Aloud doesn't arrive, don’t panic. In a pinch, all you really need to conduct a Read-Aloud are some kids, some books and some fun. The key is to use what's on hand at your site and to conduct activities that require no preparation and few or no supplies.

Books

Give-away books
Flip the regular schedule on its head and let kids choose their give-away books first. Then read those books with the kids in small groups. If children choose a chapter book, read a little bit of it to give them a taste of the story. Talk with the kids about why they chose a book, what they think will happen in the story and what they think of the characters or topic.

Books in the Reading Corner
Explore the books on the shelves in the Read-Aloud room. Talk with the kids about which books they like and which books they don’t. Talk about ways the kids could use the books (for fun reading, for doing a school assignment, to recommend to a friend who lives at the site, etc.). Then read a few of the books the kids are excited about.


On-the-fly activities


Use on-hand craft supplies

• Make posters to decorate the Reading Corner. They could show what the kids like about the Read-Alouds or their favorite books. 
• Draw self-portraits or a scene from a book they've read or heard.
• Put out a variety of craft supplies that you find on site, such as construction paper, stickers, markers and crayons, etc,. and let the kids have unstructured creative time. 

 
Play get-to-know-you games

• Alike and different — put people in pairs (volunteers and kids, kids and kids, etc.) and let them talk for a little bit.  Ask them to figure out some things they have in common (both like dogs, both born in July) and some things that are different (different favorite colors or foods, different music, different eye color). Then encourage each pair to share what they've discovered about their partner with the group.
• Two truths and a lie -- ask the kids to think up three things about themselves. Two should be true and one made up. (For example: I like coconut. I was born in the summer. I have two brothers.) Then each kid, in turn, tells the group the three things and the group has to guess which one is the lie.

Play word games

• Start with one word and see how many rhyming words the kids can list.
• Do Madlibs as a large group, or in small groups and share the results. There's even a free Madlibs app that you can download and use. Some of TRC's Read-Aloud sites have Madlibs in their binder.
  

Explore your surroundings

• Be scientists or detectives. If you can take the kids outside, look for bugs, birds, plants, types of cars, colors, shapes or any category of items. Inside, have them observe the room for shapes, patterns, small items. Help the kids to make a list or draw pictures of what they find.  
• Ask the kids to close their eyes and listen carefully — what do they hear? If there aren’t a lot of ambient noises, make some by moving a chair, shaking your keys, zipping a coat, opening a cabinet. Ask the kids to guess what the sounds are. You can also play an immense variety of sounds from the BBC stimulus sound library.
• Play I SPY or I HEAR (“I spy with my little eye something that is round.” Or “I hear with my little ear something that sounds squeaky.")

Get up and move

• Do yoga
• Have a dance party using music from your phone or Youtube.  If you have or can find a variety of genres of music, have the kids adapt their dancing to the type of music.
• Use a watch to time activities, such as standing on one leg, jumping jacks or wall sits.
• Do a unified movement activity, like Tootie-Ta or Bananas Unite. 

Play games

• Charades
• Telephone
• I Spy/I Hear
• I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring…
• Simon Says
• Musical Chairs
• Red Light, Green Light

The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, but fun and meaningful experiences with books can still happen at your Read-Aloud, even without your theme materials. As long as kids are hearing books read aloud. talking with you about books and get to choose a book to keep, you've accomplished your goal. And the extra good news is that you already have a Read-Aloud planned for next time!

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Moved By Books

For years, I tried to follow parenting advice that suggested setting up a homework area. Nearly everything I read advised creating a comfortable, well-lit and well-supplied desk or table and chair. So we set up several spots around the house that could work well. But every day I’d instead find my two boys sprawled on the floor with their books and homework.

I objected at first and my insistence on working at the desk resulted in many homework battles. Then I finally realized they’ve been sitting at a desk all day! Of course they want to stretch out and be in control of how to position their bodies for a change. Homework gets done around here much more smoothly now. You just have to watch where you step.

Not sitting is good for you. Educators and scientists have noted the benefits of movement for years. When you sit still for long periods, the blood and oxygen flow to your brain significantly slows down. This slows down learning too. Do you remember your teacher reading aloud to your class after recess? There was a reason she picked that time of day to read. Your blood was moving and you were ready to listen and learn.

There lots of ways you can marry movement with reading and learning experiences. Remember, the best experience with a book is interactive and fun! Lessen expectations of quiet, rapt focus and:

Energize! An energizer activity can wake up drowsy kids and reduce restlessness among others. Energizers are like warm ups and stretches in exercise. You might start a Read-Aloud session with a movement activity to get everyone focused and ready, you might need it during reading should listeners become restless or you simply might want to add movement to help reinforce or emphasize an idea or concept.

Your energizing movement activity could be something as simple as marching in place or freezing dancing or singing an action song. You can also connect it to themes or concepts in books you are reading, like having everyone pretend to swim when reading about the ocean.

If you need a demonstration of how quick movement activities work, Responsive Classroom has a great energizers video playlist. 

Move! Shift around to keep things interesting. Enhance spatial learning just by moving to a different spot in the room or having kids switch places to give kids a new spatial reference. This repositioning can be subtle—Let’s move to the window so we can have better light—or deliberate—Everyone switch places with the person sitting across from you—and is useful for transitioning from title to title or to other activities.

Read! You can take nearly any book and make it move. Kids can act out parts of the story as you read or do an action to imitate a character or repeated event. There are also tons of predictive and repetitive text titles that have things for kids to do built right in:

Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kaplan. Kids jump like a frog every time you read “Jump, frog, jump!”

The Bridge Is Up! by Babs Bell. Whenever you repeat the refrain of "the bridge...is...UP!" kids throw their arms up in the air.

Tyson the Terrible by Diane and Christyan Fox. Have kids stomp their feet to mimic the sound of Tyson’s booming footsteps. 

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. Kids chug their arms like train wheels and join the refrain "I think I can! I think I can!"

Croaky Pokey! by Ethan Long. Everyone can sing and dance along!









Some movements are best saved for after you finish the book. It is great fun to zoom around the room like an airplane or pretend to inch along like a caterpillar, form a cocoon then burst forward as a beautiful butterfly. Or, after a first reading of a book, read it again and ask kids to come up with actions for words and characters for a second reading. For example, in Candace Fleming’s Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! kids might pretend to eat carrots and rub their satisfied tummies every time the rabbits enjoy the farmer’s veggies.



If the idea of having kids acts out words, dance along with the rhythm of a poem or imitate an animal sounds like it could get a little chaotic, well, it might! But making a child sit perfectly still will take more of your time and energy and create unwanted behavior problems. And if a child equates reading with something uncomfortable, like being forced to sit still, he’s not going to fall in love with books anytime soon.

So let’s get moving and reading!

Guest blog post by TRC Advisory Council member and Belle of the Book, Rachael Walker.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Join us for Of Wine & Words!

Each year, we invite our supporters and friends to join us at Of Wine & Words to raise funds and celebrate TRC’s accomplishments. If you have attended in the past, you know it's a great party. You can buy your tickets here!

Join us on Friday, April 24, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. at the Jones Day Rooftop Terrace. Jones Day is located near the Capitol and Union Station and its seventh-floor ballroom offers spectacular views of the Capitol. 

Doreen Gentzler, from the NBC4 News, returns for her third year as emcee. 

Drinks will flow from these great local providers:

• Arrowine
• Lost Rhino Brewing Company
• Dogfish Head Brewing Company
• Catoctin Creek Distillery

Food will be provided by the following restaurants:

• Bar Civita
• Catering by LT
• Dogfish Head Alehouse
• Dogwood Tavern
• Four Sisters Grill and Restaurant
• Lebanese Taverna
• Ragtime
• Rhodeside Bar and Grill
• SER Restaurant
• Village Sweet
• William Jeffrey's Tavern

As volunteers whose participation is, and always has been, central to our programs and history, we hope you'll come and enjoy this evening with us. Tickets for volunteers are $50. Volunteers can buy two tickets at this price. General admission tickets are $125. Purchase your tickets here.

If you can't join us at Of Wine & Words, consider supporting The Reading Connection during Spring2Action a online day of giving on April 22.  Help TRC reach our goal of raising $5,000 and benefit from a matching grant offered by the Mason Hirst Foundation.


This year Of Wine & Words is supported by these wonderful sponsors.

Platinum Sponsors: Berkeley Research Group, Jones Day and CBRE. 

Gold Sponsors: Acumen Solutions, Anna Epstein, Buckley/Sandler LLP, Greenfield/Belser Ltd., Hellerman Baretz Communications LLC, Hunton & Williams LLP, Integrated Systems Solutions Inc., Tradition Homes, Tradition Renovations and Westland Printers.

Silver Sponsors: 3wilders of McEnearney Associates Realtors, CEB, McGinn and Company, and the Northern Virginia Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi.

Bronze Sponsors: Arlington Home Interiors, BB&T, Jay E. Reiner, CPA, Jones & McIntyre PLLC, Jim Gibney of Lincoln Financial Group and Patty Harris of Washington Fine Properties LLC.

Media Sponsor: Arlington Magazine