American Girl Author Helps MyLMNOP Celebrate Week of the Young Child

MyLMNOP interviews American Girl Author, Denise Lewis Patrick on Blogtalk Radio

Click here & watch the video detailing the back story of this historical American Girl collaboration!!

Thank you visitors, for joining Denise Lewis Patrick & MyLMNOP in a week long celebration of, NAEYC's Week of the Young Child.  The week of the young child was created by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) to recognize quality early learning centers providing premium engagement in early childcare and in early childhood education.

Helping me to kick-start our week is renown author, Denise Lewis Patrick!  Denise has authored and published over thirty books, including her first picture book, Red Dancing Shoes, her award winning book, Midnight Son, and the newest addition to the American Girl  series, Meet Cecile.  (video)

Denise is from my hometown of Natchitoches, Louisiana and graciously consented to share her journey in this history making project with the American Girl franchise.  Enough from me.  Let's hear all about it from Denise herself.  Click on the blogtalkradio play arrow and let the learning began!

Be sure to stay for the end, as Denise delivers a special treat for you lovers of poetry.

 American Girl__Meet Cecile

American Girl__Cecile's Gift

Here is how the rest of the week's celebration will line up:

4/24     Hometown Author:                
            Barbara Drawhorn author of Maddie, "Waaa"!

4/25    TBA

4/26     Phyllis, the Groundhog is on the Move Again!
            photo engagement of Phyllis and the kids from
            Legacy Academy and Little Scholars Academy
            in Atlanta, Ga.

4/27      MyLMNOP's favorite children's poem from the
             April A to Z Poetry Challenge
             sponsored by Rena Traxel.

       

Phyllis Does it Again! This Time in Georgia!

Phyllis' World Tour

 "Boy, oh boy,  Ms. Pam!  I see why this city is called, HotLanta!"  exclaimed Phyllis.   It was a humid 80 degrees when the weather predicting groundhog arrived in Atlanta, Ga.   

Author, Susanna Leonard Hill, scheduled a world tour for her latest book,  April Fool, Phyllis!  Due to (ahem) technical difficulties, (cell phone dropped in toilet during the class' potty time) many of our photo engagements did not survive.  Phyllis tried to help in retrieving the pictures, but thought her talents were best suited for predicting snowstorms.  However, the remaining photos show what an amazing time Phyllis had visiting the Peach State!

Phyllis is a Peach

You're Peachy Keen, Phyllis!

Phyllis arrived at Little Scholars Academy on Monday, March 26th at 10:30a.m.  The children at Little Scholars were so excited! Phyllis read the enclosed message & riddle Susanna had written to them.  There were giggles and squeals, and the children began hugging each other.  Phyllis loved that particular spontaneous response from the children.

After a long day of fun everyone was tuckered out!

"I'm gonna be a really good rester for naptime."  says Alayna.  "Does that mean you'd like to rest with Phyllis?  asked Ms. Stephanie.

Tayla Takes Phyllis Site Seeing!

Hi, Susanna!  My name is Tayla.  I took Phyllis to visit the Martin Luther King Center.  I've been before, but Phyllis said it was her first visit. We took this picture beneath a picture of Dr. King and his little girl.  I told Phyllis that Dr. King was a civil rights leader.  He spent his life working for fairness for everyone.







Here we are in front of a statue of Gandhi.  Dr. King and Gandhi believed in non-violence to gain justice for everyone. Dr. King was given a special award called the Nobel Peace Prize.  Dr. King called Gandhi his mentor.  Many thought Gandhi should have received the Nobel Peace Prize but he never did.

This is called The Reflecting Pool.  This is where Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta Scott King are buried.  We have some books that have a Coretta Scott King Award in our Pre-K class.








Susanna, here we are in front of a picture of Rosa Parks. She became a famous person in the Civil Rights Movement too.  We read about her in class. She was very brave.

                                                                                                                                                                              

     

The next day, Mommy treated me and Phyllis to pancakes at IHOP.  We had a HUGE breakfast.  Mommy said she could never get her pancakes to come out that yummy looking.  "How did you know I like pancakes?"  asked Phyllis.

 

We had such fun with Phyllis!  I hope everyone enjoys reading about our time together.  That's all for now.  Susanna Leonard Hill, thank you for sharing your friend, Phyllis, with us!

My Process__My Journey

My Process with MyLMNOP, must begin by unpacking My Journey from its inception:  

I’ve always loved words.  My earliest memory of this relationship can be traced back to a specific summer day.  In rural Louisiana, the front porch was the hub of family activity.  We would gather round my mother’s feet while she read from the  Natchitoches Times. “Yall, listen to this word, Antidisestablishmentarianism.”  Honestly, I think we (including my mom) repeated that word the entire summer.  My grandmother would read aloud from the Farmer’s Almanac (Do people read from the almanac, anymore?  Do people even know what a Farmer’s Almanac is?)   I digress.  There, she found her daily bible verse and that too became a read aloud session for us kids.

  

As the oldest child, I entertained my younger siblings by reading to them.  I’d sit on our green, paisley chair and my siblings sat crossed leg on the shag while I read, The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe.  It was one of our favorites.  We did not understand many of the words.  Yet, we were affected by the mood of the poem.  There was a sorrow being shared.  Of what, we did not know.  Not at first. Some time back, our  Tante’ Lula had warned us about ravens.  "They were a sign."  Being from the rural south,  signs or superstitions are taken seriously.  Tante’ called them isms:  “Quote the Raven, Nevermore!”  Nevermore!  So that was the sorrow being shared__Death. This ism  took on a whole new meaning for us and we read that poem quite often.  Holding up our cassette player to the television, we once taped the music of the soap opera, The Dark Shadows.  The music from our cassette player lent itself perfectly.  Now, we were a very musical group.  So of course we even made up a song that we sang before reading.  We couldn't go outside while our parents were at work, so we had a lot of time on our hands, yall: 

It was a cold dark night when the black bird came     

He was very very still on our picture frame.  

We said go away bird, go away from my door.  

And the bird said back Nevermore, Nevermore.  

The bird just said back nevermore.  

 Hey, we were in elementary school! Crude but effective__ for us (smile). 

 Cut to me thirty years later.   I still sit in front of a group of eager listeners, who all sit criss cross apple sauce.   I still look for music that will aid in expanding conscious thinking in my early learners. I still make up songs and even use background music to enhance a story.  Just as it did for my siblings and I that special summer, music seems to fine tune the absorption of abstract concepts.  For example, I used the music from A Winter Solstice as background for the reading of, The Tree in the Ancient Forest.  It lent a sense of mystery to the reading.  The children at Legacy Academy  at Camp Creek in Atlanta, Ga., LOVED it! I love to hear stories from the teachers about parents asking about this book and the music Ms. Pam plays with it. Their children are demanding that their parents read the story with Ms. Pam's music.  I love it! This book proved to be a great home/school connection tool.    Additionally, Christopher Canyon's beautiful illustrations allowed students to apply newly introduced vocabulary (predator, prey, ancient, and although not specifically mentioned in the book, dependent) in their discussions during our literacy & music session. Enhancing expressive language through music and literacy is easily achieved.  The use of complex, low frequency words become second nature to early learner if presented in a manner that engages effectively. Well written and illustrated picture books allows for just such an engagement.  Audrey and Dan Wood allowed us to examine synonyms in, The Napping House.  The repetitive and lyrical lines in this book, allowed for the students' recall of descriptive words used for the characters. This book's wording and brilliant illustrations blend seamlessly. This story was a great tool for sequencing as well.  My students had no idea they were learning about synonyms and adjectives. There are many language activities that can be extracted from this story.  All of these examples show that picture books are amazing tools.

For World Read Aloud Day ,   The children at  Legacy Academy explored various habitats that allowed creatures to hide from predators and prey and "become part of what we see" in Phyllis Tildes',  Animals in 
Camouflage.   To expand our learning, McMillan's Sing and Learn, "Animals that Camouflage" was a perfect partner for our dramatic play activity.  The children would peek out from their hiding and whisper "I'm hiding, I'm hiding, you can't see me, you can't see me."  I use McMillan Sing and Learn as my go to music library.  There's a song for every theme.  Again, vocabulary and expressive language development were at the forefront of planning.  The dramatic play activity encouraged active conversation as we learned the meaning of:  Camouflage, habitat, arctic, grassland, and rainforest.  We revisited the terms predator and prey in this session as well. 

“Quote the Raven, Nevermore!”  These four words from my childhood became part of a series of events that set me on my current path to create MyLMNOP__the building blocks of Literacy.  The building blocks used in my program are:  Literature - Music - Naming - Oral Language - Phonemic Awareness and Picture Imaging.  These building blocks are used to assess what the students already know and knowledge gained during the literacy session.  Promoting skills of comprehension with early learners increases vocabulary, a sense of self-regard, and confidence. Children that begin the session shy and withdrawn become fully engaged.  Their enthusiasm and excitement gives them an "I Can" sensibility.  I've seen it time and time again.  Good books opens up more than a world of wonder.  Good books build a foundation for strong language skills that is empowering.  That is why I love what I do.

I've only recently created my blog and am still learning the process.  However, my intent is to use this blog as a teacher's lounge for early childhood educators.  Here, I'll share my literacy lesson plans accompanied by photos, videos, suggested and reading material.  The feedback from my early learners continue to motivate and inspire me to bring them the best in children's literature and I am having a ball!   

I'd like to thank Terry Doherty of Share A Story/ Shape A Future for allowing me to share my story on this year's literacy blog tour.  I've learned so much and the posts have been a tremendous resource.  Thank you very much.

Here's To Sharing

 

My love and excitement for children's literature has brought MyLMNOP to the attention of  Terry Doherty.  Terry is a collaborator on the blog,  Share A Story/ Shape A Future.  SaS has asked MyLMNOP to participate in their annual literacy blog tour!  EXCITED!!  For four years, these kindreds of children's literature have used the power of the web to promote and display the talents, skills, and knowledge of kidlit enthusiasts.  This venue brings together creative thinkers who share ideas, opinions, and strategies on how to effectively create an environment that inspire wonder, promote questioning, and encourage exploration in readers!  This year's theme focuses on The Culture of Reading.  The tour runs March 5 - 9.  

Here's what other participants are sharing.  Please drop by each of these blogs and immerse yourself in the excitement of this event!  

The Culture of Reading

Mon, 5 Mar: Creating a reading culture
host: Donalyn Miller @ The Book Whisperer

Tue, 6 Mar: Reading as a passport to other worlds / cultures
host: Carol Rasco @ Rasco from RIF

Wed, 7 Mar: Understanding Readers
host: Terry Doherty @ Family Bookshelf

Thu, 8 Mar: A Reading Universe
host: Terry Doherty @ Share a Story

Fri, 9 Mar: Dear Reader ...
host: Share a Story blog


This annual lit tour has proven an amazing vehicle in bringing together those working to build a generation of avid readers.  I am proud to be asked to join in spreading the good news about children and their energetic engagement in literature.  Again, on Thursday, March 8th, look for my post on  Share A Story/ Shape A Future entitled MyLMNOP__My Process My Journey.

This lit tour coincides with another great event of which the students at Legacy Academy  (one of my ECE__Early Childhood Education facilities) will participate:

World Read Aloud Day is only two days away! If you'd like to participate, go here
for fun activities and other fun downloadables.  Wait, is downloadable a word?  I have shared with my early learners at Legacy Academy  about being a guest on Share A Story/ Shape A Future  as well as our participation in .  They are excited and even want to start their own blog!  How wonderful is that!  Legacy Academy and MyLMNOP are excited and eager to share a look into how our enthusiasts engage in this literacy program. My blog post will be featured here and on Share A Story/ Shape A Future.  Additionally, I'll post photos of our World Read Aloud activities.  I hope to have you come by and take a look.  We'll have a video, pictures, and testimonials from Legacy Academy and share how  MyLMNOPers have fun with reading!

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

February 6th, was my blog's inaugural.   I wasn't expecting company on my site.  Not right away.  So I clicked "publish" and at first, all was quiet.  Then, about a half hour later...I had visitors!  I was elated!  I had three comments, and one, count 'em, one follower already!   A big thank you to my first follower, Cheryl Velasquez. Cheryl is a second grade teacher and loves children's literature.  For Black History month, Cheryl shared with her students an amazing, true story about The Underground Railroad.  The book is  entitled, Henry's Freedom Box.  A story about a  runaway slave, who mails himself from Virgina to Pennsylvania in a wooden box. Visit this site:  Cheryl Velasquez and view the exciting trailer.

Having my first visitor so soon wasn't all that happened on February 6th. When what to my wondering eyes did appear; twas the Liebster Award from Margaret!  Yaaay!  Cheer!  You like me! It was my honor to receive this award from Margaret G.  Margaret aspires to be a children's author and is a self-proclaimed Left Brainer with strong, creative sensibilities (I love that word, sensibilities) as evident by her blog. Take a look at her blog:   Margaret G.  I visited Margaret's blog, and copied a quote she posted:

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words all being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” –  

Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Literature, 1980

How lovely is that?  Margaret also started a great post on 12x12 entitled :  Which children's book inspired you to be a picture book writer? There were lots of familiar stories listed.  I thought I'd share a childhood experience that I'm pretty sure set me on my present course.

SQUASHING "FEARS"

  Oh the HORROR!! 

Deciding to create and start a blog was, IS scary! I felt, feel Naked.  Who am I?  What do I have to offer?  My thoughts ran a muck.  What will I say?  How do I begin?  Will anyone visit?   Just asking myself those questions gave me butterflies (maybe it was low blood sugar).  My nose ran, and my skin began to sag (oh wait, the sagging was already going on).  Anyway,  I didn't want to look, well__stupid.  

You know what?  If allowed, Fear can be an abusive captor!  Being held hostage by fear IS, well__stupid!  As the kids say, "Squash It!"  So I dove into the deep end.  I used those piles of excuses, that were rolled up in procrastination and wrapped in fear to stand on.  I courageously returned to the surface.  Before I had a chance to dry, I created a twitter page, joined LinkedIn, participated in webinars, and found support in places I never knew existed.  My cup runneth over.    

So come in!  Grab a handful of thin mints, or somoas, scroll down to my bookshelf, and read how I used some of my favorite books to engage early learners in my literacy program.  I'll soon have videos to give you a peek into MyLMNOP of Literacy.  I'm still figuring this stuff out.  It took me a month to add the 12x12in12 badge but I did it!  Yay me!  I'll be patting myself (and you too) on the back frequently.