Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
I’m embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read this book until yesterday as I was reading it thru to prepare for Pre-K reading today. This is one of those books that I enjoy more with each reading. And the kids love it! I think it really captures their imagination.
A fellow (and much more experienced) Pre-K reader had suggested it to me as a great book to practice ABCs. The reason I asked her advice about this was because it’s the beginning of their Pre-K school year and this is a topic that the kids are really interested in. Perhaps they feel it’s one they can really master. One little girl that I read with last week was so fascinated by the letter “A” that this was one of only two words she spoke with me (the other was “mommy” - awww, I know, right?!). The children have been writing their name with me too. I was surprised how much they enjoyed learning their letters.
After reading the book, I did an activity with them. I’m relatively new at this but I’m realizing quickly that incorporating an activity with a book can make it so much more engaging and easier to keep the children’s attention, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, I introduced a “mystery bag” today (small drawstring bag). I told them that they never know what they might find inside my mystery bag. The kids were intrigued. I bought small felt letters at my local art supply store and put them in my mystery bag. Each child would reach in and select one item (in this case a letter). “What did you get?”, I would ask. They would name the letter if they could. And then we would think of words that begin with that letter. The kids really seemed to enjoy this.
* Kudos to my Pre-K reading mentor, Sara T., for recommending Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and for telling me about the magic of using a mystery bag. She has been such an inspiration to me!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read this book until yesterday as I was reading it thru to prepare for Pre-K reading today. This is one of those books that I enjoy more with each reading. And the kids love it! I think it really captures their imagination.
A fellow (and much more experienced) Pre-K reader had suggested it to me as a great book to practice ABCs. The reason I asked her advice about this was because it’s the beginning of their Pre-K school year and this is a topic that the kids are really interested in. Perhaps they feel it’s one they can really master. One little girl that I read with last week was so fascinated by the letter “A” that this was one of only two words she spoke with me (the other was “mommy” - awww, I know, right?!). The children have been writing their name with me too. I was surprised how much they enjoyed learning their letters.
After reading the book, I did an activity with them. I’m relatively new at this but I’m realizing quickly that incorporating an activity with a book can make it so much more engaging and easier to keep the children’s attention, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, I introduced a “mystery bag” today (small drawstring bag). I told them that they never know what they might find inside my mystery bag. The kids were intrigued. I bought small felt letters at my local art supply store and put them in my mystery bag. Each child would reach in and select one item (in this case a letter). “What did you get?”, I would ask. They would name the letter if they could. And then we would think of words that begin with that letter. The kids really seemed to enjoy this.
* Kudos to my Pre-K reading mentor, Sara T., for recommending Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and for telling me about the magic of using a mystery bag. She has been such an inspiration to me!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read this book until yesterday as I was reading it thru to prepare for Pre-K reading today. This is one of those books that I enjoy more with each reading. And the kids love it! I think it really captures their imagination.
A fellow (and much more experienced) Pre-K reader had suggested it to me as a great book to practice ABCs. The reason I asked her advice about this was because it’s the beginning of their Pre-K school year and this is a topic that the kids are really interested in. Perhaps they feel it’s one they can really master. One little girl that I read with last week was so fascinated by the letter “A” that this was one of only two words she spoke with me (the other was “mommy” - awww, I know, right?!). The children have been writing their name with me too. I was surprised how much they enjoyed learning their letters.
After reading the book, I did an activity with them. I’m relatively new at this but I’m realizing quickly that incorporating an activity with a book can make it so much more engaging and easier to keep the children’s attention, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, I introduced a “mystery bag” today (small drawstring bag). I told them that they never know what they might find inside my mystery bag. The kids were intrigued. I bought small felt letters at my local art supply store and put them in my mystery bag. Each child would reach in and select one item (in this case a letter). “What did you get?”, I would ask. They would name the letter if they could. And then we would think of words that begin with that letter. The kids really seemed to enjoy this.
* Kudos to my Pre-K reading mentor, Sara T., for recommending Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and for telling me about the magic of using a mystery bag. She has been such an inspiration to me!