Welcome to Italian week! We started our week with a flight to Italy. Each student had their own passport and a boarding pass. Each child had a seat on the “plane”, our flight attendant and captain shared a safety video and facts about Italy. When the children arrived to Italy, they were all given cameras … More PASTA PLEASE! By Melvin Berger
Did you know that even a wordless book helps a preschooler learn? I love wordless books—there is something so satisfying about simply taking in beautiful illustrations. When we read wordless books with young children, they are still following a story, but they are creating it in their own minds. Some children already have the words … More THE SNOWMAN by Raymond Briggs
We are a play-based school. Sometimes I have to remind myself how important play is. This book is a lovely reminder. “Play-based learning is crucial in early childhood because it fosters cognitive, social, and emotional development through natural exploration and creativity. It enhances problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, while also helping children develop essential social … More NOT-A-BOX-CITY by Antoinette Portis
Bonjour! For French week, what better book than the classic Madeline? A Caldecott Honor Book from 1940! The rhymes are wonderful. The older children were thrilled to point them out to me. Notre Dame and The Luxembourg Gardens: I will give you once guess why the children rolled around laughing after I read this page. How our … More MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelmans
This is an old Brothers Grimm story that highlights helping, giving and receiving. Our vocabulary word. What a great word, and to hear the children (at least try to) say it is priceless. Which shoes do you want? Elves! Giving AND receiving, both make us happy. Are the elves going to your house? On the … More THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER by Jim LaMarche … More THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER by Jim LaMarche
A few months ago, I asked my director if she would consider “flying” the children at our school to Paris, because I had this cute book about Paris that I wanted to read. (When she she taught, she would usually take a “trip” somewhere with her children). She said yes! In my mind I had … More EVERYBODY BONJOURS by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Sarah McMenemy
This book was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1986. A bathtub be can such a wonderful place of play and imagination for children, and this book reminds us of that. I love the illustrations. Before we even start the story, we can see the outside of the castle and the King bathing. I love how … More KING BIDGOOD’S IN THE BATHTUB by Audrey Wood, Illustrated by Don Wood
After we read the story, we had a lot of fun pretending to be Goldilocks and The Three Bears, acting out the story. Experts say that play based learning is the fastest way our little ones learn. This is a perfect example. The children are having so much fun, and have no idea how much … More THE THREE BEARS by Paul Galdone
It is early January, so there is still hope for some snow here. It has not snowed here in years, so many of the children have never even seen snow. It is a good thing we have books and our imaginations! We put on our coats, boots, hats, gloves and scarves and took our magic … More THE SNOWY DAY by Anna Milbourne, illustrated by Elena Temporin
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” ― Albert Einstein This book is a simple reminder that books can take us anywhere and teach us. I love thinking about the … More I LOVE MY LITTLE STORYBOOK by Anita Jeram
We are so lucky that we have had such a beautiful spring! It sure helps when you can get outside. I wonder if your life has been a little like mine – interruptions every 10 minutes (what was I doing again?), “Mom, what’s for dinner? When is it going to be ready?”. It seems the … More Get outside!