Milk and Bookies
January 2017
Children and books go together like milk and cookies – and on a Thursday evening in December 8 we brought them ALL together.
This year we launched a new event in conjunction with our Book Fair, – “Milk and Bookies.”
Children and their parents gathered for a full rich story time. We used the opportunity to expose our parents to all the different ways that children can be encouraged to engage with literature. There were Big Books, little books, finger plays, puppets, songs and chants. Everyone connected with the stories and were excited when one of the finger plays came alive and everyone received a free gift.
As children are read to, they expand their listening skills, enrich their vocabulary and learn to make connections with the text. We modeled an interactive technique known as dialogic reading. In this method, as adults read they prompt children with questions and engage them in discussions.
Humor, silliness, enthusiasm and excitement are all part of the read-aloud experience and were modeled as well. A fun-filled puppet show with different kitchen utensils got everyone prepared for Chanukah and the fun of latke making.
Parents received a series of handouts with tips to maximize the read-aloud experience, the advantages of doing finger plays, and steps to supporting their children in picking out books to read. There was also documentation of the various ways we include books in our learning at the ECC.
When the stories were over, everyone got some authentic milk and cookies. With all the positive energy created around reading, it was natural for the families to go right into the Book Fair and purchase books for their friends and family.
This fabulous evening was great for our children and contained a lot of parent education as well.
Most of all, it brought us together as a learning community – one of the hallmarks of our school.
