Parent Child Reading

Classification with Growing Vegetable Soup

Lois Ehlert's book, Growing Vegetable Soup, offers opportunities to practice classification skills. This means learning to sort and group items based on particular attributes.  Classification is a skill that helps in reading, math, and science. 

Here's how Megan(age 2) and I practiced this skill together:

When we got to the page that says, "We are planting the seeds," I stopped and said, "Look!  This person is planting many types of seeds. (I pointed at each seed)  They are in different sizes, shapes, and colors."  Then I asked Megan the following questions:

• Which seed(s) are shaped like a circle?  (She pointed to the pea seed.)  I then expanded on this and said, "Yes, that is a pea seed, and it is round."
• Where is the smallest seed? (Megan pointed to the corn seed.)  I said, " I see some seeds smaller than the corn seed.  Do you see them?"  (She then pointed to the zuccini seed.) "What about these(carrot) seeds?", I said, while pointing at the carrot seeds.  They are so tiny they are hard to see."
• Which seed is purple?
• Which seed has the colors from the candy corn you ate earlier? (The reason I asked this question was to connect something in the book with prior knowledge.  Good readers do this skill naturally, and it helps to model this with young children.)  When Megan pointed at the corn seed, I said, "Yes, the corn seed has the same colors as candy corn!" 

What other classification questions have you come up with as you read this book?

Another multisensory way to classify using this book would be to gather a number of different vegetables and have your child feel them, smell them, taste them, etc., and then have them sort them by moving them into various groups, such as:

• Which vegetables are rough? 
• Which vegetables are smooth? 
• Sort the vegetables into two groups:  green vegetables and orange vegetables
• Sort the vegetables by where they grow: underground, root vegetables in one group, and vegetables that grow on vines or plants in another group.

The ways to sort are endless!  If your child gets the hang of this, then have him choose how he would like to sort the vegetables.  Then, after he has sorted them, ask him the categories he used in his sorting. 

I used to do lots of sorting activities when I was teaching, and the kids oftentimes would come up with new sorting criteria that was well thought out and not something I would ever have thought to ask.  If you try this activity, let me know what clever sorts your child comes up with!

Growing Vegetable Soup-setting a reading purpose

Oftentimes when adults look at a new book and read the title, they naturally think about what the book might be about.  Children need to be taught this skill. 

Today I asked Megan(age2), "The title is Growing Vegetable Soup.  That's silly!  You can't grow vegetable soup!  We can't walk out to the garden and pick a bowl of soup off of a plant!  How DO you grow vegetable soup?"

Megan answered, "On a stove!"

"If you were to make vegetable soup, what vegetables would you put in it?" I asked.

"carrots, peanut butter, celery..."

"Carrots and celery are vegetables.  If it is going to be soup, what will it need besides the vegetables? " I asked.

" ummmm"

"What will it need to make the soup a liquid, or something you can drink?"

" I like to put peanut butter in there."

"Peanut butter is not a liquid.  Do you think the soup needs some water?" I asked. 

(She nodded her head.)

Notice that after she listed the ingredients, I repeated back to her the portion of her answer that were vegetables.  It was a way of affirming what she said while saying that peanut butter is not a vegetable.   Also, when she didn't understand  what a liquid was, I told her, and then helped her along with the answer. 

Then I said, "Let's read the book to find out how they grow vegetable soup."

I didn't ask Megan this, but you could also talk about the tomato on the cover.

When you read this book with your child, ask them how you can grow vegetable soup.  I look forward to hearing the answers your children give!

Botany and Classification with Leaf Man

Leaf Man is a wonderful book to launch a study of different types of trees and their leaves.  Lois Ehlert has several pages of leaves labeled by the name of the tree they come from.  These pages can be found on the inside covers and title page. 

I strongly believe that connecting a storybook, such as Leaf Man, with informational books to greatly enhance both books.  In addition, conversations can become more detailed; which in turn more greatly enhances your child's vocabulary skills. 

Take some time to gather leaves this Autumn, and then help your child figure out what trees they came from using the labeled pages and/or an informational book.  An informational book is also called a trade book or non-fiction book.  Another fun thing to do with your collected leaves is to have your child sort them by shapes, colors, textures, etc.

Leaf Man: We made a collage!

My daughter and I collected some leaves a few days ago at our local botanical gardens.  It was a beautiful 80 degree day.  Megan had lots of fun putting together her leaf man! I have been trying for days to post some photos of our day and her leaf man collage. but I cannot get my photos to go into my posting.  I have tried everything the help menus have told me.  Do any of you out there have any tricks?  I am new to blogging, and the only pictures I have been able to get my blogging platform to accept are book cover pictures.  I would love to show you all my photos!

Making Your Own Collage

Now that you have talked about the leaf collages in Leaf Man, your child might find it fun to make his or her own collage.  The simplest way, of course, would be to collect leaves and glue them on paper as they are.  There are many ways of preserving leaves that would make the project longer lasting.  The following site lists many different ways of preserving leaves:  http://gardening.about.com/od/craftsanddecor/ss/Preserve_Leaves.htm

My daughter and I are going to our local botanical gardens today. We will start looking for leaves for our collage.  If you and your child make a collage, let us know how it turned out!  I will fill you in on our project.  I realize leaves change color at different times around the country, so send your results in whenever you get your collage completed, whether it be today or in a month.

Leaf Man: Using expansion techniques in read-alouds

Lois Ehlert's Leaf Man is a wonderfully innovative book.  All of the illustrations are made out of leaf collages.  Ask your child how they think the pictures were made.  I have gotten answers as simple as "leaves", and also, "A bunch of leaves were glued together."  If you are reading to your baby or pre-talking toddler, still ask them the question.  Then, pause as if you expect them to answer.  Finally, you can give them the answer.  It is important that even when reading to a child that cannot answer yet that you talk to them as if they can answer.  It teaches them how conversation works, and also gives them the expectation that they will be talking eventually. 

Chances are your young child will not use the word "collage", but you should do so.  After their answer, say, " Yes, she did use leaves.  When a person glues a bunch of items together to make a picture or work of art, it is called a collage."  By explaining a new word, you are adding to their vocabulary.  This sort of technique is a good habit to use whenever you are reading aloud.  Expand on the answer they give you by using more advanced vocabulary.

Lois Ehlert

Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite picture book authors/illustrators.  I think she does an astounding job with her books.  I like many features of her books:

• bright, bold, illustrations- many of which are collages
• word labels by pictures
• very large, bold print- ideal for tracking, or running your fingers, under the words as you read
• many of her books have scientific information at the end that tells more about the topic of the story

For a little while I will be highlighting two of her harvest/autumn books: 

Growing Vegetable Soup

Leaf Man

For in-depth book reviews of Leaf Man and another one of her Autumn books, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, check out a recent posting at the BooksForKids blog.  The blog Open Wide, Look Inside recently published both an excellent review for Growing Vegetable Soup as well as links to other sites with extension activities to go along with this book. 

On this blog, I will be talking about some read-aloud ideas using these two books.

A few years ago, I got to meet Lois Ehlert in person and hear her talk about the making of Leaf Man.  She said that when she was making the book, she had all of her relatives and friends gather the leaves that she used in the illustrations of her book. The illustrations are composed of fall leaves.  For a long time, she intently studied all of the leaves she saw as potential parts of illustrations!

Lois Ehlert is such a favorite of mine, and I believe has such excellent books for young children, that I am sure you will be learning about more of her books over time.  If you want to hear a video interview of her talking about her early interest in art and her books, check out this Reading Rockets link:  http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/ehlert. 

What are some of your favorite Lois Ehlert books?

Animal sounds with Moo, Baa, La, La, La

My kids and I have read Moo, Baa, La, La, La so often that we have it memorized.   This is a great book for learning animal sounds.  Pause when you get to each animal sound, and let your child say the animal sounds when they are able.  It allows your child to participate in the reading of the book. 

Megan(age 2) cracks me up at the point where the text says, "No, no, no, that's not right." She shakes her hand back and forth in a humorous way.  It took me a couple of times to realize that I had always read it that way, so she felt she had to add the hand motions when I forgot to do so.

Being a short book, it is a good one to try to memorize.  Sometimes Megan wants to hear it again when I am putting her to bed, and the book cannot be found at the moment.  So, I cuddle her, look into her eyes, and recite the book from memory. Tons of benefits come from reading with your child, but a very important emotional benefit is the strong bonding that occurs during shared reading sessions.   

Moo, Baa, La, La, La

Moo, Baa, La, La, La  teaches young children a lot of animal sounds.  Older kids who read it still like it because of the humor and funny illustrations.  In the book, Boynton's text is pretty straightforward and accurate:

"A cow says moo.  A sheep says baa."

Then, all of a sudden, "Three singing pigs say La La La!"   I like to sing this line of the book.  Kids find it hilarious!  After this page, the error is corrected, and several other animals and the sounds they make are talked about.  In the end, all of the animals are looking at you, the reader, and the text reads:

"It's quiet now.  What do YOU say?"

Whenever I read this book to my kids, I pause here and wait for them to answer.  Josh likes to make a different animal sound, or sometimes just a silly sound he makes up.  Megan, however, always says the same thing, and I don't know why.  She says "Mommy mommy!" 

What do YOUR kids say after the last page?

Moo, Baa, La, La, La

I have chosen this week's book, Moo, Baa, La, La, La for one very good reason:  my kids LOVE this book.  I read it often to them, especially Megan(age 2).  In fact, when she was one, she liked the book so much that she carried it all over the house in the way other kids carry their stuffed animals or blankets.  Sandra Boynton, the author and illustrator of this book, has written many humorous books, many of which we own and read often.  You may recognize her illustrating style from the greeting cards she designed.  Many of her books, including Moo, Baa, La, La, La, have uncluttered, humorous illustrations, and simple, rhythmic texts.  And, with many of her  books being board books, they are made to let kids handle.

In Moo, Baa, La, La, La, each page shows a different farm animal and talks about what they say.  The funny part comes where she shows three singing pigs singing, "La, la, la!".

Check out Sandra Boynton's website to learn more about her and her work:

http://www.sandraboynton.com/sboynton/index.html

Stay tuned this week for fun ways of reading this book and using it to interact with your child.

What are some Sandra Boynton books YOUR kids really like?  Why do they like them?