The Why

An internal blog post

I was able to attend an early learning conference last week and gained a lot of great information, ideas, and insights.  I love learning new techniques, talking with like-minded individuals who love working with children, and being reminded again about “the why”.  Why do we do what we do in early learning?  Thinking about “the why” focuses me again on the important work we do with young children, their caregivers, and families.  Being reminded of “the why” also keeps me motivated and energized!

Here are three of “the whys” I took away from the conference applied directly to storytime.  Reflecting on these, and other “whys”, reminds us that we don’t do storytimes to just read a few books and sing a song or two then put out toys to play with.  We can, and should be, doing so much more!

• Why do “messy art” in storytime?

Children learn best through open-ended play; meaning children have the freedom to interact with the environment and objects in their own way.  This includes how they interact with art supplies.  Children learn through play, experimenting, and trying new things.  Children learn best and are more motivated when their art is their own—they make the decision as to what it will be and are validated for their efforts because there is no “right” way to do it.  This adds to the child’s motivation, confidence and resilience, which are all necessary to order to continue to learn.

• Why do math activities in storytime?

Research has shown that early math skills have the greatest predictive power to later learning.  Children need a lot of expose to math concepts, because of course, that is how we all learn, through repetition.  Math is linear—one concept builds upon the previous.  The next layer can’t be added if the child doesn’t first have a firm grasp on the previous concept, including math vocabulary.  Thus a strong foundation is needed and early math expose and activities help to build that.  Storytimes are an ideal place to point out math concepts in books, songs, flannel boards, etc. by counting, asking how many, and asking the child to verbalize math ideas.

• Why use movement activities in storytime?

Children need time to move.  In fact, children learn better and are more focused after doing a physical activity.  Movement activities help to develop executive function, stimulates motivation, grows neurons in the brain, and improve memory.  So be sure to add some simple movement activities which could include actions with songs, stretches, yoga poses, or even a quick GoNoodle video!