Entries For: May 2009

Take Action: Sign this Petition

Last week, Governor Gregoire made a line-item veto that removed early learning from House Bill 2261. While the bill was signed into law and broadened the definition of basic education, early learning was left out. As someone who is passionate about early learning, this news was surprising.

The governor noted that she chose to veto this section of the bill because it only expanded the definition of basic education for at-risk 3- and 4-year olds. In signing the bill, the governor re-affirmed her commitment to early learning but “wanted quality early learning programs available to all children.”

This is an excellent point. 

If Washington is interested in a vibrant future, we must invest in early learning for all children, however, we need to start somewhere. By prioritizing the children in our state who are at the greatest risk of not succeeding in school, we are developing a system that will eventually support the early learning needs of all children.

I strongly urge community members who want a brighter future for children to contact their elected representatives and request that we start investing in the foundation of this future: early learning.

Vijay Vashee, Board Chair
Foundation for Early Learning

Take Action: Sign our partner's petition

Remind Olympia that early learning is essential to the success of our children and state by signing this petition from Children's Alliance.

It’s already 5:30 p.m. so I really should leave work right now. But today is my last day as the Communications Intern at the Foundation and I…sort of don’t want to go home just yet. Since I am still able to access the Foundation’s website and author a blog, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff members for all the wonderful  insights and support they have provided me over the past six months. I’ve never worked for and with better people. I think Washington should feel very grateful to have such a fantastic, dedicated, and talented team working passionately to promote school readiness for all children in our state. :)

Anyway. Since it's my last precious blog, I hope to also leave you with something worth pondering about for the rest of the day. I'd like to share a list entitled “Things you can do to and for your parents” that - if followed religiously - can help rebuild or strengthen your relationship with your parents. This has nothing to do with early learning, but I assembled it a while back to share with my friends (on my Myspace blog) upon noticing how common is it for families to fall apart these days over the strangest reasons and the smallest matters, even though family love is by far the easiest type of love to renew and repair. It's also the most important relationship in our lifetime. Without family love and support, life eventually becomes uncertain and groundless. Wise men also have always said that strong families => strong communities => strong nations => strong planet earth => (maybe, I guess) strong solar system. So, for the sake of (wo)mankind and for the sake of our solar system, read on and see if this list is useful and applicable to you. If not, feel free to pass it onto your children and... you can thank me later. :)

“Things You Can Do to and for Your Parents”
1. Hug them, really hug them.
2. Say thank you as often as possible.
3. Make them coffee (or tea) in the morning.
4. Tell them to go sleep early for good health.
5. Take pictures with them. Take pictures of them.
6. Greet them with the warmest smile whenever possible.
7. Occasionally (if manageable) bring home a nice boy/girl.
8. Show genuine concern and respect toward your grandparents.
9. Stock the fridge with apples, spinach, orange juice (with pulp), soy milk, salmon, avocado.
10. Buy them fast foods sometimes too when you're buying some for yourself. Chicken nuggets never fail.
11. Praise your mother's cooking whenever possible. If you like something, say it. If you don't, eat something else.
12. Set up table, wash dishes, cook rice, make desserts, as often as your willingness allows. Don't ask, just do it.
13. Stock their cabinet with anti-wrinkle SPF 15+ moisturizers, multivitamin pills (Centrum Silver 50+), pain relief creams, etc.
14. Buy birthday cakes and cards for their birthdays and try to express your truest feelings and wishes on the cards. Do this every birthday.
15. Occasionally ask about their viewpoints on life, family, politics, religions, current world, nation, and state affairs and only speak when necessary.
16. Occasionally ask about their childhood experience, past boy/girl friends, memorable moments, family ancestors, successful marriage proposals, and listen with great interest.

Potential outcomes if you do the above things on a regular basis:

1. After one week, they'll question your sanity.
2. After two weeks, they'll question your motives.
3. After three, mother will cook only your favorite foods.
4. After four, father have suddenly forgotten or forgiven all your past sins.
5. Five, you may date whoever your heart desires and go out as late as you like.
6. Six, you'll feel a little bit tired, a little bit worn out, a little temptation to break the ritual.
7. Seven, you become the center of their lives and the perfume of truest happiness often fills your home.
8. Eight, you wonder what else you can do and start peppering random experiments and special treatments on them.
9. After a year, or two, three, four... you'll often think of them, and of you, and how fast they've aged, and how little time they have left, to watch you grow. You learn how to apply the same recipe to other people with different ingredients. You understand the secret of love and how to create or destroy it, whenever and with whoever you want. But you also understand its power, its benefits and harms. So you're careful and conscious and aware. You only use it when it is safe and necessary. And it is always safe, and necessary, on your father, mother, siblings, relatives...

The Foundation for Early Learning is delighted to feature a guest blog post from Doreen Turpen from Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

If you are interested in being featured in the Foundation's blog, please contact Joel Ballezza, Communications Manager at joel@earlylearning.org.

Positive experiences with reading and books help young children develop the ability to learn to read.  This simple statement is supported by research and it sounds like it should be easy to create those positive experiences.  But what do you do when a young child resists books and stories? 

Our first grandchild was a poster child for reading to babies.  He was entranced with the sounds of reading within the first few weeks of life. He loved having his mother read to him and she expected that her second child would naturally love reading too.

But Annika took a different path.  She just wasn’t interested in being read to and pushed the books away.  Her mother was disappointed and perplexed.  She continued to provide opportunities for stories when she nursed and at naptime and bedtime and she kept books next to the toys so they would always be available.  Still, her little one was lukewarm to the experience.

Around the time that our granddaughter was 18 months old our daughter noticed a change.  Annika became interested in the baby animals in a children’s magazine she received each month. Her mother took advantage of that interest and built on it by adding short, simple stories to their daily story times.  They continued their reading exploration by trying lots of different books from their home library and from the public library.  When they found books that held Annika’s interest they read them again and again. 

Annika just turned three.  When she visited us a couple of weeks ago we saw how much she now enjoys her books and reading.  She frequently asked for stories during the day, and when we finished a book she asked to hear it “again”.  Books and reading are now a natural and enjoyable part of her daily life.

Our daughter’s journey with Annika illustrates basic concepts that can result in positive experiences :

• Build a home library. When books are readily available in the home children can explore them at their own pace and in their own time.  Having books handy makes it easy to fit books and reading into those small bits of time during the day. 
• Follow your child’s interests.  Each child is unique and it may take some time to find the types of books and topics that will capture your child’s interest.
• Be patient and don’t force reading on your child.  Remember that books don’t have to be “read” from start to finish.  Children can enjoy books in small segments.  It’s ok if they want to stop and do something else or just practice turning pages. 
• Try reading the pictures if your child doesn’t want to sit through the written story.  Or let them help tell the story.  
• Subscribe to magazines designed for children.  Children like repetition and magazines repeat their format in each issue.  Each issue is new, yet also familiar.
• Visit your public library.  Staff can help you find books that are appropriate for the age of your child and can help you find more books on topics that interest your child. 
  

Save the Date!

The Foundation for Early Learning is hosting the second annual statewide Early Learning Community Fair on Saturday, August 8. Organizations, community groups, early learning centers, health providers, schools, libraries, and other supporters of early learning will be participating around Washington State. This is a powerful way to support children in your local community! Last year we had over 80 locations participate.

Host a Local Event

Want to get involved? It's easy! Host an Early Learning Fair event in your city or town. The event can be as simple as a resource table at a park or grocery store or as complex as a fair with multiple partners and organizations providing activities, games, speakers, and refreshments. The Foundation for Early Learning will provide publicity, materials, and resources. Sign up to host an event by clicking here.