Tag Archives: early literacy

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Where Is The Dirt?

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What is a kid without mud pies?  What if there was no dirt for digging holes, building ramps for little bridges, making designs, or planting a seed. It is so sad to visit preschool sites and train for Souns, suggesting the teacher write letters in the dirt on the playground, only to receive that vacant look that says, “There is no dirt on the playground.” Not even a spot of dirt.

A child’s construction! Tomorrow’s yurt builder or city planner.

Literacy began on a cave wall and progressed with playing in and with the dirt. We may live in different times and wear different clothes, but children are quite the same. They need to use their hands to move and shape and create worlds from their imaginations. Dirt is the natural medium. Creativity is, indeed, being stripped of its roots.

Our lives are so busy and our children are captive in our harried schedules, spending their days on playgrounds that are plastic coated, shrink wrapped, and stamped “sterile.”

Children need a spot of dirt to dig and play and build their world!

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“Babies Can’t Wait / Souns” Update 2013

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golfclassic13-1

Counterpane Interact Club sponsored by Rotary Club of Peachtree City, GA (D6900) supporting Babies-Can’t Wait 2013!

If your child is enrolled in Georgia’s Babies Can’t Wait program in Fayette or Coweta Counties, he or she is eligible to receive, free-of-charge, certain materials from the Souns for Literacy program. This is being provided through the generous giving of those who support the Counterpane Golf Classic. Counterpane is grateful to our community and for our ability to give to children beyond our walls. Together, we have helped hundreds of Babies Can’t Wait families build literacy through Souns.

Recent national research in early learning is pointing to the need to expose children under three to the printed symbol, thus combatting our rising problems with childhood literacy in this country. The research also confirms that the method of teaching reading to children that shows significant success is one that exposes children to learning the sounds of the alphabet.  The Souns method works by caregivers giving their child lower-case letter shapes (4 inch, hard, nylon symbols) and using the most common letter sounds instead of the letter names to describe them to the child. The method uses natural learning through play and parent interaction. For a full description and photos please
read the Souns White Paper.

Babies Can’t Wait is committed to helping children achieve their full potential through supporting a family’s capacity to give their children all the opportunities available to them. Providers in the Babies Can’t Wait program in Fayette County are trained in implementing the Souns method of literacy and can guide caregivers through the process while they are enrolled in Babies Can’t Wait. Once the child exits the Babies Can’t Wait program they can still continue to work with Souns materials and receive support through monthly visits to the Peachtree City Public Library, or attending Counterpane School’s free Early Literacy Workshops The only thing requested of the caregivers is open communication about their needs as they implement the program with their child. We realize importance of individualization for families and children.

The image above comes from our archives and reflects when each letter was crafted in wood. We thank United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta for funding molds for Souns. While wood is beautiful, it breaks and is not as easily cleaned as the nylon. Counterpane seeks support for this outreach program. Consider playing in our annual Golf Classic, designed specifically for our literacy outreach locally.

Please consider joining in our extended community to help this cause.

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One Story – One Child

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One story at a time!

This little one became a Souns kid when she was barely 2 years old. She is now five. She is reading and writing. Creative writing for a young child means creative spelling….and research confirms that children who write creatively early are better spellers in school  (Souns White Paper  page 8). More important than spelling is the absolute joy a young child has in written expression. The work of it disappears, morphed into the confidence of “I can do this!” Head down (with mouth almost touching the paper), little hand moving to encode the sounds in the words the mouth is quietly saying.

It is magical! It is mysterious! It is freedom!

(the daddy is asleep; do not wake the daddy up; I like the mouse; I like the daddy; the mouse is gray)

 

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You Will Be Surprised!

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Where are we now with the collaboration of hearts, minds, talents, and resources intent upon children reading in South Africa? There is power in joined forces: Rotary Districts 6900 and 9400, Rotary Club of Pretoria East in South Africa, Rotary Club of Peachtree City , GA, USA., and the Peace Corps in South Africa. The Rotary Foundation funded a Global Grant which is impacting thousands of children from rural villages and urban townships across provinces in South Africa. Miracles do happen. Children will read! Thank you, Rotary! Thank you, Peace Corps!

A comment  from Robin Jones, the Rotarian heading this RD9400 and RD6900  project from Rotary Club of Pretoria East, South Africa –  The feed back from the existing Peace Corps volunteers (PCV’s) is slow but what I have received is amazing. You will be surprised at the numbers of kids we are reaching.

One PCV – Today is our first day back to school after winter break. The kids I worked with today were all so excited I was back to teach them! Right before break I had tested each class on which sounds they have mastered. I assumed most of the kids would forget some of the sounds over break but surprisingly that wasn’t the case. All the kids had done extremely well in both remembering the previous sounds and with the introduction of new ones today. A few weeks before break we had started on constructing words which I plan to continue next week since our knowledge is expanding.

Another PCV – I don’t know how much you have heard about the excitement level with souns and Peace Corps, but to say it is high would be an understatement. Many folks are reaching out to South Africa Rotary, Rotary back home, and planning together. It really is a great time. One of those awesome folks works with a large NGO. They are spread throughout the country and work with 56 creches. She has submitted a proposal to do trainings for each of these cretches. Pretty exciting to think about the impact this can have on early literacy.

Yet another PCV – I have been using SOUNS  for about 2 months in the Creche. I spend 4 days two hours each day teaching small groups (6-8) of toddlers 3-6 years old. It is a wonderful tool for teaching phonics….And the lower case alphabet is definitely the way to go! The plastic letters are indestructible: they have been chewed, dropped, sucked, thrown, kicked, ‘crayoned’, pulled…all without the slightest damage. I really love this program. It sets a good pace for kids learning…and the kids absolutely love these letters and sounds. I am hoping to see a difference in the Grade R at the Creche who will be entering Grade 1 at the Primary School.

And yet another PCV – I was wondering, could we get other Rotary clubs to sponsor sets? For instance, my mom is in Rotary in North Carolina, does US Rotary have connections to other groups that could help us out?

“Can you help us out?”  is a call from the field for assistance that is so small in terms of dollars. You can help a Peace Corps volunteer help a classroom of children in his or her village. We have some materials funded now, with additional funding requested; but the numbers of classrooms are beyond that scope. One Rotary Club supporting One Classroom  will make the world shake with potential for these kids.

Peace Corps volunteers are passionate, committed  resources for their villages. They are teaching the children and the teachers so this work is sustainable. Rotary Districts, Rotary clubs, Rotarians or benevolent minded readers, consider what $200 will do, as that is all it takes for a classroom (no expendables, so imagine the impact over years).  Souns is a global Rotary literacy option (see Rotarian, August 2011) from  Counterpane, a 501-(c)- 3 non-profit educational organization. Your gift supports classroom materials only. All Souns training for Rotary projects is in-kind giving by Rotarians. Email everychildwillread@gmail.com or click below and support a classroom. Thanking you forward! Every child wants to read!          Please Donate!

  
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It Began With Rotary! Now Look!

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This literacy effort began with a Rotary Matching Grant between RD6900 and RD9350. The lead Rotary clubs were RC Peachtree City (USA) and RC Sea Point (South Africa).  Now look! SounsAfrica has grown legs of its own!! https://sounstalk.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/souns-survey-june-2012.pdf

The following is an email with a powerful attachment from Knysna Education Trust in South Africa. KET is the source for Souns in South Africa for all activities outside of Rotary projects. They are really making a difference for literacy.

I thought you may be interested in the survey that I collated in June this year.  We are very pleased with the results that it shows.  I need to do another one for DG Murray Trust mid-September.  It is a lot of work and effort by many stakeholders to come out with this summary, but it tells us what we want to know.

The results in the 5 primary schools in the Knysna townships, where our preschool learners move on to, are also much better this year, which is the first year that Grade 1 results are able to be measured since starting the programme in the preschools.  The school management team of the Western Cape Education Department have told me that those 5 schools are much better this year.

Lesley S.   / Knysna Education Trust

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Building Literacy / Touching Families

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There are compelling changes taking place in the world. We are learning about children. What we saw as a little human waiting to grow big is really a voracious, rapidly developing brain inside a slowly, but more visibly developing body. The young brain grows at an unparalleled rate, but we can’t  s e e  it like we can see the body grow. The body explores the world to feed the developing brain, as, interestingly,  the brain must progress ahead of the body in order to safeguard the survival of the child. There is such beautiful logic, so much of which we don’t see by casual observation. Look intentionally, and you will!

Understanding the learning potential of young children can change the world in dramatic ways. It can ensure peace or exacerbate war. That little brain is going to adapt whether it means pulling a trigger or planting a seed. Peace Corps and Rotary International are powerful organizations dedicated to a peaceful world. One of the avenues to that end is literacy. If children are able to read, they will be more informed and can make decisions for themselves. People who can read are more able to take charge of their lives and are less likely to be victimized.

“I will help you learn to read!” Beyond health and love, there is NO greater gift for a child or the world then literacy. Collaborations between organizations such as Rotary International and the Peace Corps in South Africa are reaching thousands of children in rural communities. Urban populations in South Africa and in Puerto Rico are involved in literacy projects funded by The Rotary Foundation. The world may turn a little more smoothly for these children thanks to such globally minded literacy efforts.

On a smaller – but no less important –  scale are individuals who are equally driven to help children. SenseAble Learning’s Della Palacios in Florida, USA, and Nikolai Pizarro in Puerto Rico with her publication Ring the Alarm are examples of the many hands reaching out to children. Della and Nikolai know the power of the young, developing mind. They know our tomorrows are defined by the experiences offered a child today.

Another hand reaching out and a thread that runs through each of the efforts mentioned above  – Souns for literacy – is designed in response to the way children learn best. Souns breathes life into the tools of print, w h a t e v e r   t h e   l a n g u a g e. In the hands of children, Souns leads naturally and incrementally to letter-sound knowledge which leads incidentally to reading. Reading leads to success in school; and success in school leads to a more independent life. The result of an independent life is the ability to see beyond oneself, a necessity if we are to ensure peace. Many hands or the hands of one can make a difference – Every child wants to read.

Unfortunately, even with Rotary, Peace Corps, committed individuals, and so much information about how children learn, building readers remains a global challenge. We construct schools, hire fabulous teachers, stock libraries, give books; but, in the end, the parent who is with the child during the most formative years holds the key to reading. We must empower parents from the ground up if we are to impact literacy in a global way. All efforts, large or small, must touch the family, acknowledging parents as the real unit of change!

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Impromptu Moments!

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While playing in the sand at the beach, my 4-year-old daughter grabbed me and said,

“Look Mom, I made a sound.”

“Wonderful!  What sound did you make?”

“/w/,” she answered.
It’s the unprompted moments of demonstrated understanding that illustrate
the power of the Souns® for Literacy program.
Thank you,  Della of @sensablelearning in Apopka, Florida, for this entry!
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Even Start Family Literacy Program

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A school year has spun by so quickly since we began Souns with the Even Start Family Literacy Program in Georgia. Five counties participated, with one center in each. The centers ranged from childcare settings which met daily during the week to centers with once a month visits by families. Almost every site included home visits by Even Start teachers.

From my experience, the people involved in ESFLP are an inspiration and such a positive reflection on the efforts to build literacy in Georgia. Each site is unique in its style and population. I have delighted in the eagerness of a parent watching her four-year-old child demonstrate letter-sound knowledge while she, herself, was on her way to a classroom to study for the GED. She is determined her child will have a head start in school. A home visitor shared the success she was having with a family whose child was not succeeding in school because of reading issues. There are abundant anecdotes of how Souns made a difference for children and their families. One teacher bemoaned the fact that the Even Start Family Literacy Program did not have Souns until this year, saying it would have made a tremendous difference had they had it during previous years.

We also learned about the conditions that make it harder for Souns to succeed. Souns works best when a child has regular exposure to the program. Souns once a month does not give as positive results as Souns being taught each day. Home visits were successful where the family supported the program between visits. Children who miss many days of school are clearly in jeopardy of not progressing as well as their classmates who attend regularly. The teachers voiced this frustration many times, “The program works if the child is here.”

Souns is an early literacy program that teachers love and children love if we can get the teacher, the material, and the children together on a regular basis. An exceptional academic program and great teachers are two critical legs of a stool that will not stand without the third leg – the child, supported by their family. The issues that challenge families who qualify for Georgia’s Even Start Family Literacy Program are clearly issues that are not easily remedied by the best of intentions or the greatest of programs and teachers. We must find a way to intercept families earlier and in incidental ways that adapt to the needs and schedules of very determined parents with complicated daily lives. How can we reach the most predictable teacher for a child  – the parent – with the right information to build literacy at home? This hope I gained from this year. That is our goal, and I thank the Even Start Family Literacy Program for giving us such a clear direction for helping children. Every parent wants their child to read!

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Birth To Three Institute in D.C.

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What invigorating conversations with beautiful, passionate people were enjoyed at BTT Institute, June 12-14. Souns is committed to making a difference in early literacy for children, and open hearts and like-minded educators at this event were like a stream running through it without end. Another wonderful BTT Institute, another year toward a better world for children learning to read and write.We learned and laughed together as we played being the child for a bit! It was a very good thing. (1066 and all that)

 

 

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Rotary / Head Start – Literacy in Puerto Rico

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What a memorable Souns training trip.  It is exceptional to find as supportive a combination of teachers, supervisors, and administration as I have experienced in Head Start in the San Juan Municipality. As a Rotarian engaged in a collaborative early literacy effort between Rotary Districts 7000, 6990, and Head Start, this work seems scripted as if by the angel on each child’s shoulder.­­

This training trip is one of several and will add to the growing list of classroom teachers prepared to implement Souns in their classrooms at the beginning of the coming school year. Additionally, we had a training session for Center Supervisors.

In early training for Souns, it is best to demonstrate how the symbols are initially presented with children in the classroom. While our teacher training was held in a Head Start Center open in June and not yet implementing Souns, the Supervisors’ training the next day was held in a facility where no children were available Fortunately, a mother volunteered to bring her child for the demonstration. The child was one from a class whose teacher has had Souns for a month. As my planned initial lesson was not possible, I chose to present a simple Souns evaluation. What a delight to see the ease with which this three-year-old child demonstrated her confidence with the five letter-sound associations I presented to her. She has only been exposed to Souns for one month. Imagine this young person’s future as a reader.

The training also included a serendipitous testimony – the unscheduled visit of an Early Start teacher who has had Souns materials for several months and wanted to share her students’ progress as they graduated from her class. “These children were building words with Souns like mama and papa and stop by listening to the sounds in the words,” she said. This teacher was so happy with the skills her departing three-year-olds had gained through her implementation of Souns.

The future is waiting for many, but not for these children and not for these teachers. Teachers with the support they are getting in San Juan Municipality Head Start are teachers who go home feeling like they truly have made a difference.

Thank you Rotary and thank you Head Start of San Juan Municipality! Because of you we all celebrate this moment of success in a world that needs to know how simple it can be for Every – YES, EVERY – child to read!