How Noticing Details in Illustrations Helps Us Grow as Readers

Illustrations tell half the story in picture books, and pointing out the interesting things we see in illustrations can show young children the kinds of clues that readers look for in the things we read.

After Reading Penguinaut! by Marcie Colleen, invite your child to write a special note with you. (For a young child, this could be a drawing instead.) Take turns hiding your special note, inviting the other to find it! Afterward, read or talk about your special notes with each other. Don’t forget to display your specials notes on the refrigerator or kitchen bulletin board!

Practicing Storytelling with Wordless Books

Wordless books provide endless possibilities for children and adults to practice storytelling and descriptive language as we interpret illustrations!

Pair your next wordless book with a home made obstacle course to connect the story to a real world experience, and help children understand descriptive words like prepositions!

The Power of Counting in Stories!

Books about counting are important because they introduce the language associated with numbers. They also help preschoolers begin to understand the concept that numbers are symbols for counting, just as letters are symbols for sounds and words!

Encouraging your child to count on their fingers, or touch the things they count as they count them, also helps kids learn to count with one-to-one correspondence (the basic math skill of keeping track of what we’ve counted by touching each thing we’re counting one time).

You can help your child notice how numbers help us live our lives by going on a number scavenger hunt in your home! Invite your child to write down or take pictures of numbers they find. The kitchen is a great place to start. Play different ways by looking for the same number as your age, the numbers from your address or phone number, or see who can find the largest number in the house! (Find a few examples below.)