Preschool Roundtable on libraries and school readiness: Sunday, January 9, 4:00 – 5:30, Room 30B, SD Convention Center
While Stuart prepares for an incredible trip to Qatar, India and China (MathStart in Chinese!—but that’s another post for another day…), I will be heading to San Diego for the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference.
It’s no secret that here at vizlearning we love librarians. Indeed, I am the daughter of one (officially retired, but an active member of a legendary 50+ year Great Books group). I remember learning how to sign my name just so I could get my very own library card. Rites of passage don’t get better than that.
So I was thrilled when Sue Nespeca asked me to talk about school readiness and Stuart’s new series, I See I Learn, at the Preschool Discussion Group roundtable.
Just like MathStart books, I See I Learn stories use visual learning strategies to reinforce learning.
Visual learning and young children are a natural fit. Long before children can read, or even speak many words,they are accomplished visual learners. They understand illustrations and photographs with ease, as well as more abstract representations such as symbols and graphs.
Each book focuses on a specific skill from one of four domains:
Social
Emotional
Heath and Safety
Cognitive
Stuart’s stories are modeled on real life situations and, just as in real life, often involve more than one skill. For example,”Freda Plans a Picnic,” is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. “Percy Plays It Safe” focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Jill Bickford, from Michigan’s West Bloomfield Township Public Library, will also be presenting: “How Libraries Can Help Parents Get Their Children Ready for School and Partnering with Schools.”
I sat in on the roundtable at the ALA conference in DC last summer, taking lots of notes. It was fabulous!. After the official presentations, everyone in the group of about 10 librarians had a chance to share ideas about outreach efforts, including ways to weave in the use of digital tools.
If you are a children’s librarian, or a librarian interested in children’s books, please join the group:
Sunday, January 9, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in room 30B of the San Diego Convention Center.
Although I am not quite Stuart, I promise treats for all! Please spread the word!
* The I See Learn books will be available at the Charlesbridge booth, #1808. Please stop by.
Come meet us at the Preschool Roundtable, Sunday, January 9, Room 30B at the San Diego Convention Center!
On happier, healthier, more confident children, being inspired by children, imaginary dogs, fancy doghouses, map games and the wonderful Pre-K class at Snyder-Girotti Elementary!
What would you name your puppy if he happened to be green? “Why he looks just like a pickle!” said Emma’s grandfather. So Pickle he became.
Pickle is Emma’s oldest friend. When she was very little and just learning how to walk, Pickle was right there, wagging his tail, cheering her on. When they moved to See-and-Learn City, he stayed by her side, helping her unpack and settle into their new room. My story, “Emma’s Friendwich,” is about how they learn to make new friends. After a while, Emma had lots of friends. Pickle did, too.
In “Freda Plans a Picnic,” Pickle get to tag along with Emma and play with Percy and Ajay, some of her schoolmates from Ready Set Pre-K. They even bring him a special treat!
These are two of the first books in theI See I Learn ®series (Charlesbridge). Each book focuses on a different skill—for example, how to make a friend, or planning and sequencing— which are important not only for school, but as life skills. “For happier, healthier, more confident children” is our tagline, and our mission.
ON PETS, PROPS, GRANDCHILDREN & INSPIRATION
Children (and I count myself among them) love to read about pets and make up stories about pets. This past summer, our two granddaughters, Maddie and Camille, took pet storytelling to a whole new level. They really really want a dog, and had even picked out a name: Clementine!
Camille and Maddie and Clemetine's dog house
One day, Maddie and Camille saw me unpack a large dehumidifier. Maddie immediately asked, “Can I have the box, Grandpa? It would make a nice house for Clementine.” A few days later, the house had windows with a window box for flowers, a door and a sign over the door that read “Clementine.” The walls were painted beautiful colors and there was a mailbox on the side.
Over the next few weeks, Clementine received mail almost every day. She had letters from neighborhood dogs telling her how they couldn’t wait to meet her. She even received a postcard from a dog on vacation. There was also an invitation to a doggy birthday party! Maybe one day the tale of Clementine will become a book.
I get most of my story ideas from children. While watching one of my grandson Jack’s baseball games, I noticed some younger children nearby trying to learn how to throw a ball. That’s how I got the idea to write “Good Job, Ajay!,” a story about a boy who learns about confidence as he tries and tries again to throw a ball well.
Children also like to read about playing—at the beach, at school, at the park—anywhere!. It is really important, though, that they learn how to play safely, so no one gets hurt accidentally. That’s why I wrote “Percy Plays It Safe.”
VISUAL LEARNING
Each of the first four titles in theI See I Learn ® series focuses on different learning domain—Social, Emotional, Health and Safety and Cognitive— but they all use visual learning strategies to help teach specific skills. Most of the young children for whom the books are intended are pre-readers, but they are accomplished visual learners.
I have spent my entire career working in the field of visual learning and education, studying how information is effectively conveyed and received using charts, graphs, models, and pictures. The visual learning strategies used in I See I Learn™ include symbolic icons, picture diagrams, visual sequences, and graphic models. Each book also includes a special two-page section at the end of the story called “A Closer Look,” which features a graphic recap of the story’s key point and a series of “higher order” questions to reinforce the learning (no simple “yes” or “no” answers!).
In addition to Freda, Percy, Ajay and Emma, and, of course, Pickle, Carlos and Camille round out the Ready Set Pre-K friends.
Yes, this Camille is named after my youngest granddaughter! My older grandchildren have books “starring” a namesake character from my first series, MathStart: “Jack the Builder” and “Mighty Maddie.” Then along came Camille… Sometimes being last has its perks. Camille doesn’t just have one book, but is part of a whole series. Lucky Camille!
All of theI See I Learn ®children live in See-and-Learn-City. The love to play at Stay and Play Park and build sand castles at Friendly Waves Beach. Story time at Read-a-lot library is so much fun! And they adore Miss Cathy, their wonderful teacher.
See-and-Learn City: Each book includes a map, which is lots of fun for games: Where does Freda live? Can you find Duck Duck Goose Pond? Who lives just up the street from Carlos? Where's Ready Set Pre-K?
Now, back to Pickle! I was thinking that maybe Pickle should send a note to Clementine. But Maddie and Camille now have a real dog…named Bella! I bet Pickle would share some picnic treats.
Reading "I See I Learn" books to Pre-K class at Snyder-Girotti Elementary in Pennsylvania - Fun!
On virtuous circles, how play makes everything better & how your “inner elf” can help
Toys and libraries—two of the world’s most wonderful things. Now, imagine a toy library. Pretty wow, right? That’s exactly what we thought when we stumbled across Thailand’s Green Village Toy Library while searching for—well, who can remember? A toy library, fergoshsakes! Brilliant.
Green Village was founded by Mechai Viravaidya, a public health and social services advocate whose work has been recognized by—among others—the Gates and Skoll Foundations.* The library, however, stands apart, a special “heart” project inspired by his own grandchildren, who helped Viravaidya realize that access to toys “should be a human right for all children.”
Adults might not realize it, but play is a child’s work. It lets us use our imagination and become more creative.
Yet for families struggling to make ends meet, toys are off the radar. The library bridges the gap, making a huge variety of toys available for temporary loan.
Borrowing privileges, though, must be earned through community service: helping out in a community garden, picking up trash or planting tree seedlings. Doing environmental good is part the”Green Village” package.
But there isn’t just one Green Village Toy Library in Thailand. There are fifty, with a donation network designed to create personal ties between the mostly urban children donating toys and the mostly rural children receiving them. In fact, everything about Green Village is set up to give children an active role. “Junior leaders,” 8 to 14 years-old, manage the libraries, which each start as a single shelf and can grow to fill whole rooms.. The children have a say in developing the rules, too, determining what kind of community service qualifies for borrowing toys.
TOYS, TOYS, EVERYWHERE!
Although Viravaidya’s community service / environmental twist is unique, the idea of a toy library turns out to be quite poppular. A quick Google search turns up dozens of links. Many public libraries offer borrow-able toy collections as part of their children’s services. There is even a U.S. Toy Library Association, with all sorts of advice and resources, including free pdf’s of its “Child’s Play” newsletter archives.
Toy Exchanges are another popular approach to sharing the fun. These tend to be a bit more grassroots, with participants both donating and borrowing toys for their own children. Many groups now have Facebook pages, too. There are no hard and fast rules, but “How To Organize a Toy Swap or Toy Exchange” does a thorough job covering the basics.
HOLIDAY TOYS
There is never a bad time to donate a toy, but the holiday season is an especially good time. The Marine Corp Reserve’s Toys for Tots program is one of the largest and oldest toy drives in the U.S., with solid marks from philanthropy watch-dog Charity Navigator: 60+ years, 400 million toys, 188 million thrilled children.
In 1948, Walt Disney created the logo
And it all began with one hand-made doll.
Diane Hendricks, the wife of a marine reservist named Bill, asked him to find an organization to which she could donate as a Christmas gift for a child. When Bill came up empty, the undaunted Diane told him to start one. The first year, they collected 5,000 toys. The next year, Walt Disney created the logo.
Toys for Tots is set up as a network that works with local organizations. To find a group near year, type your location into the Toy Drop-Off database.
There are, of course, many other groups, from the Salvation Army to local schools and churches, collectively sponsoring thousands of toy drives this time of year. The need is greater than ever.
So, how cool is it to tap into your inner-elf and help make a child—one you might never meet—smile, giggle and laugh with delight? Very, very cool indeed.
As Pickle, the pithy green bulldog from Stuart’s I See I Learn stories would say, “Woof!”
And a Merry, Merry, Happy, Healthy, Joyous, Playful New Year to All!
On links between empathy & civilization, IQ & EQ, young children and why “I See I Learn” books work
When a baby first opens her eyes onto the world, not only does she begin to take in visual information, she uses it. Smile and she will try to smile, too. Stick out your tongue and she will stick hers out right back. By two months, she is so good at sorting visual information, she has a “memory picture” of her Mother and is able to tell her apart from all other women. By age one, she begins to recognize graphic imagery. And by age three, crayons in hand, she is busily giving Picasso a run for his money.
We are natural born visual learners. Remarkably, almost the entire human brain is devoted either directly to vision, or tied into it in some way. Although the loss of any of our senses would be devastating, vision, by far, is our dominant sense, integral to how we learn to function in the world and how we learn to interact with others.
So rooted is sight in our experience, we say, “Seeing is believing.” But it is even more than that. Through a system anchored by a web of special nerve cells called mirror neurons, seeing is intricately connected to feeling, to empathy. It allows us to imagine what it is is like be in someone else’s shoes, anticipate consequences and work together in groups.
“We are apparently ’softwired,’” notes author Jeremy Rifkin. “If I am observing you – your anger, your sense of frustration, your joy, whatever it is – I can feel what you’re doing. The same neurons will light up in me as if I am having the experience myself.”
In a suitably and brilliantly visual manner, Rifkin goes on to explain in this video that, “…research suggests that we are not softwired not for aggression, violence, self-interest and utilitarianism. We are actually softwired for attachment, sociability, affection, companionship. The first drive is actually the drive to belong. It’s an empathic drive.”
Notably, at about the same age our example child is starting to express herself through drawings, the development of her mirror neuron circuitry is hitting critical mass and she is starting to feel the first stirrings of empathy as well. This is the beginning of prime “teachable moment” for social and emotional skills.
It is also the time when parents and teachers often see the first signs of autism in children. This is no mere coincidence. According to a 2005 study published “Nature: Neuroscience,” UCLA researchers discovered that children with autism had malfunctioning mirror neuron systems. When autistic children were shown photographs of people displaying different emotions, they were able to accurately identify the emotions verbally, but their mirror neurons failed to fire. The children also showed reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with emotion. Over the last five years, this has been a hot area of study, with indications that early intervention can help some children on the autism disorder spectrum develop the neurobiological wiring they otherwise lack.
Mirror neurons are at the intersection of IQ and what’s called “EQ” – a measure of emotional intelligence.
The ramifications go beyond understanding autism, to understanding the foundations of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Although we know it is important to help prepare young children for school – and for life – by teaching them the alphabet, how to count (along with other early math skills), and by reading together with them, the common assumption is that SEL skills are intuitive and don’t require any special nurturing.
Wrong.
Not only are SEL skills just as critical as academic skills, children with good SEL skills do better in school. Academic achievement and SEL “smarts” go hand in hand. In survey after survey, kindergarten and first grade teachers note that unless children know how to control their emotions, taking turns and work together in groups, it is almost impossible to teach them anything. EQ improves IQ.
Psychologist Roger Weissberg, a found director of CASEL, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, points out that children with good SEL skills are better able to overcome obstacles, which translates into a sort of “academic tenacity”: They have the confidence to know that eventually they can succeed. Likewise, children with good self-control are less likely to get into fights or do drugs:
Stuart’s newI See I Learn series is designed to build on this natural fit between visual learning and young children, combining simple stories with illustrations that draw on various visual learning strategies. Although each story focuses on one of four domains – Social skills, Emotional skills, Heath and Safety skills and Cognitive skills – there is a little of each in every book. At this early stage in life, when all the “wiring” is starting to come together, the boundaries between IQ and EQ skills blur: It is all of a piece.
“Freda Plans a Picnic,” for example, is a book about sequencing, a cognitive skills. The picnic itself – a gathering of friends – is a social event. “Percy Plays It Safe” focuses on playground safety, but playing successfully in a group requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book also includes a special two-page section called “A Closer Look,” which combines a visual summary of the story’s key learning points, along with several questions to help parents / teachers / caregivers extend the learning beyond the book and into daily life.
The first four I See I Learn books will begin shipping to book stores and libraries in July. For Pre-orders & email alerts write to orders@charlesbridge.com, or call 800.225.3214
Booksellers & Librarians: ISIL books are available through Baker & Taylor,Ingram and, of course, all your favorite local wholesalers, too!
Stuart J. Murphy's "I See I Learn" books available in bookstores and libraries beginning in July!
Nuts? That’s what Jeremy Rifkin says a scientist was nibbling when the brain activity of a macaque watching the scientist – while wired to an MRI – triggered a burst of static on a computer, which led to the discovery of mirror neurons. Others say it was ice-cream, which, of course, was probably gelato, since the lab was in Parma, Italy. In his book, Mirroring People, neuroscientist Marco Iacobani says Vittorio Gallese, the researcher, actually doesn’t remember what he was eating. Personally, I like the gelato option. M’mmmm. I am at Gelatauro in Bologna on a late spring day, sitting in the little courtyard with a two-euro cup of heaven: pistachio, pumpkin spice and ginger gelato. Ah that zenzero! I can see it! I can just about taste it! How about you? Are your mirror neurons firing yet?
counterclockwise from left: Camille, Ajay, Freda, Carlos, Percy, Emma & Pickle!
by J.A. Ginsburg
“The books are here!” Stuart beamed as I walked up to the Charlesbridge Publishers booth on the first day of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair last March. “They’re WONDERFUL!” Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Carlos, Camille and the one-and-only Pickle the green bulldog (Woof!) were really real. Other people could see them, too! It was thrilling. The first four books! We stood there. Thrilled.
For the last two years, Stuart and I, collaborating with a spectacular team from Charlesbridge and Tim Jones Illustration, have been living and breathing the development of “I See I Learn,” a new series for young children (and their teachers, parents and caregivers) that helps teach skills important in life and for school.
The books cover social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills. Each story, which has been reviewed by a team of early childhood experts, also includes two pages of questions and activities.
Just as in Stuart’s award-winning MathStart books, visual learning strategies play a key role reinforcing skills. Visual learning is a particularly good fit for young children: They may not be able to read letters yet, but they can “read” visual information with ease. “I See I Learn” books build on this natural talent.
COMING…SOON!
We returned from Italy, wined, dined and even more thrilled, showing our precious sets of books (hardcover and paperback!) to friends and family, wondering how we were ever going to contain ourselves until July, when the books would finally start to be available in stores.
And then came Jacqui Kolar, a reading specialist from Big Hollow school near Chicago, who introduced Stuart for his presentation at the International Reading Association (IRA) conference in April. Who were we kidding? Containment? Back to beaming for us!
EMMA’S FRIENDWICH
Jacqui, who had been given a pre-publication set of books, told the audience about reading “Emma’s Friendwich,” a story about making a friend, with her youngest students. Afterward, she placed the book on the floor, planning to start a casual conversation with the children later. She never got the chance! They started to pore over the story themselves, looking at the pictures and making their very own “friendwiches.” Then, all together, they made a “club friendwich” with Jacqui.
While Stuart prepares for an incredible trip to Qatar, India and China (MathStart in Chinese!—but that’s another post for another day…), I will be heading to San Diego for the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference.
What would you name your puppy if he happened to be green? “Why he looks just like a pickle!” said Emma’s grandfather. So Pickle he became.
As Pickle, the pithy green bulldog from Stuart’s 
