Marcia Hebert's Blog

The Japanese people have an expression, “read the air,” which, in essence, means to take in one’s surroundings before acting. Take a few moments to use one’s senses—observe and listen—to gauge what is happening in this place at this moment, before doing anything else. “Reading the air” is a respectful practice. Enter a space or situation quietly and absorb what is going on in it— the level of activity; the level of conversation or silence; the level of engagement—how others are interacting, responding to one another, or not. The Japanese people observe and listen first. And then, they act or react in a way that ‘fits’ the situation. If everyone is deeply engaged, talking quietly with one another, then enter in the same way. A loud and boisterous entry into a quiet place will have others shaking their heads and murmuring “she does not read the air.” In Japan, “reading the air” shows respect to the people already involved, and to the situation at hand. It is a polite and considerate way of being.

We, in early childhood education, can also tap into this practice. “Reading the air” easily applies to the way we enter a classroom of young children; how we join a group of preschoolers already at play; and how we enter a conversation between colleagues. Do we enter quietly, respectfully, and take in all that is happening within the space? Do we observe and listen first? And then, do we enter in a way that “fits” with what is already happening? Do we “read the air?” 

Or, do we enter the room with no thought to what is already happening in it and clumsily interrupt the activity and hum of the classroom?

Best practice teaching is often described as a cycle that involves watching and listening—with care. Teachers observe everything going on carefully and listen closely to the children. Teachers reflect on, think about, and engage in dialogue with others about what is happening. Teachers respond thoughtfully in ways that support children’s ideas, questions, and thinking. Teachers gather data from the children, use what they learn, and act as a resource for the children. Teachers ask questions and discover the children’s ideas and theories. Teachers then find additional materials and equipment to test out the children’s ideas.

The best teachers of young children are keen observers and listeners. I suspect they “read the air” quite well and act appropriately and respectfully toward their children.

What about you? How do you see yourself? Are you adept at first “reading the air” in your classroom and then acting? Upon entering, are you respectful of the children and adults already engaged? Do you first observe and listen to everything going on? And do you then insert yourself into the mix with care and consideration? 

If you haven’t yet spent some good time observing and listening to the hum of your classroom, I invite you to add this practice to your teaching this new school year. It will take some slowing down a bit to actually do this, but once you begin to “read the air” you will see the enormous benefits for both the children and adults who live with you.

“It stands to reason that if we’re able to raise happier, brighter children by reading aloud to them, the well-being of the entire country will ramp up a notch. Children who realize in their first few weeks and months of life that listening to stories is the purest heaven; who understand that books are filled with delights, facts, fun, and food for thought; who fall in love with their parents, and their parents with them, while stories are being shared; and who are read aloud to for ten minutes a day in their first five years, usually learn to read quickly, happily, and easily. And a whole lot of goodness follows for the entire community. Great news, isn’t it?”

Mem Fox
Author, Professor of Literacy Education in Australia, and Respected Literacy Expert

Reading aloud to children before they start school is a win/win situation for all concerned. The research is in. There are huge gains to be made—for children and adults alike. I’ll spend the next few minutes hopefully inspiring you to read, read, read aloud to the young children in your life and, as Mem says, “change the world one page at a time.”

As we share words and pictures, ideas, rhythms and rhymes, and life issues that we encounter together in the pages of a book, we connect with our children through our minds and hearts. Questions, thoughtful conversation, silliness, laughter, closeness—it is such fun to truly enjoy a story together and to share the warm feelings that accompany the experience. And, if we, the reader, are throughly enjoying, you can be sure our listener is as well!

The emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading, light the fire of literacy. It isn’t achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who’s reading aloud—it is the relationship of the three coming together for the pure enjoyment of it all.

As well, brain research has revealed that the early years of life are more critical to a child’s development than we ever realized. 

By the age of one, children will have learned all the sounds that make up the native languages they will speak. The foundations of learning to read are set down from the moment a child first hears the sounds of people talking, the tunes of songs, and the rhythms and repetitions of rhymes and stories.

Reading aloud to children early in life rapidly develops their speaking skills. They don’t learn to talk unless they’re spoken to—which is why psychologists and speech pathologists tell us we need to have loving, laughing, deep-and-meaningful conversations with our children long before they turn three. 

Read-aloud sessions are perfect times for engaging in these sorts of conversations because the reader and listener can chat endlessly about the story, the pictures, the words, the ideas. Reading aloud and talking about what we are reading sharpens children’s brains. It helps develop their ability to concentrate at length, and to express themselves more easily and clearly. The stories they hear provide them with witty phrases, new sentences, and new words to try out.

Before long children begin to understand the look of the print and the way words work in sentences, why this happens, and that happens, and, how it all comes together to mean something. In other words, they learn to read.

Experts tell us that children need to hear a thousand stories read aloud before they learn to read for themselves. It sounds a daunting task! But, it’s not so bad when you do the math—three stories a days will get you to one thousand in a year—so, this is easily do-able before kindergarten!

The ideal three stories a day are one favorite, one familiar, and one new. But, the point is to read aloud the three stories! If your child chooses the same story three times, so be it! The end result is the same—win/win.

Read-aloud sessions can happen at anytime—whenever and wherever. As long as you have a few books with you, you’re good to go—when the moment presents itself.

It is also beneficial to continue to read aloud to children for as long as they’ll let us—even after they can finally read themselves. I remember several of my teachers reading to us in elementary school—we could put our heads on our desks and simply listen and imagine! These are still some of my best memories.

Of course, reading aloud is not quite enough—as teachers, we need to read aloud well.

There’s no one exact right way of reading aloud, other than to try to be as expressive as possible. Be aware of our body position, our eyes and their expression, our eye contact with the child, our vocal variety, and our general facial animation. Each of us will have our own special way of doing it.

The way we speak the first line should be sensational. The aim is to grab our audience immediately and never let them go. 

And, if anything could be more important than the first line of a story, it’s the last line. It should be slow…ly delivered and drawn out. It is, as Mem Fox calls this final line of the story, “an absolutely delicious experience” of completed-ness.

The bottom line is to thoroughly enjoy this read-aloud time with the children. The rest will magically happen. 

For more information about the benefits of reading aloud to children, about the other books written by Mem Fox, please visit her website: www.MemFox.net.

There is nothing more engaging to me than having a conversation with a three, four, or five-year-old. And I do mean a shared conversation—a two-way dialogue that travels wherever our thoughts take us.

Children of all ages enjoy talking with the adults in their lives. And it is one of the most natural things we adults do with the children in our care. Often, we don’t even think about it—it simply happens. 

Children like to talk about themselves, or about what they are doing. They talk about things that are familiar to them, and that draw upon their knowledge and experiences.

They tell make-believe stories and talk about things and events they cannot see; events that have already happened; or events that might happen in the future. 

It matters not what they are talking about. 

What matters is that they are engaging in conversation and in the process, they are building important language skills. 

These language interactions are the basis for building children’s understanding of the meaning of a large number of words, which is a crucial ingredient in their later ability to comprehend what they read.

Children need practice having conversations with the important adults in their lives. By our talking with them, they build their speaking and listening skills. They will use language to ask questions, to explain, to ask for what they need, to let people know how they feel. And they will learn to listen while others talk.

We can help children build language skills through our own language interactions with them, and by setting up an environment that gives children lots of reasons to talk, as well as things to talk about.

How we talk with children matters.

It’s important that our language interactions are the kinds that give children practice hearing and using rich vocabulary; hearing and using increasingly complex sentences; using words to express ideas; asking questions about things they don’t understand.

How do you interact with children?

Who does most of the talking? Whose voices are heard the most in the classroom or in a child care setting?

The child should be talking at least half the time. There is a real difference between talking with children, when the conversation is shared, and the adult listens, versus talking at children, where the adult does all of the talking and the children listen.

What kind of language do you use? 

Is it rich and complex? Do you ask children questions that require them to use language to form and express ideas?

The richest talk involves many “back-and-forth” turns in which the adult builds on and connects with children’s statements, questions, and responses. 

These extended conversations help children learn how to use language and understand the meaning of new words they encounter listening to other people.

Talking one-on-one gives the adult a chance to repeat (say back), extend (add to), and revise (restate) what children say. Children have the opportunity to hear their own ideas reflected back. This is powerful stuff for a preschooler! And, it goes a long way toward helping a child feel competent and confident.

Narrating what children are doing is another way for adults to not only introduce new vocabulary, but also encourage a deeper understanding of new words so the children can begin to define and explain the meaning of these words. 

Narrating also introduces and illustrates sentence structure. Describe (using verbs, prepositions, adverbs, and other descriptive language) what children are doing while they do it. Talk during formal activity time, at snack, clean up, outdoors during play—every setting during the day. And, follow up with conversation about what children did during these activities.

Talking with children makes a difference! 

“The more that adults intentionally make time for talking and sharing experiences, the more support there is for children’s language development and later reading comprehension success.” 

                                                (from the National Institute for Literacy)

Are you making time to talk?

These past eight years I have had the privilege of working with numerous directors of early childhood programs, as well as their teams of teachers. And I have lots to share!

I presented training that ranged from building effective teams, to creating warmer, homelike environments; from finding and using unique materials and activities for children, to building collaborative relationships with parents; from learning how to set goals and then move toward meeting them, to de-cluttering spaces for children and de-stressing everyone in the process, and much more. 

I coached and mentored aspiring, new, and experienced directors alike—at their schools, over the phone, and via email—troubleshooting, and finding solutions to staffing, space, organization, the rhythm of the day, transition, parent, and child situations. I observed both teachers and children—as another set of eyes and ears for the director—helping to make changes as needed. And, I consulted and strategized with directors who were opening new programs; directors who were expanding their programs; and directors who were closing their schools. 

I have been pleased to experience, time and time again, the level of commitment, dedication, passion, and enthusiasm of these directors and teachers. They are reaching for quality. And, it has warmed my heart, because I know that the children reap the benefit by having wonderful early childhood experiences—and I have had the best moments!

One day, I returned to a program to retrieve my Sophia. Sophia is a puppet with spiky gray hair, wrinkles, and a long, black dress. To children, Sophia is real. 

Let me back up a bit. I was consulting with an early childhood program, and when I walked into one of the preschool classrooms, there was their puppet, Gloria, sitting on the sofa. Gloria is an identical twin to my Sophia! Can you believe it! Anyway, an animated conversation took place between the teacher and the children. And, I agreed to bring my Sophia to this busy room of preschoolers for a play date and an overnight. Well, apparently, the two puppets and the children had a wonderful time together, because, when I arrived at the school to retrieve my Sophia, I was greeted with stories, pictures, and a play-by-play of the Sophia/Gloria adventure:

“They had slept on the sofa under the peace quilt.” (that’s a story for another time)    “They weren’t afraid of the dark—they had a night light.” 

“Gloria gave Sophia her necklace.” (a beaded one that the children made)
“Gloria and Sophia are going to be pen pals.”
“Could Sophia come back for another play date?”

And just before Sophia and I left, the entire classroom serenaded us with “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”—Gloria’s screeching voice heard above all others! Sophia and I blew kisses as we left the children and teachers. Pure magic!

Gloria is a treasured part of this classroom. She is real. The children talk with her, care for her, worry about her, include her in everything. She listens, and whispers her thoughts. She is the voice for many of the “unspoken” things young preschoolers think about. And she is their friend.  

The teacher who added this puppet experience to the classroom is a masterful teacher of young children. She added another dimension to an already rich program. In fact, a gift to everyone in the school—for Gloria is known and loved by all of the teachers, parents, and children! 

Isn’t this what working with young children is all about!

I observed many magical moments these past eight years, as I moved from program to program and built relationships with the directors, teachers, and children. What a privilege to observe so many wonderful things happening for so many.

Our early childhood colleagues (directors and teachers alike) are doing extraordinary work with the young children in their care. They love what they do. And, there is the desire to want to do it better.

I saw the passion in their eyes; heard the enthusiasm in their voices; and noted the strong commitment to quality in their words and actions. 

We are fortunate to have such people in our programs. As we know, it begins with a few, and then ripples throughout the organization. And, as we also know, it begins at the top. 

As a Director, are you creating a climate for magic?

If, as a Director, you follow the trends, research, and best practice in our field, the phrase “the image of the child” will bring your thoughts to a community in Italy, Reggio Emilia, where many have studied the principles and fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia approach. Many of us have been deeply inspired by this philosophy – this way of thinking about children and early education – and it has greatly influenced our own programs.

In Reggio Emilia there is much discussion around this principle – The Image of the Child. For it is the point from which all teaching and learning begin. What the adults believe about children determines everything. These teachers and parents give great thought to the quality and the instructive power of child space. And so, for the children, how will the environment be designed? What will it include? How will children move through their day? What experiences, opportunities, and possibilities will children be able to explore and discover? And, how will the adults support all of this?

Reggio Emilia schools are places where children come first – before anything else. I’ll repeat that because I, too, believe this – deep in my soul. Children come first – before anything else! Children are the focus of all that happens. Visitors see and hear this message as soon as they enter a Reggio school – it is palpable. The presence of children and their work is everywhere.

Reggio Emilia schools are places where children are powerful. They are in control. The space belongs to them. They create again and again. They make choices and decisions. Everything is accessible and organized for them and is arranged artfully to draw them in. And, yes, they are inspired by what awaits them. They are naturally curious and interested in constructing their own learning – by touching, investigating, exploring, questioning, manipulating, taking apart, observing, discovering, enjoying, listening, discussing, putting together – everything in their environment.

This is so because the adults (both teachers and parents) hold an image of the child that allows all of this to take place. They see children as capable, competent, interested, powerful, creative, curious, thoughtful, imaginative, expressive, engaging, and involved communicators, collaborators, and learners. And, it happens, much like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

How much time have we spent thinking about our image of the child? And, do our early childhood settings reflect the image we hold?

Do we put children first? Are they the focus of our work?

What we do and why we do it are important questions to visit and revisit from year to year. I invite us to look more closely at our work with young children, and reflect upon our own practices of teaching, directing, and leading.

Some questions to get us thinking and focusing – yes, on the Child:

• Do we value and respect all of the ways a child expresses his thoughts and feelings?
• Do we value equally the verbal and nonverbal child? the rational thinker? and the creative thinker?
• Do we listen to what a child says with her words? her behavior? her body language?
• Do we interrupt the thinking processes of a child when we follow a rigid daily schedule? 
• Are we driven by the clock? Are so many transitions necessary?
• Do we carry out meaningless activities during the day that are not relevant to the child’s real world and experience?
• Do we pay enough attention to a child’s strengths?

And, the most important one of all, What is our Image of the Child?

I’d love your feedback on this topic.

See also the writings of Loris Malaguzzi and Lella Gandini.

It is fair to say that the team of teachers the director of a child care center assembles will be a diverse group of people. Educational levels, job expectations, and career aspirations will differ widely – as will experience, professional demeanor, individual learning styles, cultural and, now, generational differences.

When designing staff development opportunities, we know that there is not a one-size-fits-all product. Directors of early childhood programs must know the individual members of their teams. And, if developmental events are to really make a positive impact, they must, as a first step in assessing training needs, observe and reflect upon the ages and stages of these teachers.

When thinking about and planning for staff development and training, I tend to begin with the end in mind. And then, work backwards. Who is the audience? What are their specific needs? What is to be accomplished? And, what will most effectively get us there?

Dr. Lillian G. Katz, Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois, and a distinguished leader in our industry, has written numerous articles about the Developmental Stages of Teachers, and, in this post, I will highlight her work.

Among others, Dr. Katz suggests the following dimensions of training for teachers:

• Developmental stages of the teacher
• Training needs at each stage
• Location of the training

So, for your consideration:

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I am a huge fan of preparing well – down to the tiniest detail – so that the conversation, the training session, the event, looks like it just happened – effortlessly. I’m the proverbial duck that, while gliding gracefully across the top of the water, is paddling like crazy under the surface. I do much of my work behind the scenes.

So, when it comes to building a team and adding to our staff, I put a lot of effort into the “new” teacher’s first week. When people know what is expected of them, when they know who, what, where, when, why, and how about the child care center, and when they have all of this information in a staff handbook, they begin their work more confidently. We have seen this over and over. But, this process didn’t just happen overnight. It took years of seeking feedback from new hires and tweaking, tweaking, and more tweaking.

Our orientation sets the tone for the entire work experience, and we want to make this first impression a positive, and lasting one.

Several members of the team participate in the orientation – each of us sharing our unique perspectives and experiences – thus providing an immediate “go to” network of colleagues for our newest teammate.

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