Early Literacy and Mathematics (June 2019)

Cognitive development is not something to teach infants and toddlers. It is a positive by-product of rich and varied experiences. Young children need adults to play with, talk with, read with, and with whom to do fingerplays and other learning games. Singing, listening to and making music are part of a rich literacy environment.

Public librarians offer rich opportunities for early learning. Librarians are in a unique “front-line” position as educators who interact with many children of diverse ages and backgrounds.

The goal of the June 2019 VELI workshop was to increase librarians’ intentionality incorporating literacy practice, language and information in their work with infants and toddlers and their conversations with parents and community stakeholders.

Babies first recognize what “two” means from the moment they are born: they see their mom’s two eyes, two ears, etc. They understand quantities: they know if you have more cookies than they do! However, they don’t yet understand one-to-one correspondence is why they will hold up five fingers announce, “I’m two years old!”

Websites with brain development research:
Brain Development in Infants and Toddlers
Building Baby’s Intelligence: Why Infant Stimulation is So Important
Building a Brain: Babies’ Brains are Shaped By Interactions Earlier Than Expected
The Magic of Reading Aloud to Babies (Psychology Today)
Why Avoid TV For Infants and Toddlers?
Children and Media Tips from American Academy of Pediatrics
Where We Stand on Screen Time (Healthy Children)

Resources about standards, STEM, Math and Science
What’s the BIG Idea? Librarian Manual (pdf)
Vermont Early Learning Standards
VELI-STEM weebly (IMLS project)

Resources:
Magnetic letters (Uppercase)
Magnetic letters (Lowercase)
Magnetic numbers
Magnetic shapes
Keva planks
Straws and Connectors
Soft Photo Stacking Blocks