It is summer time and that means more frequent trip to our local public library. Last week I took Michael and Eileen to the launch of the summer program and told them they could both pick out a few books to borrow. Michael randomly picked a board book and Eileen came back with 4 picture books. They all looked pretty cool but I don’t know if there was much method behind her selections.
Tonight we read Everything I Need to Know Before I’m Five by Valorie Fisher. This is not what I would call a prime Read Aloud but it is a cool book none the less. The title pretty much gives it away, this book is a a series of pages introducing the concepts of numbers, opposites, shapes, colours, seasons, weather, and the alphabet. As a Kindergarten teach I would have to say it is pretty much the basic rote information a child learns in JK. In school there is much more that they learn in terms of comprehension, social skills and critical thinking but for the things that just need to be memorized this book pretty much covers it! The illustrations are bright and simple photographs appropriate for the under 5 crowd. Michael loved pointing to things he recognized as we read along.
This is a book I definitely want to get for the concept book section of my classroom library. I can see many of my students spending lots of time going through the pages quizzing each other and reinforcing their knowledge. A cute idea for a book!
Mommy's Lessons 