Exploring Kids Imaginations

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Ann Kennedy and on behalf of Expert Village, I'm here to talk to you about understanding the nature of reading. Reading happens everywhere, even in the clouds. Some of your first schools, before there were traditional classrooms were called hedge schools. Children would meet outside and I mean children of all ages, from six to sixteen, and somebody was usually known as a professor in the village and they would teach reading. One of the key ways of teaching reading, which I love and I think is the most important way we can, is by simply looking up at the clouds. And you're teaching colors but you may say what a beautiful bright day it is. It looks like Mr. Sun is out. Or if it's dark and dismal, it looks like it may rain, look at the clouds. Alright, we talked a little bit about weather. We let the child see how large and expansive his world is but now comes the time to teach reading. And I actually as a child loved to do this and I think this motivated me far more than any text book ever could have. We'd look at clouds and we'd say, this is my father would do this with me, what does that look like to you? Well, you know, that looks like a fish and then he of course would start making up a story about a fish. He was modeling good reading habits and abilities and he was modeling how to look everywhere. Make sure you go outside with your child. Look at the trees. Look at the clouds and ask your little boy or little girl, what do you see? This does so much for a child's ability to learn, it's incredible. Not the text book but outside. Ask them what do you see? You're building their vocabulary, you're also teaching creative thinking and you're teaching them the first steps before they get to a text book. We read pictures prior to ever reading text and we are able to connect it. So the next time you're outside with your child, look at the clouds. You may learn something too, what you see and what he or she sees. That's reading is everywhere, even in the clouds."