Born to Read Trainers

For the first-ever Many Eyes, Many Voices training in this part of the midcoast, Sharon Abair and Nancy Darlington co-hosted a group of 20 that included former coworkers of Sharon’s from the YMCA in Damariscotta. They spent much of the first session on a small-group book review activity, which brought out some interesting discussion of class differences. One participant shared a story about a child who said she wouldn’t play with another child because she didn’t have shoes made by Merrell. Another participant overheard one girl tell another, “you can’t come to my party because my daddy is in jail, and your daddy has never been to jail.”

Both Nancy and Sharon indicated in their reports that they were glad they spent so much time on these rich discussions during the first session, but they were strapped for time on the second night (when I was lucky enough to be there to observe). The first hour of that session raced by as participants reported on their homework assignments, which were:

1. to choose a book from their existing library that supports the Many Eyes goals, and
2. to choose a book from the bag and do a project around it. (Sharon actually has participants sign up for a particular title, to ensure that everyone doesn’t choose the same one.)

One participant who had lived in Vermont gravitated immediately towards Here Comes Darrell, and showed pictures of her toddlers fishing in water table that she had turned into a frog pond. Another brought the drawings of houses that her class had made after reading Houses and Homes, including the picture of a houseboat drawn by a Chinese student.

As for books from their libraries, suggestions ranged from classics like Mr. Gumpy’s Outing to newer titles like Hello World. One participant brought her vintage copy of Frances Face-Maker: A Going-to-Bed Book (1963) by William Cole. Whenever someone recommended a book with animal characters, Nancy made a point of validating their selection, but then saying that they could bring the story closer to the child’s experience by pairing it with a book with human characters.  There was a 1st grade teacher in the group who thanked the early childhood teachers for choosing and using high-quality books, saying “you’d be surprised how many of our kids come and haven’t been read to.”

After the homework reports, the group reviewed books about families. The Visiting Day provoked a great deal of discussion. Participants found the story “sad,” but had three or four kids with parents in prison (including some whose parents are in another state). These children may seem matter-of-fact about their situation, but have a lot of questions and fears under the surface that stories would draw out. However, it’s important to present a variety of books on this theme, so as not to reinforce the stereotype that only people of color go to jail.

Sharon and Nancy made excellent use of the time they had, but both wished for an extra hour (or three!) to delve into literacy topics like how to share books with babies, or to cover more of the books in the second half of the training, such as What a Wonderful World. Clearly, though, the participants left with new tools and perspectives on their work—and that’s the ultimate goal.

Thanks to you both!