Read Aloud Delaware is about "giving kids a reading start. The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading, is reading aloud to children - even when they are very young."
The organization is dedicated to the promotion of reading in Delaware. They are the only statewide organization focusing attention on the critical early years of child development. They promote reading aloud to children to encourage a love of books and a desire to become a reader. YEAH for all they do!!
Read Aloud Delaware builds relationships! What a perfect fit for DARE to AFFIRM. When Jennifer Bobel, the conference coordinator called to ask if we knew anyone who could do a workshop especially designed for those who worked with infants and toddlers, WE said, "Why not us?" We submitted "Love, Language & Emergent Literacy: Pathways to Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers". We all know that there are sooooooooo many connections between language, literacy and social-emotional development. We wanted to share that information with conference participants. Saturday, March 8, 2008, we did just that!! We joined with over 700 staff, volunteers and participants to enjoy the keynote address by Mem Fox-the Australian author of "Reading Magic" and over 20 children's books. Then it was time for our workshops. The stage was well set by our welcoming hostess - Debbie Street. She had read our web-site, so as I walked down the hall, I heard "Hi Dr. Mollenhauer." Debbie had recognized me from the photo on the web-site and blog. Some of the Read Aloud board members had already shared with me that Debbie was warm and friendly. I knew this had to be her!! She was there for us throughout the day - setting up, joining in the sessions, and finding photo ops!! We are thankful to her for using many of her strengths with us. WE felt welcomed.
A highlight for Debbie was learning to "do the Dance of Relationships". Often in our training, we invite participants to join us in the Hand Dance. Yesterday was no exception. It's a powerful learning experience about relationships. The dancers engage in being the leader, being the follower and then seeing what happens when there is no leader and no follower. When you attend one of our training sessions, you will understand this more clearly and see which "works best". See the picture of Debbie dancing to understand that she was "getting it". Being a licensed clinical social worker made the learning experience simpler for her.
There was another learning experience yesterday as well. When we talked about social-emotional development for infants and toddlers, Erik Erikson's eight stages of psycho-social development-especially the first two - were a central focus of our discussion. Erikson viewed each stage as a struggle, a crisis to be negotiated before continuing to the next stage. Each future step is influenced by the previous one. The stages most important to infant toddler development are the first two. The first stage is the struggle to develop a sense of trust in the world -to know that it is a safe and responsive place. If this does not happen, the child develops a sense of mistrust in his/her world. The second stage of Erikson's theory relates to feelings of autonomy versus shame and doubt. The struggle to hold on or to let go is evident at this stage. Feelings of autonomy/independence emerge from successful experiences with choosing when to hold on and when to let go, and from many successful expwriences in letting go. Growth in physical development contributes to feelings of autonomy. If this does not happen, the child feels a sense of shame and doubt.
The Participants had "heard" of Erikson, but no one could share the stages and what they meant to successful infant/toddler development. This happened in both groups and Debbie was amazed. As a social worker, Erikson and relationships was so clear to her. Hopefully, after the lessons learned in the training, our "dancers" also have a clarity of understanding and can explain Erikson and what infants and toddlers need. It's not about knowing his name, but about understanding WHY what he says is so critical in relationship building with infants and toddlers and each other.
DARE to AFFIRM thanks Debbie Street, Read Aloud Delaware and all of the participants who joined us to share, listen and learn. We are facilitators and there to learn from one another.
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