Essential Questions

“When Mother reads aloud, I long
For noble deeds to do -
To help the right, redress the wrong;
It seems so easy to be strong,
So simple to be true.
Oh, thick and fast the visions crowd
My eyes, when Mother reads aloud.”
[from Favorite Poems Old and New p32]

This is why we at tumblon advocate early literacy. The formation of a child’s character through literature and poetry is every bit as important as learning the direction of text, the names of letters and the sounds that they make. Long before a child begins reading, she needs books that call her to ‘help the right, redress the wrong . . . [and find it easy] to be strong.’ This is the critical role that literature plays in the life of a family, and is the reason that we heartily recommend great books (like the anthology from which this poem is drawn) for each stage of a child’s development.

I enjoy running for exercise, and although I don’t run in races, I am deeply competitive. If I am running in the park and someone passes me, I do everything I can to match their pace. I want to be the one passing others, not being passed.

I’m little different as a parent; I want my daughter to excel in everything. From time to time I need  to remind her, “It’s not a race!” when she’s trying to do something too quickly. However, more often than not, I need to hear those words myself - both about my pace in the park, and about child development. In The Baby Book, the Sears write:

“When a child does what is not as important as moving through a progressive sequence of developmental milestones.”

Tumblon is designed with parents like me in mind. Our aim is to help parents provide appropriate nurture not so that their children accomplish milestones before their peers, but so that they are appropriately engaged at each stage and continue on that healthy progression. By recommending developmentally appropriate books, toys and activities, we equip parents with the tools to savor each stage . . . rather than racing through it.

My wife, who is a pediatrician, often hears parents complain, “My child won’t eat vegetables.” She invariably replies, “Well, do you eat vegetables?” Among parents who bring this complaint, the answer is virtually always, “No.” The fact is that children eat what their parents eat. The parents’ preferences and habits play a significant role in shaping a child’s palate.

While this is enormously important for the nutrition and health of young children, it is equally significant in understanding how parents influence what their children love and value. Gladys Hunt puts it this way in Honey for a Child’s Heart:

“Reading develops the taste buds of the mind as children learn to savor what is seen, heard, and experienced and fit these into some kind of worthwhile framework” (p21)

Parents have just as much influence over the ‘taste buds of the mind’ as they do over taste for food. A ‘junk food’ diet of entertainment that doesn’t include frequent reading of great children’s literature will produce children who don’t have a taste for good books.

This is why tumblon has early literacy development at the core of its design. We help parents to understand what skills their children are currently developing, and what books will cultivate a healthy ‘appetite.’ ‘Feeding’ your kids the right kinds of stories will leave them begging for more ‘vegetables.’ Great children’s literature has the power to shape our frameworks of understanding so that the ‘taste buds of the mind’ appreciate what is really good. Certainly this is no less important than making sure that your child has a healthy portion of greens at each meal.

In my second year teaching third grade, a remarkable portion (two-thirds) of my class began the year with reading levels well below end-of-second-grade benchmarks. So I was shocked to see one of my students pick up Harry Potter in the library. I was even more surprised to find him reading Harry Potter. It was a powerful moment in which I learned the power of motivation in improving children’s reading skills.

Jim Trelease offers statistical support for the conclusion to which I came:

 ”Students from lower income families tended to have lower [reading] scores, but when they were highly engaged (motivated) readers, they scored higher than students from the highest income levels who were poorly engaged readers and very close to the most engaged middle income students. Thus, high reading engagement is capable of vaulting the lowest SES [Socio-Economic Status] student to significantly higher scores and overcoming family culture. Motivation (which pushes frequency) is therefore a critical factor in elevating the at-risk readers” (The Read Aloud Handbook p95)

Motivation is no less important in parents than with children. So it is of utmost importance that parents find children’s literature that they love to read aloud with their children. For parents who didn’t grow up with great literature, or who are strapped for time to find good books, or simply can’t afford them, what can be done?

In addition to presenting literacy milestones from Reach Out and Read (a fantastic organization that promotes early literacy) and the Department of Education to help parents understand what to expect from their children, tumblon recommends great books for each stage of development so that parents don’t have to search or buy. They can simply check them out from the local library.

The result? No searching; no buying; just a simple list of great books (customized for the children’s ages) for parents and their children.

When I was in graduate school for teaching, I came across this extraordinary claim:

“In order for children to develop, they need to believe that they can do things that they cannot [and will not be able to] do.”

As strange as it sounds, I have found that axiom to be true. Children who have dwarfed expectations of what they can achieve will achieve less than if their expectations are higher. Furthermore, having outrageously high expectations can actually help them to develop normally. With time (and development), they learn to be more realistic in their expectations; but until then, overly high expectations are a good thing.

Based on this axiom, there are two essentials of healthy child development: encouragement and opportunity.

Timid children need a lot of encouragement to attempt new activities, and even courageous children need parental love and support to try and try again until they have succeeded in their aims. Encouragement plays a critical role in setting a child’s expectations of him or herself. If you are constantly saying, “You can do it!” your child, regardless of temperament, will be emboldened to try - and master - things she never would have attempted otherwise.

Just as important as encouragement is opportunity. Even the most courageous child, without opportunity to attempt and practice a particular skill (jumping rope, for example), will not master it. The rule “practice makes perfect” is inescapably true. There is no substitute for opportunities to attempt and practice developmentally appropriate activities. This factor is, in my estimation, the single biggest differentiator between children who begin kindergarten prepared, and those who arrive unprepared.

Tumblon is designed to help parents provide parents provide these two essential conditions for healthy child development. The milestones (with supporting activities, books and toys) equip parents to provide developmentally appropriate opportunities on a daily basis. The memory preservation features (stories, photos, and videos) enable parents to celebrate each child’s progress, which is perhaps the most powerful way to encourage a child.

It is our hope that through this simple tool, thousands of children will receive abundant encouragement and opportunities - and may even achieve their outrageous expectations.