I really enjoyed reading about Kiki constantly learning in her different environments.
The Jones Family's Culture of Literacy opened my eyes to how generations of a family actively chose to pursue literacy. Understanding the amount of literacy that is involved in every day life opens the doors to the many natural learning moments, and to importance of print rich environments. The significance of extendedness in the Jones family was very evident through the interactions of the Sally, Harriet, and Lola. Kiki's interactions with the elements of literacy every day truly brought to life the words of Cunningham's and Allington's chapter three reading. Having positive role models, and making connections between words and surroundings are essential to establishing a solid comfortable foundation with reading and writing. It is so important to capture the eagerness young learners possess and to explore every aspect of literacy with it. Letter actions stood out to me as an activity that can be used as an outlet to release energy, and a hands on learning experience. Every day occurances that happen around the house, such as making a grocery list and reading from a cook book, are made possible with literacy.
Growing up I remember making pretend books and reading to my stuffed animals. All of these things began happening before I even went to kindergarten because someone got me interested in literacy without me even knowing it. My parents read to me often and I would look at the words and wonder how my parents knew what they meant. I do not remember much about when I learned to read but I do know that I was extremely ready to be able to read all of those words around me.
Here is one of my favorite examples of "pretend reading." See if you can spot it...
