Jump Into Literacy: Active Learning for Preschool Children » (New Edition)

Rae Pica has been a children's movement specialist since 1980. She is the founder/director of Moving and Learning, a company offering services and materials related to physical activity for children from birth to age eight. A popular speaker and workshop leader, she is also co-creator and host of the radio program "Body, Mind, and Child."

Activities to fully engage children in language development.

Children's Literature

This title presents the movement-equals-literacy concept and links literacy to movement and music, proposing that when these three abstract concepts are used in combination, they become concrete. The material is organized into four chapters: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each chapter presents its material in developmental order, but this is not meant to dictate the sequence that must be followed in using the activities. Children are acknowledged to learn in overlapping ways. Each activity includes a "To Have" list and a "To Do" list. Some activities include additional "More to Do" suggestions. The book concludes with a one-page glossary, an index of literary skills addressed in the four chapters, an index of the children's books included in the chapters, and a general index. This title is part of the "Learning in Leaps and Bounds Series," and its author is a well known children's movement specialist. It is well organized and easy to use and would be a useful addition to any preschool classroom or childcare center. Reviewer: Hazel Buys