Words

Have you been inside a kindergarten classroom lately?

(For more posts like this, visit The Camping Machine).

Unless you have a child in kindergarten, have had children in kindergarten recently, are dating or are married to a kindergarten teacher, or happen to be a teacher in an elementary school, your answer is probably no.

Since Chris has started kindergarten this year I’ve been in his classroom a few times. Parent-teacher conferences, the Thanksgiving performance his class put on, the book fair. I’m also a volunteer art teacher – once every two months I go in and teach an art lesson. So I’ve been in there a few times this year.

Of course, since MBW is a kindergarten teacher, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the various classrooms she’s had over the years, even before we had kids. I’ve helped her move out of and into rooms in different schools quite a few times now. So I know what a kindergarten room is supposed to look like.

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to be in a kindergarten classroom recently, I’ll tell you one of the key features.

The room is full of words.

I’m talking about words, printed on paper, stuck to everything in the room. As you walk in the door you’ll see the word ‘door’ on the door. Flip on the lights and you see the word ‘light’ on the light switch. Check the clock on the wall for the time and you’ll see the word ‘clock’ on the clock.

See what I mean?

The desks all say ‘desk.’ The chairs all say ‘chair.’ The fish tank says ‘fish tank.’ The lamp says ‘lamp.’

The reason for this is to help the kids recognize words and what they mean. Kindergarten is where the foundation for reading really begins. Kids learn their letters – what each letter looks like, the sounds they make, and how combinations of letters make words. To help in that process, kindergarten teachers will often label everyday items as described above to visually associate combinations of letters with things. MBW tells me this is very important in a child’s literacy development. She takes this very seriously. She’s more than a dedicated teacher – she has a mission, as I described in an earlier post.

(As an aside, if you’re a relatively new reader, this post described MBW in more detail).

So if she says having these words and labels all over the classroom is important in a child’s literacy development, I’ll take her word for it.

She believes it works. She's committed to it. So committed, in fact, that to help Chris (and Tommy) develop their literacy skills she has taken this approach beyond the classroom and into our home.

The drawers in our home all have a little sign on them that says ‘drawer.’


The clock says ‘clock.’

Walls say ‘wall.’

Our family doesn't watch much TV, but when we do, it helps to have a label on it so we can find it.


Our toilet says ‘toilet.’ Good thing, too. I’d hate to mistake the kitchen sink for the toilet!








Maybe you think I'm kidding, that I stuck these labels on things in our house just to have something to blog about. But this is for real.

Can't find the stairs in our house? Just look for the sign.

Hard to think you could miss our kitchen cabinets, but just to be sure, they're labeled.

I was in the dark about this whole process until the proverbial light bulb went on for me. It happened, naturally, when I turned on the light – found thanks to the little sign on the light switch that said ‘light.’

I knew it was the lamp that came on because, in addition to seeing the light, I also saw the sign that read ‘lamp.’

And to keep the light of mental illumination from going off,the night light stays on all night long. I know this because it says ‘night light’ on it.

Shaving every morning is now easier because I know exactly where to find the mirror. I just wander around the house until I see something with a sign that says ‘mirror’ on it.

In case I forget what my Old Friend looks like, the photograph of him now has his name on it. Now you know his name as well. Yes, I have a Siamese cat named for the New York Rangers hockey team.





I’m now used to seeing these signs all over the house now. I support MBW in this effort to help Chris (and Tommy) with their literacy development. I’m used to seeing these labels on everything. And though I occasionally make a wisecrack now and then, I’m proud of MBW and her commitment to helping our kids develop their reading skills.

However, I think she has now taken it one step too far.

It’s great to be

If you enjoyed this post, visit The Camping Machine)to read more like it.