This post is authored by John Funk, a university clinical instructor who teaches courses in early childhood, children’s literature, classroom management and reading methods. Besides teaching K-2 himself for almost 25 years, John currently supervises and instructs pre-service teachers. He routinely teaches workshops around the country on literacy and language arts and other early childhood topics.
When I was a kindergarten teacher, I used to read Mrs. Wishy-Washy by Joy Cowley on the first day of school each year. The story is about the animals on Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s farm finding the ‘lovely mud’ and becoming covered with the brown mixture. Mrs. Wishy-Washy proceeds to wash the animals in a large tub. During the washing action, the text repeats, “wishy-washy, wishy-washy.” I read this story on the first day so that the children can instantly participate in the reading of a story. I wanted each child to feel successful and excited about the possibility of becoming a reader. I once had a mother report that her child came home that day and said, “Mom, I have only been in kindergarten one day and I can already read!”
Read more here!