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Quick Literacy Tip: Printing Your Photos to Tell Stories

7/13/2016

3 Comments

 
Please share!

​This post is part of a series on organizing your physical space to encourage literacy.
Liliana and Noodles photographed by Shaina Fishman
Liliana and Noodles photographed by Shaina Fishman
Awesome photography and memory captured by Shaina Fishman. Thank you!

A couple weeks ago, Liliana and her new puppy, Noodles, went to a photo shoot. We'd only had Noodles for two days and Liliana knew Noodles was going to be her buddy. But, she wasn't sure how predictable that buddy was yet. He nipped, he barked, he peed wherever he wanted to (still does...).

And this photo captures her trepidation perfectly. She's willing, but unsure.

It's also a perfect prompt for me to tell the story of Liliana and Noodles' budding friendship. How she enjoyed bringing him to puppy playtime, how she taught him how to sit, how he was nervous on his first subway ride and how he peed in his carrier in my lap which made me look like I peed in my own pants - and how she bellowed in laughter and asked incredulously, "Mommy, did you have an accident?!" 

I will print this photo (and others from the shoot) and put them on our walls. It won't live on my phone, in my email or on my desktop.

​This awesome photo and story will live on my wall. 


​We all want our kids to read. And, we want our kids to understand what they're reading.

And! The real kicker - we want them to enjoy reading.

This seems obvious, but sometimes getting there is not obvious and it takes some quirky roundabout turns to get there. Enter, printed photos on your walls.
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Motivation and feeling successful are integral to a child's desire to read. Photos are a part of that. Specifically, printing them and putting them on your walls.

​Building on the work of child psychologists from the 1970s, it is common practice to use printed photos to build a child's self-esteem. When children have a positive self-image, they are willing to trust the world a little, explore and learn. Inevitably, they will learn to read and then read to learn.

​
​"There is something very powerful in touching your fingers to an actual print,” says Craig Steinberg, a licensed psychologist who works with children ages five through 13. He goes on.
​


​Touching the photograph where a face is smiling or the shoulders, it is the same thing as touching a book when you read it.

​There’s a lot of stimulation of the brain when you have that sensory experience. That is a bit lost in the move to digital. You are touching a keyboard, mouse or a touchscreen but you are not touching the image.”

So, please print your photos and talk about them. 

Tell your kids about your favorite memories, your life experiences, your stories. When you do, you will be writing out loud for them. Showing them how to put together a good story, a bad story, one that someone wants to listen to. You'll be showing them how to use the picture to start a story or how a picture better explains a story. You will build their self-esteem and their confidence.

​You will also be storytelling them your life. And their very important place in your life.

Enjoy!

P.S. I will also share some of my favorite, easy and creative ways to put photos on your walls in the next few days.

These two photos were the ones Joe and I loved the most from the photo shoot. 
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Again, photography done by the amazing Shaina Fishman!
3 Comments
lori
7/6/2016 11:48:46 pm

Wonderful advise... get those photos out of your phone and onto your wall! Good luck with the puppy training.

Reply
Amanda Campbell
7/6/2016 11:52:05 pm

Great Read!! I'm looking forward to reading more about sharing stories with pictures.

Reply
Beth
7/27/2016 11:33:44 am

I love this! I am actually obsessed with making photo books about stuff for this reason! I hate the idea of not having these stories out for them to see! The kids are surrounded by their stories from vacations, adventures, etc! This has inspired me to get my act together and build my overdue book about our DC Trip! Thanks!

Reply



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