Editor’s Note: This is part of a series sharing the values of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
The N in I CAN READ—the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s values statement—stands for nimble. The Campaign is willing to adopt strategies or courses of action to achieve better results even when they depart from previous ways of operating and is committed to evaluating and adjusting course to achieve maximum effectiveness.
Not only is the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading committed to being nimble internally, but it also encourages nimbleness from others.
A perfect example is the Campaign’s movement to make Vroom a part of the lives of young children and their caregivers on a daily basis. The Vroom app teaches parents, grandparents, teachers, and others to be nimble and ready to change the current way of doing things to achieve maximum brain-building potential for young children.
My Vroom tip for the day—easy to find because it just popped up on my phone—is to turn something ordinary into a bath toy with the help of my two-year-old grandson. What can he turn a large plastic cup into? A submarine or a yacht? Maybe a hat or a megaphone to yell “everyone out of the tub!” The point is that he and I have meaningful back-and-forth communication and use lots of new words while doing everyday tasks.
You have to learn to be nimble and take an ordinary part of your day and turn it into a magical moment. You have to be open to what may seem like nothing special to you but may make a deep impression on your little one.
I’m looking forward to Derrick’s next snack time where we will take turns describing what he is eating. And when he gets dressed, we’ll sing a silly song about putting his arm in the correct sleeve and his shoes on the right feet. I have all the tools I need. I just have to be nimble enough to use them to create a learning opportunity.
photo credit: Reading Time with Uncle Bob via photopin (license)
