What is an eensie, you say?

small, easy, digestible bits of advice that promote learning outside the classroom.

Twice a month, you lucky readers, you will get “eensies” right here! Eensies are brought to you by two incredibly practical, smart, creative (and yes, I AM wildly enthusiastic about them) elementary school teachers with a combined 20 years in the classroom. Brett and Rebecca where they help us parents figure out what to do in the home to keep our little sponges soaking up the right kind of stuff! They have super ideas. I wish I could stay home full time just to implement them. But, alas, we all do what we can- and the suggestion below is one I can do! And so can you!

So, here they are: Brett and Rebecca- two teachers that we all wish were teaching our children- or at least we had playdates with!

Brett and Rebecca

First Things First

by Rebecca of

Okay folks, this has to be put out there before we proceed any further. THE best thing you can do at home is (drum roll please)… read to your child. Plain and simple. No matter what their age, children benefit tremendously by being read aloud to. It helps teach them that reading is an enjoyable activity, while at the same time building listening and comprehension skills, increasing vocabulary, improving memory and much, much more.

Did you know that “read-aloud” is often mandated to occur daily in the elementary classroom (across the grades)? Cross my heart! So why not do the same at home? Every day? Yes, E-V-E-R-Y day! For all you busy families out there, it might help to establish a consistent read-aloud routine. Bedtime is a frequent choice, but breakfast time works too. And why not bath time? My mom used to read to me from chapter books while I ate my dinner. Pippi Longstocking often got me to eat all my veggies. “Okay, one more chapter, but only if you finish your broccoli.” No matter how you squeeze it into your day, do it! The time you spend on this is invaluable.

Extra credit- Let your child observe you reading to yourself regularly too. Modeling is a very powerful teaching tool and viewing ones parents as “readers” makes reading that much more inviting to our wee ones.

Brett Blair and Rebecca Caban first crossed paths eight years ago while pursuing their graduate degrees at the Bank Street College of Education. They’ve been working and playing together since then. Brett has taught for the past 10 years in Kindergarten through the 3rd grade. She currently teaches first grade at a renowned Manhattan public school and happily lives with her husband in the village. After teaching for 10 years, Rebecca is now being taught by her 2 year old daughter while spending their days together at home in Brooklyn. While in the classroom, she taught pre-K through the 3rd grade and spent time coaching other teachers.