Jamie and the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Comments

[Dennis]

What a delight! If you are ever in north Germany and need a "baby" sitter, reader - just call. Thanks so much for sharing this.

Dennis

[Dom]

Really cute!
Dom

[Jason]

Hi Dennis and Dom,

Dennis, I'll definitely have to take you up on that offer - the north part of Germany is one of the more beautiful places in the world I've seen only briefly (I've spent a lot more time further north in Denmark and especially Sweden).

And Dom, great to hear from you mate. You were the one who taught me so much about effective teaching for VYLs (Very Young Learners), so some of it has most probably affected the way I try to inspire a passion for reading in the little lad. That was a great kindergarten program we used to run here in Korea, wasn't it? Make sure you read, read and read some more to your little Nora - goodness she's starting to look like her mum these days!

Good to hear from both of you.

Cheers,

Jason

[Helen]

Oh, my god! He is so cute!!
I want to have a such cute brother :)

[Helen]

Oh! my god! He is so cute!!
I want to have such a cute brother!!

[Jason]

Hi Helen,

According to the Korean way, Jamie would call you "nu-na", so I guess you could consider him your own cute brother. :-)

Best,

Jason

[Dean]

That is absolutely adorable. He is having such a great time reading away. I love the butterfly hands at the end!

[Greg Brooks-English]

Fantastic! With our baby due in two months, I'm estatic for you and realize that our baby will have no problems learning English and Korean being in Korea... Any tips you can share about teaching in a multi-cultural family? I've heard that native English speaker should only speak English to child, and native Korean speaker in family should only speak Korean to baby, that way not to confuse child. What's your perspective?

[Jason]

Hi Helen - I guess, according to the Korean way of things - Jamie would refer to you as "nu-na", so perhaps you could call him your cute brother... :-)

Hey Dean - Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing here, that he is enjoying himself as he tells the story, and it is absolutely his own version of things. Personally, my favorite part is when he turns around and announces the "CO-COON!" as if it is just the most amazing revelation...

Greg - good to hear from you, mate. Tips? Well, with two months to go, I really hope you have already started reading to bub, perching yourself right next to mother's belly and reading away every night. Interesting what you mention about use of language from the two parents - something I've also seen quoted and recommended, but it hasn't exactly turned out that way for us (my wife and I swap languages constantly with each other, and both of us respond to Jamie in whichever language he happens to want to use at that time). I do, however, have a strong theory that Jamie's ease with English has a lot to do with regular story-telling. Observations are ongoing!

Good luck to you and your wife, you must be getting really excited with just two months left to go!

Best,

Jason

[Louisa]

What an adorable child, Jason! He is so cute!! Now that we have so many people with young children, we should make a KOTESOL play date for them!

Incidentally, I thought you were leaving to go back to Australia... plans changed??? Good to have you still in Korea, though! See you around.

Best,

Louisa

[Jason]

Hi Louisa!

Jamie will be happy to hear he has yet another fan. When will we get to see a video of your little cutie reading online?

Yes, in Korea for one final year - bit of a complicated story, I'll give you the run down next time we catch up at a conference somewhere on the peninsula.

Cheers!

- Jason

[Janet Beyer]

What a great performance and how lucky you were to catch it on video. I wonder how often he had heard the story - he obviously remembered all the important details. I wish I understood the 'cocoon' joke'.

[Jason]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for dropping by. Yes, we were lucky to catch it on video. Since then he's started doing the same thing with other books (like "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", "Owl Babies", "Hippos Go Berserk") but we've restrained ourselves from jumping for the video camera or asking him to "perform".

In terms of how often he'd heard the story, I could confidently say hundreds and hundreds of times. I read stories to him nightly, and he usually chooses what he wants to read/listen to.

It's also become a "going to sleep" ritual. Because I've come to know a lot of his stories off by heart, I'm able to tell them to him in the dark as he's getting ready to drift off to sleep. I think this has had a powerful effect on his ability to internalize the words, "chunks" and rhythm of the stories. These days he can tell me several of the stories as well, just lying there in the dark talking away as he gets sleepier (as in, without seeing or flipping through the book).

It would be a simplification, however, just to say that the stories have been read to him. As he has gotten older and more talkative, the story reading/telling has become quite collaborative. A common pattern like this then emerges:

Dad: "In the light of the ...?"

Jamie: "Moon!"

Dad: "A little ...?"

Jamie: "Egg!"

Dad: "Lay on a ...?"

Jamie: "Leaf!" (his version is usually "leafsh")

You can hear this pattern in his own telling, and his ability to state and point to key information in the story. As he has developed, he's been internalizing the larger chunks and putting them together himself. Eventually you get to a point where he will just come out with all of it on his own.

As for the cocoon joke... He has always been obsessed with the cocoon illustration and stage of the story. In the video, you can actually see him skip over a double page to get to it! He seems to think this is the absolute climax of the story - the biggest revelation of all. Hence his big emphasis on the cocoon page as a kind of major announcement.

Other than that, I think he just enjoys the sound of the word rolling around and out of his mouth: "CO-COOOOON!" It sends his parents into fits of laughter as well - no doubt another reason he loves that part.

Cheers,

Jason

[Susan Hillyard]

Jason,
This is terrific! Both our kids, now 22 ans 28 have been brought up "overseas" and although we are both Brits we have encouraged reading ( and songs)from, as you say, before the beginning. They used to do great stuff but we never had a viseo, only a tape recorder! can I have your permission to show this in my teacher training sessions? Praps you should ask Jamie if he agrees!
Best
Susan Hillyard ( Argentina)

[Jason]

Hi Susan,

By all means. I have asked Jamie and he said "Yeah, I'm okay" (part of his "Dora the Explorer" lexicon, and his standard response when he hears someone ask him anything with the word "okay" and an inquiring tone!).

Great to hear from you!

- Jason

[Alex Case]

Very cute!

It's a great book for pre-school younger learner classes too.