As you spend time outdoors with your child, there are so many ways to have fun that support literacy skills. Observe what you see outdoors Name the things you see growing, crawling, or flying Learn about animals, insects, and plants that are new to you Count everything you see! Compare sizes, shapes, colors, and other Read More
Outdoor Literacy
TGIJ – thank goodness it’s JUNE! After months of hunkering down at home, raise your hand if you’re ready for a sunny, busy Alaskan summer season. At long last, here’s the chance for your family to spend time outdoors fishing, camping, picnicking, biking, boating, berry picking, hiking, and more. Spending time outdoors is a great Read More
Seasons of Alaska has Arrived
A few months ago you could hardly walk through the Best Beginnings office. Boxes upon boxes of our newest book set for young children, Seasons of Alaska, filled nearly every room. Thanks to hard work and many, many mail runs, now over 20,000 of these books are in the hands of Alaska children all across the state – Read More
Books You’ll Love to Build Resiliency
Reading about characters who overcome challenges and work through their feelings can be very helpful for young children. These stories of resiliency are great ways to build their confidence using characters and storylines they can relate to. You’ll find instructions for accessing the Alaskas Digital Library and Tumblebooks via SLED down below. The Itsy Bitsy Read More
Activities to Build Resiliency
There are several ways to encourage a positive mindset, which goes a long way to building resiliency. Here are a few we really like. Explore STEM Learning to fail is part of problem-solving. STEM activities are one of the most natural ways to learn how to continue trying in the face of failure. For example, Read More
Ways to Build Resiliency
A positive mindset and strong relationships are two basic components of resiliency that increase your ability to bounce back during tough times. A third helpful, but optional component is spirituality and/or cultural connection. For some people, religious practices, spiritual beliefs, and/or cultural identity can have big impact too. Relationships are key Use your words Teach Read More
Resiliency
Resiliency, maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s one of the more recent buzzwords in child development. The thinking is that we can teach our children to recover quickly from difficulties as they cope with stressful situations. There’s no better time for real talk about how to keep going when things aren’t running smoothly than right Read More
Best Beginnings Receives Library of Congress State Literacy Award
Best Beginnings is one of 10 organizations selected from nominations across the United States to receive a State Literacy Award from The Library of Congress in 2020. Best Beginnings was nominated for the award by The Alaska Center for the Book for its “outstanding and innovative contributions to literacy in the local community and across Read More
Week of the Young Child
With lots of families spending more time at home together, it may feel like every week now is the week of the young child. However, there’s one particular week in which we pay special attention to young children, their families, and the early care and learning programs and teachers that support them. The Week of the Read More
Lean in to Literacy
As we continue to “hunker down” in Alaska during the coronavirus pandemic, good news is often hard to come by. Here’s a good news story I love to tell! This month, 17,609 children in 118 communities in Alaska are finding a brand-new, high-quality, age-appropriate book in their mailbox, at no cost to their family. Best Read More