Supporting Children Where They Are

Several years ago at Columbia, a woman came up to me at the reference desk to thank me for something that had happened 15 years before.
 She told me about a story time she had attended with her daughter, who was then 4 years old.  After the story time we made banners with felt letters.  Phoebe had taken the letters for her name and arranged them in an order known only to her on her banner. 

The mother appreciated that I did not correct her and that I had admired her banner that day.  The daughter, who was then 19, then came over to the desk and told me she still had the banner!