My husband and I used to make fun of the couples in restaurants who stared longingly at their phones rather than each other. Over plates of over-priced food, they gazed at their screens while never making eye contact with one another. We vowed never to be that couple. Then, we each got a Smartphone…on the same day. Looking back, that may have been one of the most transformative days of our marriage.
Did you know today is National Family Day? To celebrate, we’d like to share some of our favorite literacy-promoting activities that you can do with your whole family to encourage your budding reader and—well, to just have fun together! Remember, reading books is a great way to help your little one acquire literacy skills, but it’s not the only way!
We all know that parent-teacher communication is important. After all, in the ideal scenario, you and your child’s teacher will be partnering together throughout the year to help your child achieve his full potential. So, how do you ensure that the line of communication between you and your kid’s teacher is a clear and open one? Consider the following Dos and Don’ts.
Spring is here—finally! Time to open the windows and break out the sandals. Moms and dads usually love this time of year because it means that kids can unglue themselves from the TV and spend less time underfoot and more time outdoors. While reading certainly makes a great cold-weather activity, be sure to keep up a regimen of daily reading during the Spring months as well. To help you out, here are a few tips for making sure your little one stays on top of her literacy game during warmer weather.
When it comes to parental involvement, the common complaint is that parents aren’t involved enough, but there is a flip side to the coin. Believe it or not, it is possible to become overly involved in your child’s education. Here’s how:
If you’ve been following the blog lately, you know that we’ve been talking about how important it is to know your child’s learning style so that you can help them learn best at home and advocate for them at school as well. We’ve also discussed some specific strategies for those kids who, in my opinion, are the most underserved in school: kinesthetic learners.
What if you have a visual learner, though? What can you do to help her reach her full potential by using her natural talents? Well, first, it’s important to know that visual learners learn by seeing, and they often think in pictures.
Even if you haven’t taken a learning styles quiz, you can probably determine whether or not your child is an auditory learner by knowing this one characteristic: they like to talk—a lot! Auditory learners not only like the sound of their own voice, though. They prefer to take in the world by listening rather than seeing or touching. Since so much of learning to read is about learning distinct sounds, auditory learners have an advantage.
A few months back, I posted about the importance of knowing your child’s learning style. Hopefully, you took some time to take the quiz and find out just exactly how your little one’s brain ticks. If not, check out this quick learning styles quiz.
I mentioned in the post that my Kindergartener is extremely kinesthetic. That is, she learns best by touching or doing, not listening or seeing. Since many teachers tend to use primarily verbal and auditory teaching methods, these types of learners can have a rough time when learning to read, or learning anything else for that matter! It’s not that these kids are incapable of learning. Oh no! It’s that they learn in way that is different from how most educators teach, which clearly puts them at a disadvantage.
Dwindling budgets have forced art programs across the country out of our public school systems, much to the dismay of many teachers and educators who have long respected art as not just a second recess (as some mistakenly perceive it), but as a key part of a child’s schooling. We know that the arts can help students develop critical thinking skills, special intelligence, and of course, creativity, but did you know that art can also enhance literacy? Here’s how.
As you may suspect, I’m not only a regular contributor to this blog, but I’m also a Red Apple Reading customer, so I wanted to let you know how Katie is progressing with her lessons and share some thoughts on the effectiveness of the program from a parent’s perspective. And what better day to share than on Read Across America Day! Quick disclaimer: though I’m obviously a member of the team here, you have my word that my opinions are my own and as unbiased as possible!