Reading Essentials

Book Lover's Day is Coming! - Red Apple Reading Express

Book Lover’s Day is Coming!

Those of you who love the written word will be pleased to know that August 9th is Book Lover’s Day! For me, everyday is really Book Lover’s Day because there is almost nothing that makes me more happy than settling in with a good book. Even if you are not the book enthusiast that I am, this is still a great day to wipe the dust off of that book you’ve been meaning to read and plunge in! While you are catching up on your reading, don’t forget to include your little one in the holiday festivities. Red Apple Reading has a few suggestion on how you can make Book Lover’s Day fun for the whole family!

By Jennifer Campbell, ago
Why You Should Read to Your Baby - Red Apple Reading Express

Why You Should Read to Your Baby

We all know the importance of reading in the lives of our children. As parents of young elementary school children, we are always receiving reminders from teachers to read with our kids nightly. Most of us even recognize the importance of reading to our preschoolers. But what about our infants? Is it really important to sit down and read to them each day? In short, the answer is yes! Let’s explore a few reasons why reading to your infant is important.

By Jennifer Campbell, ago
School-Age Reading Expectations - Red Apple Reading Express

School-Age Reading Expectations – Reading Essentials #24

Summer is a great time to take an honest look at your child’s reading progress in school and determine if an intervention is needed before the new school year begins. Here’s the last of the Reading Essentials Series.
As your child is learning to read, you may begin to have concerns about whether or not he or she is progressing at a normal rate. This is completely normal. After all, you’ve been comparing developmental notes with other parents since your child was rolling over and beginning to crawl, right?

By Tammy Bennecke, ago
Super Summer Reading Resources

Summer Reading: Keeping Kids Interested

It’s hard to believe summer is already here! Most of our kiddos have wrapped up the school year and are ready for summer break. What is your family’s summer plans? Many of us have already started planning family vacations, summer camp, and other seasonal activities, but how many of us have considered summer reading? While summer is a time when most of our kids get a vacation from school, this need not mean they have a vacation from reading. How can you help your child avoid the summer reading slump? Red Apple Reading has a few suggestions!

By Jennifer Campbell, ago
Help! My Child Doesn't Like to Read - Red Apple Reading Express

Help! My Child Doesn’t Like to Read!

We all know the importance of reading in the lives of our children. As parents, we’re constantly getting newsletters from our kids’ teachers containing reminders to read, how many words a minute should be read, what the story of the week is, etc. Reading is the gateway to several different types of learning. Without a strong reading foundation, our kid’s progress in other academic subjects will suffer. But what if your child doesn’t like to read? Don’t despair! With a little creative thinking, you can help your child catch the reading bug. Here are a few hints to help you get started.

By Melissa Maypole, ago
Creative Ways to Practice Sight Words - Red Apple Reading Express

Creative Ways to Practice Sight Words

If you have younger elementary school students in your home, you are probably familiar with the term “sight words”. Sight words are words that our children need to be extra familiar with and know how to read without doing so phonetically. In other words, they need to know them by sight. These words appear frequently throughout most texts we read each day. Therefore, it is important for us to help our children practice these words and become comfortable reading them. Today we will look at some creative ways we can help our little ones learn their sight words!

By Jennifer Campbell, ago
Children with Reading Difficulties - Red Apple Reading Express

Children with Reading Difficulties – Reading Essentials #22

One of the most challenging conversations that parents and teachers can have involves the possibility that a child might have a reading or learning disability (RD/LD).  Parents might notice at home that a child struggles with reading, or with particular aspects of reading—phonics, for example. Or, a teacher might discover during an assessment that a child is reading at a lower level than expected. When a child is having difficulty learning, parents are understandably concerned and want to know exactly what is impairing their child’s learning. It’s important to understand, though, that the root causes of reading difficulties can be incredibly diverse, and they are not always related to learning disabilities!

By Tammy Bennecke, ago
Get-Caught-Reading-By-Your-Kids-RAR

Get Caught Reading… By Your Kids!

Did you know that May is Get Caught Reading Month? First launched in 1999, “Get Caught Reading” is a national campaign that reminds us how much fun it is to read!  Of course, we here at Red Apple Reading are huge advocates of the written word. So this month we want to join the campaign and encourage parents to pick up a book and Get Caught Reading by their children!

By Jennifer Campbell, ago