Encouraging Writing and Young Children

Tweet     One of the best ways to reinforce reading skills is through writing. Graves (1983) wrote children want to write. They want to write from the beginning of school. Before school, he continues, young children write on walls and pavement. Children may seem like they are scribbling, but there is meaning behind it; the children need only be asked what the scribbles mean (Graves, 1983). There are many ways...

Poetry and Young Children

Tweet   April is national Poetry Month and there are many great ways to share poetry with your child. Through poetry you can: Increase your child’s vocabulary Allow for your child’s creative abilities Encourage your child’s self-expression Stretch your child’s imagination Some ways to share poetry with your child are: A.  Read poetry aloud together B.   Have your child dictate a poem to you...

The Keeping Quilt Book Review and Activities

Tweet   The Keeping Quilt   by Patricia Polacco   A Russian immigrant mother and her family arrive in the United States. She plans to make a quilt from a basket of old clothes. She tells her daughter, “It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night”. The quilt is given from mother to daughter for four generations. It becomes a tablecloth for the Sabbath and a canopy over...

Creative Holiday Gifts $10.00 or Less

Tweet Creative Holiday Gifts for under $10.00   Holiday gift shopping can be expensive. However, it is possible to be creative, educational and still keep to your budget if you have the right mind set. So here are my suggestions for great gift shopping that will not make a hole in your pocketbook. You can still put a smile on your child’s face and not empty your bank account. 1. STICKERS: You can buy stickers in all...

How to Get Your Children Ready for the Holidays

Tweet How to Get Your Children Ready for the Holidays: As Thanksgiving is over, the days until the Christmas and Chanukah holidays begin to go very fast. Your children are excited and anxiously awaiting school vacation, holiday presents, and time with family and friends. Here are ways to help include your child in the holiday preparations while instilling in them the spirit and meaning of the holiday season. 1....

Sight Words

Tweet Sight Words A sight word is a word whose spelling is not straightforward and does not allow a beginning reader to determine what word it represents just by sounding it out according to the rules. Beginning readers recognize sight words from having memorized them or by drawing their meaning from the context in the text. Reading researcher Diane McGuinness estimates that there are approximately 100 common words in...