Avoid the Summer Slide

Tweet               Avoid the Summer Slump!      Many journals on education talk about the Summer Slide or Summer Slump. This is known as a decline in reading achievement some children experience from being out of school over the long summer vacation. Research has shown that consequences of reading loss can be long lasting. Children who fall behind over the summer find it harder to close the...

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...

Helping Your Struggling Reader to Read More Books

Tweet It is always difficult to help your child who may be struggling to read to enjoy reading books for pleasure. We know that the more he/she reads, the easier it will become. However, getting your child to enjoy reading books for fun can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you to get your Struggling Reader to read for his/her enjoyment: 1. Find several books you think he/she may like and let them choose which...

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...

Best Reading Gift Ever

Tweet Best Reading Gift Ever I love to read a book before I go to sleep. I often would curl up with a blanket on the couch and read until I felt tired enough to go to bed. Now that winter is here, reading on the couch, even with a blanket was getting quite chilly. So on a recent shopping trip to the local mall, my husband bought a reading light for me to read in bed. It is a simple LED light that hooks on to the side or...