This episode of DocSmo.com stresses the importance of promoting literacy in your children by reading aloud frequently and making sure they have regular visits to the library. Every child should have a library card!
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Oooh, this is a fabulous topic. Great tip on the library card and regular visits to the local library to check out new books. Some other things we have done to get our girls excited about reading… we subscribe to two Cricket children’s magazines, Ladybug (stories and poems) and Click (science and nature), in our oldest daughter’s name – not only does she love getting the mail, but each issue is filled with stories, poems, activities, songs and crafts that are perfect for her young, imaginative mind. Also, we have found that when we preface an outing, activity, or trip with a book, it makes the book AND the activity that much more exciting. It’s great in building suspense for a big event (seeing the Nutcracker Ballet on stage!), setting expectations (introducing our toddler to the sights and sounds of the ocean prior to her 1st trip to the beach), and alleviating any anxiety over the unknown (potty training, 1st trip to the dentist, 1st time on a plane, etc.). Thanks for another great Pedcast DocSmo!
It sounds like you are very in tune with your girls and provide fantastic experiences for them. Good work. They are lucky children! I remember the kids magazines when I was young and how enjoyable they were; articles, puzzles, connect the dots etc. I think that is a great idea. Thanks for the comment. Doc Smo
Reading opens the door to lifelong learning. Here’s a recent article from The Wall Street Journal that was very interesting.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405511702112290.html?KEYWORDS=THOMAS+SPENCE
You’ll have to cut and paste it into your browser. The article is titled, How to Raise Boys That Read.
There are 3 parts to our children’s reading experience. There is “reading” as a subject- learning phonics, sight words, whole language etc. This reading is on their level and improves their own reading skills. Next, we have a “family” reading time. Family reading generally consists of books such as “Little House in the Big Woods”, “The Velveteen Rabbit”, “Misty of Chincoteague”, “Charlotte’s Web”- chapter books with engaging plots and noble values. The third component is where we learn to read to retain knowledge. Attention does not come easily to children (or adults sometimes) and we have to train ourselves to pay attention. Depending on the child’s age and ability, you can either read aloud to them (early elementary) or let them read a chapter or passage on their own (older elementary and up). Then, ask them to narrate to you everything they can remember about what they just read (or heard). For young children, this develops the ability to mentally organize information. They recall the details that stood out to them. They put the story in sequence. They truly retain what they retell. For an older child, this gives them quite an advantage when it comes time to start writing essays. Now all they have to do is use that mental skill and put it down on paper. However, this kind of reading experience is limited to short sessions every day because primarily you want them to experience the joy of reading and not get bogged down in forever retelling the story. Sometimes a story is just meant to be enjoyed.