http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/hyc.html
ED.Gov site is loaded with information about education and helping your child. This particular link includes information about science, math, reading, homework, becoming a responsible citizen and a few other topics. You can download the information and/or order the booklet.
While reading to your child, point to the title and say, “The title is (read the title.)”
Point to the author’s name and say “The author is (say author’s name)and he/she wrote the book.”
Point to the illustrator’s name and say, “The illustrator is (say name) and he/she drew the pictures.”
Do this each time you read a story or magazine article. It’s an easy way to teach your child a few basic concepts about reading.
http://www.rif.org/educators/articles/whentalk.mspx
This Reading is Fundamental site explains in detail the importance of holding discussions with your child. By talking about past, present and future activities with your child, you help develop his ability to use more complicated grammar. This carries over to his future ability to understand different types of books and stories he will read in school and on his own as he continues to grow.
This site has useful information for parents and educators. It’s a non-profit based in PA.
Children and adults love humor. If you’re already a fan of Jack Prelutsky, you’ll enjoy “Be Glad Your Nose in on Your Face, and other poems”. If you haven’t read his work before, this is a perfect book to start with. A cd is included with thirty poems read by the author, so you can even listen as you drive your children to school and sports.
Younger children will laugh at the silly words and pictures. Older children will laugh at the humor and wit. Parents will appreciate Prelutsky’s views on topics such as a family singing carols together.
“Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face” by Jack Prelutsky, illustrations by Brandon Dorman, 2008 by Greenwillow Books.
Realizing what your child knows and working from there is a technique many reading specialists use. For example, if your young child is learning letters and knows some letters in his name, point out those letters in other words. Maybe your child’s name is Mike. Whenever you see a letter M say “There’s an M just like the one in your name.” Doing this will solidify his knowledge of the letter.
Gather up all your stories that feature bears, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Next, have your child gather all his stuffed bears and a blanket. Together, you can sit on the blanket surrounded by bears and read bear stories. You can make connections between the stories. You might find a baby bear in two different stories. You might find two or more of the books are non fiction. Some of the books might have talking bears while others don’t. Help your child notice these differences and similarities between his books.
Can your child tell you how to spell any words? Sometimes children can spell mom, dad, no, or their own name. If your child doesn’t yet know how to form letters, but can identify certain ones by sight, such as the “m” in mom, ask him if he wants to type the known word on the computer. The more practice he has writing the words, the easier it will be when it comes time to read the words in a book.
A word of caution, let your child take the lead and stick to any word(s) he can already tell you how to spell.
Rhymes play an important role in early literacy skills. They help children distinguish between beginning sounds, such as Jill, Hill. Down, Crown. Nursery rhymes have a rhythm to them which helps children predict what will come next. They usually tell a silly story with just a few short lines and they’re fun to repeat again and again.
Nursery rhymes are so common that your child will hear them with you at home, with a teacher at school, and with Grandma and Grandpa. These connections are also important for your child’s litercacy skills.
You can tell your child rhymes you remember, read them from books, or play a nursery rhyme cd for your family to enjoy.
Here are a few nursery rhymes you might remember.
Mary had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, This Little Piggy went to Market, Humpty Dumpty and Pat-a Cake.
On another note, my son is no longer an infant which means I’ve caught up on some sleep. I’m looking forward to putting my energy back into the Starting to Read site.
This will be the last post for a while. I didn’t realize how much time is involved is raising a little boy (wonderful time I should add) and I need to start cutting back on other activities, such as blogging.
Thank you for visiting.
Marcia