Have you taught your child how to read a newspaper? I don’t mean the words themselves. I mean how a newspaper works. What a headline is. Where the author’s name is, and how to tell what’s happening in the pictures. Where does the rest of the article go off the […]
Author: JHHCanada
Will your child be a reader?
I’m reading Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, by Maryanne Wolf, a researcher who explains, among other things, how the brain learns to read. She underscores how essential it is that children be read to often: “Learning to read begins the first time an […]
Read to your child every night
Every night? Every night. Reading to your child could be the single most important thing you do to turn your child into a great reader. And if for some reason you “can’t” read to your child every night, forthwith are my reasons why, in fact, you can. *He’s too tired. […]
Hoppity, by A. A. Milne
Hoppity by A. A. Milne Christopher Robin goesHoppity, hoppity,Hoppity, hoppity, hop. Whenever I tell himPolitely to stop it, heSays he can’t possibly stop. If he stopped hopping,He couldn’t go anywhere,Poor little ChristopherCouldn’t go anywhere… That’s why he always goesHoppity, hoppity,Hoppity,Hoppity,Hop.
Tag helps kids read, learn
“Tag” could be a great learning device for your not-big-on-reading child. It’s essentially a wireless, electronic pen. When you poke a special “Tag” book with it, the book talks. Kids can hear the story, listen to the characters speak, play games and identify words.You have to use the Tag books, […]
Hallowe’en is for learning
No, not really – it’s for candy and for zombies. But in the midst of our Hallowe’en party today, I managed to sneak in some learning. We had hidden “eyeballs” (bouncy balls with corneas printed on them) in the backyard. Each child had to find five with their initials on […]
Treating books with kindness
This goes along with my last post, about considering books as a “treasure.” Once you think of books that way, you can’t help but have a certain reverence for them and this in turn reinforces the idea that they contain something valuable. Accordingly, I don’t allow books on the floor, […]
A book is a treasure chest
When I see a book, I think of it as a “treasure chest.” The person who opens the cover will discover infinite possibilities – excitement, emotion, great characters, facts, new ideas! When I leave a book on my son’s bed for him to “find,” it’s like I’m leaving him buried […]
So your kid loves superheroes? No problem.
When is a comic not a comic? When it’s a book. I have nothing against comic books, except that sometimes they can be a bit violent and they’re not always terribly well-written. Fortunately, there is a healthier alternative. These books have superheroes and illustrations like comic books, but they’re non-violent […]
Why I love the library: Part I
There are so many great ways to enjoy the library. This post is the first of many, as I share with you a love of libraries. Being enthusiastic about libraries rubs off on children, and the library can become a place where kids feel comfortable and empowered. When my son […]
