Brains – especially young brains – benefit from exercise. Here’s an exercise that Bernadette Tynen (the brain researcher) does with her students. She says that if you do it with your child once a week, it will help to make his thinking more flexible and creative. She gives the child […]
Tag: 15-minute ideas
Reading the paper on the floor
Life imitates blog.Having recently reminded myself what boys like (in terms of their reading material), I’ve been on the lookout for something to encourage my son to read during these busy summer days. This afternoon, I found it. The Toronto Star newspaper ran a great story on what Toronto was […]
Summer reading tips
How’s your summer going? Have the kids been reading? It’s mid-summer; now’s the time to encourage them to pick up a book. You know the research – kids who don’t read during the summer experience a big slip when they get back to school in September. Let’s make sure that […]
Getting boys reading
I know what boys like.* I’ve been following the website and tweets of a librarian whose speciality is helping boys become great readers. He’s definitely an expert in what appeals to boys. Here, I’ve distilled (*cough* ripped off) some of his best ideas about how to make reading fun for […]
Potter Puppet Pals
Here’s something cool you can share with your child. It’s unique, cool and fun – and it’s related to reading. And maybe your kid already knows about it, or maybe you’re about to be the coolest parent ever. It’s Potter Puppet Pals. It’s a series of videos on YouTube, and […]
Cool games on the Internet
Here are some funky literacy games even your child will agree are pretty cool. I stumbled across this site, and I love it. It’s easy to navigate, fast loading, has great graphics and the games are fun. And it’s by the BBC, so you know your kids will also learn […]
Great game: Tick Tock Boom
Tick… Tock… Boom is an awesome game my son discovered. You flip over a card that has two or three letters on it: for instance, OU or IRD or REW. Then, each person has to say a word that includes those letters. The catch is, after you say your word, […]
Likes video games, running
There are lots of fun literacy activities for active kids. I was talking to a mom yesterday who said she has two sons – one of whom isn’t a good reader. He likes video games and is quite physically active. Here are some fun suggestions: * Write a simple sentence […]
Great website – reading and math
I love Soft Schools. A wonderful kindergarten teacher told me about it years ago, and I’ve used it ever since. At Soft Schools you can create fun puzzles, tailor-made for your child, and then print them out or let your child do them online. For instance, there are:Word ScramblesUse your […]
Dial-a-story
I’m recording some books on CD for our school. It (and another mom in the schoolyard) reminded me that the Metro Toronto Public Library has a wonderful service. It’s Dial-a-Story, and all you have to do is phone a number — and let your child listen. Every day there is […]
