If you aren’t able to find time to read to your child or offer him literacy activities—use the power of two—you and another parent. You know that kids who are read to every day are more likely to develop a love of reading. But that’s 15 minutes that tends to […]
Tag: one-hour ideas
Mother-Son book club
My friend Joulie is a supermom. That needs to be said right off the bat. There is no way to live up to the things that Joulie does with her kids. And for the kids at the school. And for the neighbourhood kids. Luckily, I don’t have to be as good […]
Scrabble Flash (Boggle Flash)
Don’t you wish there was a board game that encourages literacy – but which your kid would actually enjoy? Scrabble Flash goes one better… it’s also electronic, which kids love. And it’s completely portable, packing down into a little holder about the size of a small TV remote. (Which parents […]
Back to school 2010
By Julia Mohamed It’s nearly back-to-school time! Time to go from running wild and free to becoming a studious student once again. Here are a few ideas to help make the transition as smooth as possible: Goal Journal Have your kids contribute to a nightly journal. Begin now, with their […]
Supermarket Scavenger Hunt
By Julia Mohamed The next time you go grocery shopping, make it a more educational, enjoyable and literate experience for your kids with a Supermarket Scavenger Hunt! 1. Give each child a list of items to gather. Be as specific as possible (include a brand name, size, etc.) For instance, […]
Literacy games for in the car
By Julia Mohamed Going on a road trip? Here are some great literacy games you can play in the car. THE LICENSE PLATE GAME● One person begins by spotting a license plate and announcing the letters (not the numbers) on it. ● Everyone else, in turn, must come up with […]
Set up summer reading rewards
Stats show that kids who read throughout the summer have a great kick-start to school in September. And kids who don’t, typically start the school year a bit behind. With the school year ending, now’s the time to plan your child’s summer reading and writing projects. Does your library have […]
Numeracy activities
A few posts ago, I listed some great literacy activities from our school board. Here are some numeracy activities to get kids doing math (same source, TDSB). Again, I’ve put in bold the ones I think are particularly interesting. Estimate speed/distance/time relationships while travelling with your family. What was the […]
Get involved in your child’s school
Enrich your child’s learning, help your teacher, get involved. I despair when parents complain that their kids aren’t getting what they need from their school. I despair, not because the children aren’t getting what they need from their school, but because we parents have been conditioned to accept those terms […]
Current events
I’ve been doing current events at my son’s school. I approached my son’s teacher a few weeks ago, and proposed a weekly, half-hour current events discussion for the grade 3 / 4 class. My son’s teacher is very cool, and progressive and totally supported the idea. He also helped to […]