Get your child typing! Kids get frustrated because they can think up story ideas faster than they can write them. Unfortunately, they may give up on writing stories, or end up writing one- or two-line stories because their hands get sore or tired. The principal at our school had a […]
15-min. ideas
Great reading tool – Boggle Jr.
I e-mailed Hasbro and asked them to send me some word games and I’m really glad I did. (I have no affliation with Hasbro, by the way.) I tried Boggle Jr. with the six-year-old I’m working with, and it was really helpful. Boggle Jr. has a set of large dice […]
Internet word game: Dungeon Scroll
They won’t even realize they’re learning. If you’ve got a child who’s into computer games but you’d rather they read, here’s something that will make you an ultra-cool parent. It’s called Dungeon Scroll, and it’s simple and fun. In each “dungeon” you face an enemy. You defeat the enemies by […]
A fun literacy activity – Acrostics
Do you know about acrostics? An acrostic uses the first letters of words in a sentence and forms a “hidden” word from them like this: “Read everywhere, all day!” spells “read.” Read Everywhere All Day For younger children You can send your child secret messages using acrostics. Teach your child […]
Hallowe’en literacy
Some ideas for working literacy into your Hallowe’en festivities. * Spell Hallowe’en. Talk about why it has an apostrophe (All Hallow’s Evening). It’s also interesting to note that many people no longer use the apostrophe and that’s OK too. Kids are often surprised to learn that spelling evolves. * Sort […]
Reading the signs
The other day on the subway, I noticed some ads. PizzaPizza’s ad said, simply:XL craving? and Bell’s said:More 3G coverage.Facebook anywhere.So let’s say you’re a child who’s just learning to read.XL? These examples do two things:1) They illustrate just how difficult reading can be. And tricky!2) They’re a terrific learning […]
Sequencing game (online)
My friend’s daughter needs some practice with “sequencing.” Sequencing is important for reading, because it helps you understand what comes first, what comes next, and what’s last. That goes for words, sentences and stories. A game you can make One thing you can do to practice sequencing is to take […]
Creating comics online
I made this comic myself – and it was fun. Imagine how much your child will enjoy creating their own story lines.And afterwards, they can print them out and put them in a binder, or e-mail them to their friends. Making comics not only ensures that your child will be […]
Brain-training exercise
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 […]
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 […]
