Here is a great video that teaches what Silent E does. (Spoiler alert: For one thing, it makes a hug huge!) Thanks to thekidshouldseethis.com, who brought this to my attention via a tweet. Their website is fantastic – it’s a collection of videos that kids just gotta see. And if you’re in […]
Activities
Fun online spelling bee
This one’s for kids who are already good spellers and who think spelling is fun. (To me it’s a no-brainer, but I have to remember that not everyone reads the dictionary for fun.) Anyway, that kid will appreciate this great online spelling bee from Oxford. It’s fast and it’s fun […]
Literacy opportunities are everywhere
You don’t always need books to help your kid read better.
Scrabble – Alphabet Scoop game
Caution: Don’t eat actual soup while you’re playing this game. (We did – it was an issue. I’ll tell you at the end.) Scrabble – Alphabet Scoop is a fun new game that you can play with kids who are at different levels of literacy and of different ages. It’s […]
Advice from a young author: Dare to suck
Do you have a kid you’re trying to encourage to write more? Is your kid discouraged because she’s worried that her writing isn’t good enough? Here’s some great advice from a young author, Maureen Johnson, who is currently working on her 10th novel for teens. She will tell your kid (in her […]
Collection of videos kids gotta see
You’ve gotta love the spirit behind The Kid Should See This. You’re trolling the Internet (as you do) and you come across a crazy video showing lightning strikes on the CN Tower, and you think “I’ve gotta show this to my kid!” That’s exactly what TKSST is. A collection of fascinating, […]
Test your Potter fan with these clues
We’ve all been missing Harry and the Gang, of course, which is why we were so excited to see the new website, Pottermore. Getting Kids Reading has qualified to be an early, beta-tester of the new Harry Potter site. That means we’ll be able to bring you an insider’s view […]
QR codes – reading fun for the whole (nerdy) family
OK, this is a great tip but it might be a bit… er… nerdy. But then, so am I. And so is my kid, who wears it like a badge of honour. You’ve seen these QR codes, right? They’re on ads, posters, marketing material. Maybe you never knew what they […]
The news, in kid-friendly language
Kids love reading about what’s happening in their world. But so often, the newspaper is full of inappropriate and difficult articles. Teaching Kids News (TKN) is a sister website to Getting Kids Reading. We offer kid-friendly news articles, taken from the headlines of real newspapers. One of the great things […]
“Got caught reading, I did!”
If you’re trying to encourage your child to read more, surround her with good examples. Read, yourself, especially when she’s around to see you setting a good example. And here’s another good thing to do. Go to Get Caught Reading and print off one of their celebrity posters. You can […]