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. […]
Reading theory
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, […]
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 […]
What you say he is, he will become
How many times have you said, “My child’s not a reader.” If you’ve said it, he’s heard it. The way we define our children goes a long way towards making them that way. So if we tell people our child’s not interested in reading, he’ll live up to that expectation. […]
Great make: plasticine books
This great comment from Cathy was too good to leave in the comments section. Hi Joyce: You’ve got me thinking about what sorts of things encouraged my boys to enjoy reading when they were small. One idea that really worked and was a lot of fun: When my son was […]
Books wherever they are
I was talking to a mom at baseball practice on the weekend. She said her son wasn’t reading at grade-level, and she’s just signed him up for an expensive course to teach him phonics. (Or read this blog – for free. Plus it’s more fun. But I digress.) Another mom […]
Nancy’s Book of Poems
You may remember Nancy, from our Sept. 18 post. She’s the little girl who wasn’t terribly keen on reading. Her mom and I discussed getting her to write about something she’s interested in. Well, Nancy and her mom took the idea and ran with it! We’re pleased to present her […]
Share your favourite book
What was your favourite book as a child? What were the books that soothed you, that made you laugh, that were your friends? One great idea that will help your child (and you), is to revisit them at the library, and then share them with your child. Your child will […]
Learning to read the signs
One of the first words my son learned to read was “Stop.” He didn’t learn it from a book, but from the neighbourhood stop signs. When I was an ESL tutor, I learned that one of the biggest motivators for new readers is relevance. People are more apt to want […]
