You've heard of busy bags, but do you also know about literacy book bags? These are bags with a picture book and playful toys, games, or other related hands-on activities to do. And you can easily make your own! Literacy book bags help children go deeper into the story. The bags encourage a child to retell (reenact) the story. This helps with sequencing as well as understanding story structure. … [Read more...]
Summer Reading Resources A to Z
Did I ever tell you how I can not make my oldest daughter do anything she doesn't want to? For example, the Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade Halloween parades at school. She flat out refused to wear a costume. Didn't want to. Wasn't going to. Sure, I have forced her to do things: Strap into her car seat. Go to school. (Big things though.) You have to pick your battles. Reading is one … [Read more...]
Listen up kids, read an audiobook
Take this short quiz to see if you and your child need audio books in your reading lives. Are you busy? Always on the go? Does your child resist reading every night? Do you want some peace and quiet for a few minutes? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I have the answer for you. Audio Books Yes! Audio books. Listen up – here's all you need to know. Choose a … [Read more...]
Book Clubs for Kids
Starting a Book Club for Kids or for Parents and Kids 1. Decide who to invite to your book club. (Group by interest, age, or gender.) 2. Select the first book, date, time and location. 3. Read the book with your child. 4. Plan discussion questions and/or activities. Involve your children in this process or let them plan it themselves. 5. Add snacks and you're ready to go! Book Club Book … [Read more...]
5 Ideas for Kids Who Hate to Read
What do you do when your child hates to read? It's painful to see your child struggle and feel such negative emotions. No doubt you're wondering what you can do at home to help your child learn to love reading. (Or at least like it.) Try these 5 easy ideas at home with your reluctant reader. You can help your child's reading confidence. Once a child is a more confident reader, he or she … [Read more...]
Author Study of Mo Willems
I LOVE author and illustrator Mo Willems. Studying an author as brilliant as Mo Willems can help children to appreciate writing, illustrating, humor, cartooning, and literary elements - just to name a few. If you're not yet a fan, um, WHY NOT? Run to the book store or library and get all his books. Read his blog. Read his other blog. Now, read his books, laugh, and adore. Now, let's … [Read more...]
Read Magazines and Non-Fiction Books
If your child only reads fiction, it's time to expand his or her reading horizons. Try non-fiction this week. Perhaps a magazine or a short book? As a teacher, I always encouraged students to read more non-fiction. Non-fiction structure is different -- table of contents, headers, captions and so on. Familiarize your child with non-fiction text structures so he or she is able to get … [Read more...]