If you have a second grader, a fourth grader, or maybe a 6th grader who is not a good reader, NOW is the time for action. Learning to read well is a MUST for every child.
A reading problem will affect many aspects of your child's life. First, a poor reader will not do well in school, and what could be worse? Your child is required to spend hours at school every day for all of childhood. A poor reader, a poor student, is a second class citizen nearly every time. The teacher doesn't want it that way. The school does not want that to happen. Certainly the parents do not want it. But it happens nevertheless. The only remedy is to help your child read well.
A child who does not read well will most often have a low self image that will carry over into the home and the neighborhood. This low self image often carries on long into adulthood. The remedy is, of course, being able to read well.
Your child can read. And your child can read well. It's not all that hard! More on this topic in the next post. Meanwhile, how is your child reading? Let me know. Click on "comments" right below this line to send your reply. I want to hear from you.
Jodi Heaton Hurst
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Reading Games
Favorite childhood memories are the games I played. Let's see: tic tac toe, my ship sails, freeze tag, red rover, sticks and stones, jacks, dominos and marbles. What games do you remember?
I don't recall reading games, however, unless I count the ABC game while traveling. Reading games for little ones can be so, SO much fun for them. After all, their favorite people, their parents, are playing with them!
But when you think of reading games, think basic. Very, very basic. I'm not talking Monopoly; slap jack is more like it.
Here's a reading game for you called Slap That! Start with your child's name on a paper or card. "This is your name, 'Kaitlyn.' Can you slap your name before I slap it?" After several slaps with you and your child taking turns winning the slap, add your name, "Mom." Lay both names up on the table in front of you and let your child slap the name that you say. For a change, let your child say the name and you slap it. Yes, this is a very simple game. But it is a perfect game for any beginning reader. Laugh together and enjoy it!
Now move on to Slap That!, level 2. Add three more word cards. They can be the names of siblings, Dad, or Grandma. They could even be the words, "cat" or "dog." All the words together make a small deck of five word cards. Turn one over at a time. Your child can only slap his or her own name . Then play again slapping only the word, "Mom," or another word. This game can be repeated often. Give your child the cards to play with alone, and you will hear lots of slapping going on!
When a child knows a word we say he or she "owns" that word. Your child now owns words. What wealth!
Jodi Heaton Hurst
I don't recall reading games, however, unless I count the ABC game while traveling. Reading games for little ones can be so, SO much fun for them. After all, their favorite people, their parents, are playing with them!
But when you think of reading games, think basic. Very, very basic. I'm not talking Monopoly; slap jack is more like it.
Here's a reading game for you called Slap That! Start with your child's name on a paper or card. "This is your name, 'Kaitlyn.' Can you slap your name before I slap it?" After several slaps with you and your child taking turns winning the slap, add your name, "Mom." Lay both names up on the table in front of you and let your child slap the name that you say. For a change, let your child say the name and you slap it. Yes, this is a very simple game. But it is a perfect game for any beginning reader. Laugh together and enjoy it!
Now move on to Slap That!, level 2. Add three more word cards. They can be the names of siblings, Dad, or Grandma. They could even be the words, "cat" or "dog." All the words together make a small deck of five word cards. Turn one over at a time. Your child can only slap his or her own name . Then play again slapping only the word, "Mom," or another word. This game can be repeated often. Give your child the cards to play with alone, and you will hear lots of slapping going on!
When a child knows a word we say he or she "owns" that word. Your child now owns words. What wealth!
Jodi Heaton Hurst
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Read to Me!
You've heard it over and over. Read to children and with children often. Two times a day would be great. Two times a week is also good. Keep your reading time fun. If everyone in the family is too tired or too grouchy, don't waste your time reading. Lay down on the floor and giggle together instead.
Always keep your ultimate goal clear in your own mind. Your aim should be to develop a happy and thinking child. You know, children are learning machines. They are happiest when their minds and bodies are engaged.
Here's a rhyming game to play while you are cooking, driving, or giving a bath.
Adult: Fat cat has a _________
Child: BAT! (or rat or hat or a made up "at" word.....klat)
Adult: Dog in the fog likes to _______
Child: SIT ON A LOG!
Adult: The main train is driven by ________
Child: JANE!
Adult: Mad Dad hates to be _________
Child: SAD!
If your child gets close but does not make a rhyme, "Ed and Fred ......... ARE MEN!" you say, "Almost. How about Ed and Fred eat bread?" Rhyming together is fun. Just as important, it is a crucial pre-reading skill.
I've posted a brief paragraph about myself. Click on ABOUT ME if you wish to view it.
Good rhyming!
Jodi Heaton Hurst
Always keep your ultimate goal clear in your own mind. Your aim should be to develop a happy and thinking child. You know, children are learning machines. They are happiest when their minds and bodies are engaged.
Here's a rhyming game to play while you are cooking, driving, or giving a bath.
Adult: Fat cat has a _________
Child: BAT! (or rat or hat or a made up "at" word.....klat)
Adult: Dog in the fog likes to _______
Child: SIT ON A LOG!
Adult: The main train is driven by ________
Child: JANE!
Adult: Mad Dad hates to be _________
Child: SAD!
If your child gets close but does not make a rhyme, "Ed and Fred ......... ARE MEN!" you say, "Almost. How about Ed and Fred eat bread?" Rhyming together is fun. Just as important, it is a crucial pre-reading skill.
I've posted a brief paragraph about myself. Click on ABOUT ME if you wish to view it.
Good rhyming!
Jodi Heaton Hurst
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Early to Read! Why are some children early to read? Why should we want children to be early to read? What kind of a parent or a professional would promote such an idea? And last, shouldn't children just get to be children?
Let's take these in order. One of my four children taught herself to read at about 3 and one half. My other children became early readers because those three played reading games with me and listened to me read stories to them just like so many parents in the world do with their children. Why did my little reader have an easier time of it? We don't know. Words and sounds made sense to her. Her brain had the ability to put a little bit of knowledge together to create the whole of reading very quickly. Was she much smarter than my other children? No. She was just a natural learner when it came to reading. We don't know why some children learn to read on their own.
But I was pleased that my children learned to read early. Reading is such a pleasure. Additionally, reading ability almost promises school success. We all wish that success for our children. I wanted to guarantee reading success and thus, reading pleasure, for my children so I taught them to read making sure they loved both the process and the reading. I controlled their first steps into reading so I could make sure it was a wonderful experience for them.
Little did I know that what my instinct said was the right thing to do, I now know is not only good but very, very important. I believe every child should have the right to learn to read in a one-on-one class. That is, one adult and one child. Not 24 children or 15 children with one teacher, but one-on-one. It promises a step ahead in reading. In a classroom setting a handful of children will not learn to read and will be held back to repeat a grade, not because they are less intelligent or less mature, but because they needed the interaction of one-on-one learning.
I can hear some voices scattered around the universe moaning, "Can't we just let children be children?" Yes. That is one approach. But if you are a parent who reads to your child, who plays dolls or trucks or ball with your child, who swings and runs and gardens with your child, who pounds play dough or colors with your child, or who cooks and bakes with your child, you can also be a parent who teaches your child to read. Reading is playing after all. It is another way to spend fun time with your child. We just haven't thought of it that way before.
I am a parent. I am also a professional. I taught my own children to read. I've taught many, many other children to read. But more about me in my next blog.
If you just read this blog, please let me know who you are. Since I'm brand new, I'm anxious to see who will be my first responders. I would love to hear from you.
Jodi Heaton Hurst
Let's take these in order. One of my four children taught herself to read at about 3 and one half. My other children became early readers because those three played reading games with me and listened to me read stories to them just like so many parents in the world do with their children. Why did my little reader have an easier time of it? We don't know. Words and sounds made sense to her. Her brain had the ability to put a little bit of knowledge together to create the whole of reading very quickly. Was she much smarter than my other children? No. She was just a natural learner when it came to reading. We don't know why some children learn to read on their own.
But I was pleased that my children learned to read early. Reading is such a pleasure. Additionally, reading ability almost promises school success. We all wish that success for our children. I wanted to guarantee reading success and thus, reading pleasure, for my children so I taught them to read making sure they loved both the process and the reading. I controlled their first steps into reading so I could make sure it was a wonderful experience for them.
Little did I know that what my instinct said was the right thing to do, I now know is not only good but very, very important. I believe every child should have the right to learn to read in a one-on-one class. That is, one adult and one child. Not 24 children or 15 children with one teacher, but one-on-one. It promises a step ahead in reading. In a classroom setting a handful of children will not learn to read and will be held back to repeat a grade, not because they are less intelligent or less mature, but because they needed the interaction of one-on-one learning.
I can hear some voices scattered around the universe moaning, "Can't we just let children be children?" Yes. That is one approach. But if you are a parent who reads to your child, who plays dolls or trucks or ball with your child, who swings and runs and gardens with your child, who pounds play dough or colors with your child, or who cooks and bakes with your child, you can also be a parent who teaches your child to read. Reading is playing after all. It is another way to spend fun time with your child. We just haven't thought of it that way before.
I am a parent. I am also a professional. I taught my own children to read. I've taught many, many other children to read. But more about me in my next blog.
If you just read this blog, please let me know who you are. Since I'm brand new, I'm anxious to see who will be my first responders. I would love to hear from you.
Jodi Heaton Hurst
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