Yearly Archives: 2018

Back to School Reading Tips

Back to school can be a busy yet fun time, and in this blog post, I will share several back to school reading tips to keep reading fun and enjoyable as your child starts a new school year. I hope your child had an awesome first day!

Tim’s ready for  first grade!

 

1) Establish a regular reading routine. 

Starting a new school year is a time for new beginnings and a fresh start.  With this fresh start, there is often an increased motivation to work hard and be successful.  This is a good time to establish a regular reading routine. When setting up a reading routine, you have to do what works for you and your family.  Maybe reading for 15-20 minutes after school with a snack is what works for you and your child.  Perhaps you read right before going to bed or first thing in the morning before school.  We often read before going to bed at night and sometimes in the morning.  Our reading time will often consist of Tim reading 1-3 short books to me and then I will read to him.  I would say that our reading time lasts between 15-30 minutes depending upon the night.  My next post will focus on details on what we read during our reading time so stay tuned!

2) Be flexible.

While, it is important to establish a regular reading routine, be sure to be flexible. Family events, activities, sleep and time with friends is important too.  It is okay to switch your reading time to fit your schedule, shorten it, or if need be skip it altogether.  As long as your child is reading or listening to books on a regular basis (at least 4-5 times a week if you can), your child will benefit. We will often change our reading time to the morning on weekends because we sometimes have evening time with friends or activities.  Sometimes we shorten our time on a school night if it is late and Tim is exhausted. I want to make sure he has enough rest to be available for learning at school the next day.

All smiles and ready for school!

 

3) Read aloud to your child even if your child can read independently.

Read aloud to your child even if your child can read independently.  Reading aloud is a great way to model fluency, discuss what is happening in the story and read to several children at once.  Select books that you were read to as a child and enjoyed. Have your children help you in picking out read alouds. Tim loves listening to the Magic Tree House books now.  I also, recently read Charlotte’s Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to him and he enjoyed both of those!

4) Have your child read aloud to you.

Have your child read aloud to you even in the higher grades.  This will allow you to help your child break up longer words, offer support, discuss story events and help them with their fluency. Having your child read aloud to you will help you know if your child is struggling. Oftentimes your child will bring home books from school that have already been read in school. Having your child read these books to you will help your child practice what they are learning in the classroom, and give you a sense of how your child is doing with reading at school as well.

5) Keep it fun!

Be sure to keep reading fun! Try reading in a tent, with a flashlight, in a special chair or with a special snack.  Create or download a reading incentive chart.  See this post from over the summer for fun reading chart ideas!  https://learningtoreadtogether.com/how-do-you-help-your-child-stay-motivated-to-read-this-summer/

Back to school ready with his Star Wars droid backpack!

 

One last tip… Here is an article from Parenting Today that might help you with back to school routines in general! I thought this article has some great ideas on how to help kids settle into a back to school routine. https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/holiday-seasonal-family/back-to-school-tips/#.W5kpTuhKjIU

Hope these tips help! Stay tuned soon for my next post about details on books that Tim reads at night and that I read to him!

 

 

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What to do when your child doesn’t like reading

What do you do when your child doesn’t like reading? It is important to think about why your child might not like reading.  Is it because reading is hard? Is it because your child hasn’t been reading books that he or she is interested in? Are the books too hard?

Has reading become more of a chore than a fun activity? Reading should be a fun and special family time.  You can create this in your approach to reading at home.  Be sure to check out my posting about the importance of reading aloud at home https://learningtoreadtogether.com/reading-aloud/ and establishing a regular routine https://learningtoreadtogether.com/summer-reading-routine/ to incorporate reading on a regular basis.

Here are some thoughts on what you can do when your child doesn’t like reading?

  • First, and most importantly, be sure to let your child’s classroom teacher know this information. If your child is struggling with reading, getting help right away is so important. You don’t want your child to become frustrated or lose confidence. Your classroom teacher can help make sure your child is getting the help he or she needs. If your child doesn’t like reading, but doesn’t seem to struggle, the teacher should know this information as well. Having a conference with your child’s teacher is also helpful. By communicating with the teacher, you can both be on the same page and work together to help your child.
  • Make sure the books your child is reading are not too hard. Is the rate at which your child is reading too slow? Are there too many tricky words that your child has to sound out? If so, the book is probably too hard. Try some books at a lower level to build confidence. Reading books that are too hard can be intimating and frustrating for kids. Please see this posting that will help you check the levels that your child is reading. https://learningtoreadtogether.com/scholastic-book-wizard-reading-level/
  • Perhaps you can have nights that are nights where you read aloud a story. This might take the pressure off and make reading more fun and less of a chore.
  • Praise your child when he or she uses a strategy to figure out an unknown word. Be specific. Instead of saying “good job” say “Wow, you knew that the sound of ea is “ee”. That helped you figure out that tricky word!”
  • Start a family reading night whereby you gather together as a family and you read aloud a book such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Have a series of family reading nights reading several chapters at a time. There are lots of recommendations for engaging family read alouds online. Make popcorn or a special snack, dinner or dessert to go along with your book.  Do a craft or activity with the theme of your book. Pinterest is bound to have tons of ideas! Have a reading pajama party. This should be a fun time that your family looks forward to. Be sure to pick a book that you will enjoy as well because if you are excited about it, your children will be too!
  • Show your child how much he or she has progressed in reading by showing your child a book that was read at the beginning of the year and a book that they are reading now.
  • Have your child read to a younger sibling to build confidence. Younger siblings who aren’t reading yet often look up to older siblings who can read!
  • Schedule trips to the local library with your child. Have your child select books that he or she is interested in. Involve the librarian.  Librarians can be helpful in finding books at your child’s reading level and in finding books about a topic your child is interested in.
  • Read in different places like in a tent, outside, at the beach or try flashlight reading at night.

Try some of these above suggestions and see what works for you and your child.  Remember, finding out why your child isn’t interested in reading can help you better understand what you can do to help. Also, getting help early is important if your child is struggling,

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Reading aloud to kids supports literacy development

Summer reading outside with another Magic Tree House book adventure

 

Reading aloud to your child is extremely important to reading development and can be a special bonding time with your child. Reading aloud promotes a love of reading, allows you to model fluent reading, increases development of new vocabulary and supports comprehension.  Reading aloud can begin when a child is an infant and should continue even when your child can read.

I remember reading to Tim as a newborn.  I had all of these wonderful baby books such a Moo, Baa, La La La, Goodnight Moon, and Pat the Bunny, just to name of few.  Tim loved the fun, colorful illustrations, and he giggled as I read some of the rhymes and parts of the books that he could interact with.  He learned from an early age that reading was fun, interactive and a special time with mom and dad.  We did our best to make reading a part of our regular routine often reading before nap time or before going to bed each night.

At age six, Tim still loves books and being read to.  He is always excited to have us read the new book that he brings home from library. My husband will often read books about historical events. Tim cherishes this time.  Reading has become a special bonding time as a family. We often have family reading time whereby we all sit down and take turns reading together. 

Tim loves Magic Tree House books!

 

Here are some ways to incorporate reading aloud at home

  • Take a trip to your local library and have your child get his or her own library card. Local libraries have a wide selection of children’s books for parents to read aloud. The librarians are also helpful in recommending books that might be appropriate for your child based on age or interest. Libraries offer story times and other activities during vacations or after school. They are also free, as long as your return books on time!
  • Set aside a special time daily for reading perhaps right before bed or another time that works best for you and your family. This time could be 10-30 minutes depending upon the time that you have. During this time, you could read a book or you and your child could take turns reading. If your child has siblings, perhaps an older sibling can read aloud to your child as well.
  • When reading aloud, pause to talk about what is happening in the story. You may discuss connections that you have to the story, who the characters are, where the story takes place and what the main idea of the story is.
  • Check in with the classroom teacher or school librarian to see what they are studying or reading about in school. Perhaps the school librarian read a book that your child loved during library class and there are other books by the same author that you could check out at the library.
Loving this version of the Gingerbread Man called The Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle

 

Ideas to try when reading aloud to your child

  • Have your child get involved in the story by describing pictures and making predictions. This could occur before you read the story and during the story. You could pause during the story and have your child make a prediction about what will happen next.
  • Ask open ended questions rather than yes or no questions about the story. For example, if you are reading Charlotte’s web you could ask, “Why is Templeton important to the story? Does Charlotte’s plan to save Wilbur work? Why or why not? Open ended questions promote deeper discussions about the story which supports higher level comprehension.
  • Model making predictions, asking questions and answering open questions and describing what is happening in the pictures. Modeling will help your child develop these skills.
  • Support your child in describing the pictures by doing the following. Ask “what’s this?” and point a picture. Follow your child’s answer with another question. “What is the cat doing?” Repeat what your child says and expand on it. “You’re right, I think the cat climbed up the tree and can’t get down.”
  • Help your child make connections to the story. You should model these as well. “This part in the story reminds me of when I___________. This helps me better understand the story because I can understand_______________. Connections can be: personal connections called text to self, connections to books called text to text, or connections to events happening in the community or world called text to world.
Checking out the illustrations again in The Library Gingerbread Man

Try these tips the next time you read aloud to your child!

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Increase comprehension in kids through conversations

family trip to the redwoods

Having conversations can increase comprehension in kids by building background knowledge and vocabulary. Talking with your children can also help them anticipate language when they are reading on their own.  This means that kids can figure out words quickly by being able to identify words based on the context of the sentence or what is happening in the story.

exploring the redwoods in Central California

How do readers solve a tricky word when they are reading?

Readers use a variety of strategies to figure out unknown words.  These include sounding out words, using the picture, thinking about what makes sense, skipping the word and going back to it and breaking up longer words. Oftentimes readers use several of these strategies at once. The goal is to figure out the unknown word quickly.

Readers don’t want to lose the meaning of what is happening in the story by stopping at a word for too long. Efficiency is key in solving unknown words. Having conversations with your children can directly support them in figuring out words quickly by helping them use the sentence structure and the context of what is happening in the story. Having conversations can also increase comprehension in kids by helping them make connections and understanding the main idea in a story.

amazed at the height of these trees

How does talking to your child help with reading?

Being a parent has allowed me to witness firsthand how having conversations can increase comprehension in kids.  In today’s world of technology, having a mini computer as a phone has meant that people often spend time communicating using their phone. Smart phones can replace in person conversation easily if we choose to let them.

It is important to make time to have conversations with each other. You can do this by taking walks outside, having dinner conversations, or spending time with your child without the distraction of technology. Talking to your child is a basic everyday thing that you can do to support your child with literacy. Also, having conversations with your child begins well before your child enters school.

Wondering why redwoods are so tall….

I remember when my son, Tim was little, that I would point to things around the house and tell him what they were. I would often narrate what I was doing when I was doing daily household tasks such as doing the laundry or making dinner. Even though Tim didn’t respond with words, he was hearing my words and listening to language. In doing so, I was helping build his vocabulary, model sentence structure and build his background knowledge about household chores.

about the check out the inside of a redwood tree

Once Tim could talk and even now, he will often use the language that has heard from me.  For example, for snack recently, I asked him if he would rather have peaches or cheese and crackers and he said that he would “prefer” cheese and crackers.  Where did he get the word “prefer”? Clearly, I must have used that expression and he picked up on it. Not only did Tim use the word, but he used it correctly when he answered my question.  Having conversations with your child regularly helps build your child’s vocabulary which in turn supports their reading comprehension.

chatting about redwood trees with Dad

To help support language and reading development  and increase comprehension in kids at home you could:

  • Go on a walk outside with your child and talk about what is happening outside during that season. For example, in the spring you could talk about the following: buds forming, trees growing new grass turning green, and why birds fly back after having migrated south for the cold winter. Seasons are often topics covered in the early grades. There are also many stories that your child will read about seasons at school.  Your conversations will help build vocabulary, comprehension and background knowledge on this topic.
  • Use sophisticated vocabulary when you speak with your child. For example, my husband and Tim were playing soccer the other day. Tim finally got the ball away from my husband. I said to Tim, “Nice Job Tim, you were determined to get that soccer ball from Daddy.” Tim asked me what determined meant and we talked about how determined means not giving up.
  • Model language with appropriate sentence structure and grammar. This is probably something that you have been doing anyway before your child could even talk. Children are still making sense of the English language in the early grades and Tim is still occasionally working on mastering tenses or using other words correctly when he speaks such as saying “I rand to get the ball instead of I ran to get the ball.” When he says this incorrectly, I might say “Oh, you ran to get the ball” to help model it correctly.
  • When you are reading together with your child, pick a couple of new words to talk about. Discuss the meanings of these words and use them context and in conversation if the situation arises. By helping build your child’s vocabulary, you are directly supporting reading development and comprehension.
Family nature walks are a great way to spend time with your child and engage in conversations

Hope these tips help you when you have conversations with your child!

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Kindergarten rhyming activities

This blog post is about Kindergarten rhyming activities to get your child ready for Kindergarten this fall.  I will also be previewing some skills that your child will be doing during his or her Kindergarten year.

Reading Skills taught in Kindergarten:

There are many skills that are focused on in preschool and in Kindergarten to help kids with reading readiness.  These skills include, but are not limited, to the following:

  • Rhyming
  • Phonemic awareness which is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Before children learn to read print, they need to become more aware of how the sounds in words work.
  • Concepts of print-understanding how books work. These include: knowing where the front and back of the book is, knowing how a book opens and where to start reading in a book.
  • Knowledge of first, middle and last sounds in a CVC (Consonant-vowel-consonant) word (i.e. cat) when presented a picture or the written word.
  • Names of letters and sounds
  • Being able to say all the sounds in a word such as mat as /m/ /a/ /t/
  • Knowledge of basic sight words such as the, and, is

Why is rhyming important?

  • Rhyming helps kids anticipate language when they are reading because they can often predict what a word will be based on what makes sense in a rhyming book.  This skill can helps kids efficiently figure out words when they are reading.
  • Rhyming help kids understand how language works and can help them solve new words.  Word families such as words in the  -at family (cat, hat, bat, rat sat) are rhyming words . 
  • Rhyming teaches kids the rhythm of language which can help them with their reading expression and fluency.

Here are some Kindergarten rhyming activities to help your child prepare for Kindergarten:

  • Read aloud rhyming books such as Dr. Seuss books and nursery rhymes. Many read aloud books for babies, toddlers and young children rhyme. Rhyming is a skill that you can start when your child is an infant. You ca read and reread these books with rhymes. Have your child finish the rhyme, especially if your child has already heard the book a couple of times before. Here are some suggestions for rhyming books: http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2014/08/rhyming-books-kids/

Have fun rhyming with your child! What other Kindergarten rhyming activities have you done at home? Do you have any rhyming books that you like? Please leave a comment below!

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