I’m enjoying Women’s History Month. It is supported by The U.S. Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with abundant research and memorabilia to showcase and educate about women’s abundant contributions to the world. […]
I’m originally from Missouri, the Show Me! state. I bring this up today because of my observation of how many parents and teachers, dedicated to helping children learn something, don’t really show their children how, why, when and where, to do things—from riding a bicycle to reading books. They may explain things, tell things and expect […]
Curiosity is the emotional engine that drives learning. That would make curiosity probably the most important tool in a parent or teacher’s toolbox for rearing and teaching children. But if you think you can force a child to be curious about something, think again. Curiosity is an intrinsic desire to gain knowledge and understanding which resides […]
Books! A small, but committed, page-turning gang of people LOVE PRINTED BOOKS! The reasons for that love (or the lack thereof) live in each of our cores. There’s no explaining it in any other rational way. Somehow, at some point, us older book lovers each fell in a kind of love with a character, a […]
Nancy was in her sister’s kitchen chatting with Kerri as she prepared a ham for cooking. Kerri put the ham in a large roasting pan and Nancy interjected, “Don’t forget to cut the ends off.” Kerri replied, “Oh right. When we were kids mom always cut the ends off.” They looked at each other and […]
Part of rearing lifelong readers is ensuring children grow up eager to fearlessly explore new books. Another part is letting them make poor choices about what they read. A young girl might be eager to engage with a book because the adults in her life are convinced it will be too challenging. A young boy might already have read and enjoyed several […]
When a learner’s family and community commit to developing full literacy for everyone, there are at least two principles that guide efforts in that development: The community must ensure its literacy learners have ready access to abundant good books to read (“good” meaning relevant to each learner’s life). Those closest to literacy learners must ensure they are […]
Currently, there are about 350 languages spoken in homes in the United States of America. Immigrant families in the U.S. speak as many as 200 languages from around the world. Another 150 languages are spoken by Native American families. Many families are “bilingual,” “emergent bilingual” or even “multi-lingual.” Such labels are honored distinctions of accomplishment as the world population continues […]
Have you seen the new cute little alarm clocks for babies, toddlers and preschoolers? No. No you haven’t. I hope you never will. If not interrupted by a full diaper or falling out of bed, small children will wake up when they are finished with their sleeping. They know when they are ready. Upon waking children immediately […]
A three-step guide for parenting for school and life success is simply: Read books together Talk about what you read Relax and have fun! Unite for Literacy is naturally all about reading as a foundation for lifelong learning. However, the most powerful aspect of parenting little ones to be successful doesn’t necessarily involve reading at […]
