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 […]
Children who struggle in school often lack sufficient background information about the topics they are studying. They also can lack the language to express their own needs and respond productively in their interactions with others. These twin handicaps, taken together, can create a drag upon the academic development of children who otherwise might be soaring […]
Storybooks. The term conjures up images of fairy tales and mythical creatures and villains and heroines of all kinds. It reminds me of spending time with the characters in beloved series books for youngsters, like Encyclopedia Brown, Junie B. Jones, Ramona, Emelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad, The Magic School Bus, Magic Tree House and the […]
Individuals can decide to learn something relatively complicated on their own. And left to their own devices, most folks figure out how to use available resources to make learning a relaxed, fulfilling project. Consider the following examples: Example A – A four year old watched with envy as his much taller, six-year-old brother rode his new bicycle. […]
How do folks find time for reading? Retirees or those on vacation, who seem to be able to do whatever they please whenever they like, would be expected to disappear into a book at will. They may have one book going or a half dozen scattered around their lives. Why not?! There also are others who work […]
The love of books does not come easily to children whose parents aren’t readers or whose teachers don’t include this most important whole-child goal in their instructional practice. A love of books and reading needs to be in place if we expect anyone to be able to read beyond the basics. Avid readers not only […]
I just read an article[1] about adults being led in RE-learning how to ask good questions. Questions are so important in early learning that naturally I was interested, even though the article was aimed at those in business. Then I reflected on the RE part of re-learning. The authors cited figures about the declining numbers […]
Remember book reports and posters and book talks and dioramas and all that stuff that we were assigned after having read a book for school? Some of that was fun, but much of it was assigned as a way to verify that we had in fact read a book. It was reading for a grade and […]
