March is National Reading Awareness Month designed to showcase the value of reading. That’s a good thing, but the focus is always about better children’s reading, which belies the vast powers of sharing reading with the whole family. Sharing reading of anything by anybody within a family can be a HUGE asset for creating a culture […]
Have you ever had a computer or phone read something for you on the screen? It’s a trick question. No, you haven’t. Nobody else has either. That’s actually a misuse of the word READ. It sure sounds like someone reading, but IT’S NOT READING. It’s robotic output of language-like noise. This reading-like noise might more accurately […]
I’ve mentioned before that I’m involved with a family literacy program called Prime Time* that meets in a lovely elementary school’s library once a week for six weeks. I take the role of discussant and my partner, an accomplished storyteller, initiates each book-inspired discussion with a fully dramatic read-aloud, peppered with sound effects, emotional fluency and […]
If a family member or a friend of any age is a non-reader or has been diagnosed by an expert as having dyslexia or significant reading problems, odds are most of us won’t have any clear idea of how to help that person. But a good friend or loved one is worthy of our stepping up […]
I spend a lot of time suggesting ways to support preschool children to guarantee that they will have joyful school lives and do well when they enter formal schooling. I offer below what families do that help assure children will enjoy school success from the time they enter kindergarten. If one wanted to make sure children are […]
I’m currently working with the Kentucky Humanities Prime Time Project in a school in my home town. The fabulous librarian coordinates this project which has invited 40 of the school’s Hispanic families (parents AND kids) to enjoy a light meal, some picture-book read-aloud time and participate in demonstrations of humanities-based conversations about the books once a week. Humanities conversations focus […]
One of the joys of parenting is reading with our kids, beginning when they are infants. There is nothing like snuggling up with a pile of simple books with our little ones on our laps. Soon, we invite toddlers to select the books. Later, we invite them to read along. But unfortunately, not all parents […]
The best way to improve children’s reading is to arrange it so that kids are frequently reading what they want to read, at least according to Stephen Krashen who’s a vocal proponent and prolific researcher of this theory. In his recent book*, Krashen asserts that for both developing and fully mature readers, the best book […]
17 Great Read-Alouds for Preschoolers! 23 Never-Fail Read-Aloud Choices! Reading Aloud—the Launch-pad for Great Conversation! Parents and teachers see these kinds of headlines all the time. They are a constant reminder of the importance of reading with our kids and of the truly fabulous and fairly steady stream of wonderful book choices available from […]
