I'm worried that my blog is becoming too "mommy blog" with a side of "way too whiny". I mean, yes, this is a journal of sorts, and if I feel strongly about anything that is going on in my life, I don't hesitate to write about it, but I like having people stop by here and I don't want it to get too "wah, wah, wah". Sure, my love lifeSo, I thought I would try to share a little of what I know with those of you who have children in your lives:
I LOVE reading. I love to read and I love teaching children to read. If you have a child/children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins....here are some suggestions from a teacher.
- Read every day. I know it sounds simple, but in our busy world it can sometimes be hard to find time to do it all. Don't skip the book. It is as important as brushing teeth.
- Read "real world" material. So many kids have never really looked at a newspaper. Subscribe to a magazine. National Geographic for Kids is good, as is the Ladybug/Spider/Cricket series of magazines. Read street signs. Read menus. Read recipes. I let Aaron help me "read" the directions to putting together a bookshelf. Diagrams and charts are important.
- Go to the library. Don't just rush in and rush out. Hang out there for awhile. Let the kids go with you to the "adult" section and poke around. Look at the art.
- Go to a bookstore. Look at everything and talk about what looks good to you. Let your child pick a book.
- If your child likes the computer, here are some great free learning game websites:
- Starfall - This is a great site for younger kids. Up to 3rd grade.
- Read/Think/Write - Lots of stuff on this site. I have tried "ABC Match" and "Picture Match". Great for basic phonics practice.
- GameGoo - Lots of fun reading/phonics games. This one comes from the Earobics company, which is the phonics program we use in my school.
- ArthurGames - This is Arthur the Aardvark, from the books by Marc Brown. It's a fun site and the kids love it.
- BBC.com - This one is very full of fun learning games. I like the sandcastle game.
So, that's it for now. As a poster I have says: READ.
Have a great Friday all.
J.
8 comments:
As a kid, I always had my face buried in a book.
My daughter has a TON of books, but rarely reads. Thankfully, she does well in her reading related classes.
At this age, I like to think that she has a more active life than I did at her age.
Hopefully.
J, you do not come across as whiny, nor is your site all mom_ish. I believe that the attraction of your blog is the things you like to express in your posts.
There are always a variety of things going on with your family, and that makes for interesting posts and discussion.
Still, as you have just done, taking a different direction now and then cannot hurt.
Nice post.
I have a friend who has 9 pm bedtime set for her kids. UNLESS they are reading, then they can stay up until 10 pm. Clever huh? Kids always want to stay up later and the only way they can is to be reading. Kids are also gullible. ;-)
Speaking of gullible, I used to have Joseph convinced that they didn't sell toys at Target. The toy department is toward the back of the store, so we just never went back there.....He was like, 5 or 6 before he figured it out.
I know it was semi-mean, but it was self-preservation at that point in my life. With 3 young kids, I could NOT buy toys every time we went to Target!
J.
Great post, J. I know that reading to young children fosters a desire to read as they grow older. The benefits of reading are manifold. Thanks for the post.
Hey, you are a lot more than a mom or your love life. Don't forget that!
I love to read and my son loves to read. We always have stacks of books by the bedside table.
J- I like your blog- don't worry about what people think, just be yourself and enjoy! You'd be surprised how people enjoy reading about things. Now about this post, I agree totally! I love to read also.
At my recent conference, someone was using BBC for online classroom demos. Lots of great Flash animation for teaching math/science as well. Starfall rocks with the wee ones.
Nice list!
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