Archive for December, 2009

Ten Hints for Teaching Your Child to Read

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Ten Hints for Teaching Your Child to Read

Learning to read should be easy and fun! Here are our suggestions for teaching children to read:

  1. First of all, read to your child. Help your student choose age-appropriate books.
  2. Share ideas about books you read to foster understanding, interest and comprehension. Be attuned to your child’s img_14751interests.
  3. Make up stories together. Write and read them, pointing out short repeated words.
  4. Encourage drawing or painting pictures. Scribbling is fun, and it is also valuable for forming hand-eye coordination, which helps reading and is essential in writing.
  5. Help the child write his/her name.
  6. Help with writing short words; give lots of space on the piece of paper. Keep the process short, fun and happy.
  7. Play board games, word games, memory games and card games, and use table toys that enhance coordination.
  8. Sing rhyming songs. Read rhyming books and poems. Encourage children to fill in the expected words as you read.
  9. Teach the word families used in each book. Point out what happens when the first sound changes and how easy reading a list of words becomes.
  10. Make reading sessions fit your child’s attention span. Readily help your child and have a warm and fun time together.

Have any more tips you’d like to share? Let us know!

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Diary of an Emerging Reader: Delegate!

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

One of the greatest things about having an older child who is already reading… is that she can now be tasked with helping her younger brother to learn to read! It’s a great way for both of them to advance their skills and have fun. Here is a video clip from last night’s reading session:

Storytime with Big Sister

Storytime with Big Sister

Diary of an Emerging Reader on YouTube

Obviously every child is different and will learn at his or her own pace. As you can see, one of mine has an extremely short attention span while the other one gravitates toward bossiness. Still, this is something you, too can try at home. Here are a few tips:

  1. Choose a set time. Bedtime works best for us, somewhere between baths and teeth brushing but before meltdowns.
  2. Allow the younger child to choose the reading material.
  3. Make sure the older child is not challenged too much by the text. Board books and of course Bob Books are a good bet. Picture books can be wonderful too as long as they aren’t too long or the text too advanced. We’ve also had success with books with no text (i.e. Good Dog Carl) as a way to encourage talking about the illustrations.
  4. Keep it short. Limit to a few titles or until attention spans wear out, whichever comes first.
  5. Offer plenty of praise to both children.
  6. Let them have fun!

Have any ideas or learning to read tips you’d like to share? Let us know!

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Give the Gift of Reading and Books!

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

As we wholeheartedly believe that learning to read is one of the best gifts you can give a child, this holiday season, why not give all of the early readers on your list the gift of books?

Here are several of Bob Books author Bobby Lynn Maslen’s favorite classic titles. Many of them come in boxed sets, perfect for gift giving:

Brown Bear & Friends Board Book Gift Set We love Eric Carle, both for his wonderful illustrations and for the simple, repetitive stories that make these beginning books fun and satisfying for kids.

Merry Christmas, Curious George! We never get tired of the antics of Curious George. It is fun to see what kind of mischief a curious monkey gets into when the man in the yellow hat is not there keeping an eye on him.

Mike Mulligan and More: Four Classic Stories by Virginia Lee Burton Virginia Lee Burton’s heroes are wonderful, every-man characters that are faced with daunting challenges. Just like the Little Engine That Could, they pull through in the end. A wonderful lesson told with a compelling voice, these books also include wonderful history and social studies lessons, without your kids ever noticing.

The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set (I Can Read Book 2) With manageable vocabulary, short, sweet stories, and lovable characters, these are fun books to read to your child. Later, they will be an early step your child can make into independent reading.

Little Bear Boxed Set: Little Bear, Father Bear Comes Home, and Little Bear’s Visit Another collection that is fun, whether you are reading it to your children or they are reading to you.

Make Way for Ducklings We’ve always loved author Robert McCloskey. Charming and well told stories, lovely illustrations. Make Way for Ducklings inspired my son to rescue a family of ducks that were on the wrong side of traffic in Seattle, Washington (not far from what would become the Sleepless in Seattle set).

Last but not least, a set—or full collection—of Bob Books makes an excellent gift for all of the early, emergent and pre-readers on your list.

All of the above titles are available on Amazon.com. We also love the free gift-wrapping at Barnes & Noble, as well as the special services and knowledge at local, independent bookstores.

Feel free to suggest more of your favorite titles – we’ll post them here as well as on our Facebook page. Happy shopping!

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