Helping Your Child Set Reading Goals

I never knew he was interested in hobbits or wizards or shires, but this winter my son has set out to read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

a photo of the Lord of the Rings

This comes as welcome news to the mother of a son who, for the majority of his fifth grade year, has not enjoyed reading.

Let me rephrase: I could not bribe him to pick up a book for less than $10.

The problem?

Perhaps it was finding something that interested him.

Perhaps it was that the pull of grass and baseballs always win over paper and ink.

Or perhaps it is something else altogether.

Whatever the reason, I’ve found that he is motivated by an involved mom who helps him set reasonable, attainable goals.

So last month we started using THIS GOAL SHEET (free printable for you!!) and it has transformed his motivation and determination to read and finish these books.

No, we’re not perfect, and no, he’s not close to being done (have you seen those books??), but I’m encouraged to have found something that, at least for now, has kept the pages turning.

Try it and let me know if it helps at your house!

What have you done to motivate your “wish-I-don’t-have-to” readers?

{photo credit}

How To Make Your Vacations Educational + FREEBIE

Click photo for credit

I’m writing this post while sitting on the edge of our family’s vacation adventure.

We’re planning and dreaming, and the anticipation is definitely building. The West beckons us, and I’ve never been more excited to answer its call!

For the past four years I’ve made vacation binders for our kids, packed with educational pages and ideas for writing. Not only are they great for passing time in the car, they’re perfect for getting little minds working during the summer months.

This July, my FREE NEWSLETTER will outline  how I create these binders, what I include in them, how I integrate Scripture, AND you’ll get a FREE download with a fantastic sample page!

If you’ve not signed up yet for my monthly newsletter, please see the right margin of this page for instructions before July 1!

Don’t miss an opportunity this summer to be your child’s first, best teacher!

Teaching Your vs. You’re + FREEBIE!

Oh Friends.

The teacher within screams silently at the sight of this (actual) instagram photo!

Your vs. You’re: the battle wages on.

Teaching your children to understand the difference between these two words is not only a matter of proper usage and correct grammar, it’s important because it reflects on them in the same way that poor spelling and sloppy penmanship spell doom for job and college applicants.

A few tips as you work with your budding writers and future job-seekers:

  • You’re is a contraction. Remind your child that the apostrophe in you’re indicates both a missing letter (‘a’) and the coming-together of two words. As a test, ask your children to read their sentence and see if the word they wrote down could be substituted by “you are.”  If so, it must be you’re. Additionally, this form will generally precede an adjective (you’re silly), a verb (you’re running), or an article (a, an, the).
  • Your shows possession. Help your child to see that using this version of the word tells the reader whose item you’re referencing. Was it his dog? …No, it was your dog. It explains ownership and almost always precedes a noun.

Attached is a FREE worksheet for you and your children!

Either click and drag this worksheet to your desktop to print, or CLICK HERE for the pdf. Enjoy!

 

Summer Reads

One of the great things about summer is staying up late with a bowl of popcorn and a great book that you’re reading as a family. Nothing’s better than seeing wide eyes hanging on your every word and hearing little voices begging for “just one more chapter!”

And although we do read-alouds year around, there’s something magical about the open expanse of possibilities waiting for kids in June, July, and August. It seems the days will stretch on forever and that bedtimes are made to be broken. And I love it!

In the spirit of non-scheduled days of freedom and fun, we’ve amassed a pile of books to read aloud as a family this summer. The only criteria? They must be Newbery Award Winners, because I feel that those books are classic pieces of literature rather than simply published stories. On the docket:

  • The Twenty-One Balloons (we’re almost done with this one!)
  • The Indian in the Cupboard
  • Out of the Dust
  • Bud, Not Buddy
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

What will you be reading with your kids this summer? Or what are some of your favorites that you can recommend?

Analyzing Stories Together + a FREEBIE

When I was a “real” teacher I would do chapter work with my students to help them really soak up the nuances in stories. As a mom I try to do the same thing. We’re nearing the end of our family’s current chapter book, The Twenty-One Balloons, and discussing the details has really helped our kids to think about the characters and setting; it has also aided them in making some educated predictions.

  • Today I’m offering a FREE DOWNLOADABLE for you to print off and use together.
  • Print a copy for each of your chapters and keep them in a binder, or use them only when you know you’ll be tackling some confusing text.
  • Encourage your kids to draw with detail and use their best spelling.
  • Have fun together and please pass this worksheet on to another mom!
  • Click and drag the image below to your desktop OR click this .pdf file.

How do you work with story details with your family?

PBS Writing Contest

Not long ago I told you about a PBS-sponsored game-creating contest that had the potential to win you BIG BUCKS! Adding to the fun, I just received another email notification that another contest is underway, and this time it’s aimed at the world’s upcoming writers! Believe me, if I fit the age criteria I’d enter myself!

Here’s what you need to know:

“Do you have a young Charles Dickens in your home? A child who loves to read and write?   PBS KIDS is launching a contest perfect for the young creative minds – it’s the annual PBS KIDS GO! Writer’s Contest, a national initiative designed to promote the advancement of children’s reading skills through hands-on, active learning.

The contest encourages children grades K-3 in communities across the country to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original work.

Children will be encouraged to write and illustrate stories and submit them to their local stations, which will select winners and award prizes.  These winners will then be entered into the national level of the Contest where a panel of judges will select the winners.  National winners will be announced and prizes, including tablets, e-readers and MP3 players will be awarded during summer 2012. 

It’s easy to submit, and can be done right on your computer. And every participant who uploads digitally will receive a free animated digital book of their story that they can share with others, including parents who can purchase bound copies of the entry as a keepsake for years to come.

As in years past, winning entries in each of the Contest categories will be featured on the site, PBSKIDS.org/writerscontest, and visitors to the Contest site will continue to have the opportunity to create “Story Mashups” with winning stories.

More information on participating local stations, general entry rules and contest resources can be found on www.PBSKIDS.org/writerscontest.”

 

 

Little Passports – Now 15% off!

Our kids were the recent, lucky recipients of a Little Passports suitcase, courtesy of the Little Passports Company. After first happening upon their products on a discount coupon site, I just knew their world-traveling, geography-discovering activities would be the perfect fit in our “unofficial homeschooling” family!

The company was gracious enough to send me the first month’s introductory package for free, and our kids ripped open the mailing box like toddlers on Christmas morning.

Inside, they found a full-color world map…

…a look-alike kiddie Passport with questions for mom and dad, along with check-the-box interactive questions for kids, a letter from pretend travelers Sam and Sofia, whose magical scooter takes them anywhere they want to go…

…a photo from Sam and Sofia [think postcard], a page of Worldwide Adventure Activities, and a “Boarding Pass” with directions for kids to register online for additional fun activities and games.

Lastly, the suitcase included stickers of Sam and Sofia, however the next mailings coming from new countries will provide stickers reflecting each country. Next month we will get exciting travel information from Brazil!

I’m so excited to travel the world through this little suitcase! Our kids can’t wait to see what will come next! If you’ve been wondering what to get that special child in your life, I can’t encourage you enough to use my link to the right to visit Little Passports! Using my affiliate link will get you a 15% discount unavailable to you otherwise!

Subscriptions are great gifts: they don’t require batteries, they aren’t noisy, and they don’t get boring! There’s always something to anticipate, something new to explore.

Consider it this Christmas Season!

Kid Blogging + Literacy?

How can blogs help your kids with writing and demonstrating comprehension?

Tonight after reading our devotions in Don’t Mess With Moses, Marty Nystrom’s poem about Moses parting the Red Sea ended with the question: “How’d he do that? Look in Exodus 14:15-22.”

I passed our Bible to my son who opened to the passage and read it; we discussed the story together and then ended with a few selections from The Awesome Book of Bible Answers.

Then, as though possessed by angelic forces, this child asked if he could take the Bible and read through it. Entirely.

After I picked myself up off the floor, I shot a surprised look over the rim of my glasses and sputtered, “Honey, if you read the entire Bible I’ll pay you $100.”

At which point I was shot a surprised look over the tops of small heads by my husband. “Let me clarify that offer a little,” he added. “If you start reading and write what you learned after each chapter, we’ll pay you the $100.”

>>ENTER: Kids’ Blogs.<<

Kids’ Blogs is a wonderful, sneaky way to get your kids writing. We registered each of our kids on this website about a year ago as a way to encourage them to practice typing and work on their writing. It’s free and it’s totally secure–a must-have for any child online.

I told our son [and daughter, who by then wanted in on the deal] that he could blog after each evening’s reading as an easy way to record his thoughts. It will allow them to familiarize themselves with spell-check, typing, composition, coming up with a title, and most importantly, demonstrating what they learned from the Bible that day.

For his dad and me, it’s an easy way to check for understanding and determine whether or not real reading is taking place.

Imagine the treasure we’ll have if he really completes this feat–pages and pages of his thoughts on God’s Word forever saved for us to look back on and revisit.

Why not let your kids try blogging this summer?

Have you considered allowing your kids to blog in a secure, safe setting? Why or why not?

 

 

 

Onomonopia + Fireworks

photo: mlive.com

Last night as we sat nestled snuggly in the tender grass of July, my mind wandered back here, wondering how fireworks could be brought into our home “classroom.” The first thing that came to me was a simple onomonopia lesson: introduce this silly-sounding term to your children as the name given to words that are spelled how they sound. For instance: crack, snap, zoom.

So while you’re preparing dinner tonight:

  • give each kid a blank piece of paper and crayons
  • invite them to draw the fireworks they saw last night
  • talk about onomonopia and offer several examples
  • have your little ones write down 3 words that they think best describe the sounds they remember from Fourth of July fireworks

Send your pretty artwork to the kids you’re sponsoring through World Vision or Compassion International! Fold up something lovely from your world and send it into theirs.

How did you celebrate the Fourth? Did your kids enjoy the fireworks?

 

 

7 Ways to Make Learning to Read More Fun!

As I told you a few weeks ago, I’ve been working with our youngest on his reading this summer. We’re using the Bob Book Set I found at Costco and are so excited to see how quickly he’s catching on! If you’re looking for an easy program to begin at your house, I recommend trying this as an easy way to get your feet wet.

One of the features I appreciate is the parent/teacher guide book that was included in the series. Inside are stickers of all the sight words introduced in the series, along with a list of helpful ideas for mom & dad! I thought I’d adapt them and share 7 with you today. My thanks to Lynn Maslen Kertell for the original list of 9 Hints; she deserves the credit for the following as well!

1. Play with magnetic letters, draw letters in sand, shape letters from pipe cleaners. Make the alphabet and reading a part of your everyday life.

2. Read words and identify letters in your environment–spell the STOP sign, talk about the letters in the OPEN sign, read the name of your grocery or hardware store.

3. Encourage your child to scribble, draw, and write letters. Write large letters for him to trace with a crayon or marker.

4. When using flash cards, make your sessions a game, not a test! Nurture his love of learning by noticing the positive and working as a team.

5. Hand sight word cards around your house and send your child on a “sight word hunt.”

6. Send your child on a “word treasure hunt.” Give him one or two sight words and have him look through magazines to find the word as many times as possible. [how about an M&M or frozen blueberry for each find?]

7. For fun, use sight word cards and pictures cut from magazines to create sentences. Keep extra 3×5 cards handy in case you want to add more words.

Q4U: What are some other fun ways to help your child learn to read—and enjoy it?


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