Parents need to read to their children

source: http://www2.readaloud.org/importance 

Parents, please read aloud to your young children. It only takes a few minutes a day. When you read to your children, they will enjoy literacy with you, and they will be better prepared for school.

Did you know that children's listening comprehension is generally higher than their reading ability?  If your child is reading at level A, you can read to him/her a higher level book. 

Also, I find it lots of fun to not only read TO children, but to also read WITH children. Take turns reading sentences. Take turns reading paragraphs. Before you know it, your child will read on his/her own!

Family Literacy Event!

Thanks to a generous grant from Target, I was able to host my first Family Literacy Event today here at PS8x Library.

Last month I consulted with my Principal and we agreed to target (no pun intended, really) our youngest students. I sent out invitations to two kindergarten classes and received about 15 positive responses. It was raining and cold this morning, and I worried that nobody would show up.
Boy was I wrong.

At today's Family Literacy Event, at least 24 parents completed their survey; many parents did not complete their survey because I didn't have enough copies. I think almost 30 parents participated in all.

Today we discussed the importance of reading at home. It's so easy to not sit down with your children after a long day at work/school. We as Care-Givers face many hurdles: lack of time; fatigue; the lure of the Internet; television; insufficient funds to buy books, etc. My message today to our participants was simple: You are your child's very first teacher. You must be proactive and read WITH and TO your children everyday. In our school, we have excellent hard-working teachers. However, in most cases the student teacher ratio is 1:25. At home the child parent ratio is much more favorable. Just think the impact of just 15 minutes a day would make. If 15 minutes is too much, then start at 5 minutes. Just start.

I reviewed the surveys that were returned to me and saw that more than half of today's participants admit to reading with their children only 1x per week. This is worrisome.   
In my next Family Literacy Event, I hope to address time-saving strategies to help busy Care-Givers find time to read with their children.
What do you think?

The Little Prince

 

 

     I've finally finished rereading The Little Prince. This is one of those books I recommend ALL educators and parents revisit every year. Why? Author Antoine de Saint-Exupery reminds us Grown-Ups why we must never lose sight of the importance of childhood.  When I say childhood, I mean kids age 2-99. Childhood is important business. It's fleeting and fragile as a rose. Roses, as children, need constant care, regardless how tired and busy we become.

     The character little prince meets an assortment of adult characters who I hope never to resemble. Some of these odious characters remind me of real people I know. 

     If you are interested in reading this Classic, I have a few copies in the library. You can also download it on your ereader. If you want to read it aloud, you might consider having discussions about the different Grown-Up characters the little prince encounters.  Just be prepared for some insightful observations from your young readers!

     Happy reading!

     

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl

     This is a classic in children's literature...the "meat and potato" of books...Young James Henry Trotter loses his parents and is shuffled off to live with two hideous and abusive aunts. He then meets up with a strange (and sometimes cranky) mix of insect characters. Together they embark on an adventure of a lifetime, in a giant peach, of course! 

     Interestingly enough, some schools have actually banned or challenged this title. 

I like this book, especially as a read-aloud because the plot really moves along, and the short chapters leave young listeners yearning for more.
     This summer I read the book to my 7 year old and he was appalled by the wicked Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. I suggest teachers be prepared for their students' reactions to the two Aunts. Some children come from homes where abusive language is part of life, and may be very sensitive to the subject.