The importance of sleep, diet, exercise, and down-time cannot be stressed enough. As a parent, it is our job to make sure our family stays well. Put a bedtime routine in place and stick to it. As your child gets older, this can be a bit more flexible. Make sure your child has access to healthy snacks and well balanced meals.
Of course, we all know the importance of daily exercise. Make sure everyone in the family participates in this. It can be as simple as taking the family pet for a walk everyday. Finally, it is important to make sure your child has some down-time everyday. This can include recreational reading, talking on the phone to friends, watching television, playing with friends, running errands with a family member, playing a board game, or going to a movie. The focus should be on having fun and relaxing.
By: Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes (2011)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Preparing Your Child for a Successful Academic Year
It is time to sit down with your family and talk about the coming school year. Coming off the last lazy days of summer, it is the discussions you have now as a family that will help to define a successful transition back into the realm of academia and less flexible schedules. By clearly defining, from the beginning, your expectations for each of your children, hopefully there will be less frustration and more joy for everyone.
A Child needs to know what is expected of him and why. It helps him to understand that he is a part of a family and that everyone has jobs to do, both outside and inside the home. By including him in the planning, he knows that he has an important role in the family unit. As parents, we need to be able to communicate to him, in an age appropriate manner, just what his individual roles are to be. That is not to say, that roles cannot be modified as time and circumstances change.
It is essential that children are re-evaluated as the academic year progresses and that changes are made where needed. the best laid plans all have an element of flexibility built into them. That is life. Begin preparing your child for it now.
Some areas that should be discussed are health, family, school, activities and chores.
We will be talking a look at all these areas over the next few days.
By: Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes (2011)
A Child needs to know what is expected of him and why. It helps him to understand that he is a part of a family and that everyone has jobs to do, both outside and inside the home. By including him in the planning, he knows that he has an important role in the family unit. As parents, we need to be able to communicate to him, in an age appropriate manner, just what his individual roles are to be. That is not to say, that roles cannot be modified as time and circumstances change.
It is essential that children are re-evaluated as the academic year progresses and that changes are made where needed. the best laid plans all have an element of flexibility built into them. That is life. Begin preparing your child for it now.
Some areas that should be discussed are health, family, school, activities and chores.
We will be talking a look at all these areas over the next few days.
By: Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes (2011)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Try This Game with Grades 3-5
Fortunately/Unfortunately
The writer Remy Charlip wrote a classic children's book called "Fortunately", in which one good even happens, followed by its unfortunate opposite. The book opens with, "Fortunately one day, Ned got a letter that said, 'Please Come to a Surprise Party,' But unfortunately the party was in Florida and he was in New York." You do not need the book to play this game, but it's more fun if you first read it together. Each person playing the game receive one sheet of paper. Write in large letters at the top of a sheet of paper "Fortunately." On the reverse side, write "Unfortunately." Talk with your child about a trip he or she has always wanted to take like Disney World, across Canada by bicycle, to the moon, etc. Help your child think of a first sentence about the trip, starting with something like, "Fortunately, we won the lottery. Our whole family decided to buy bicycles and ride across Canada. Mom quit her job." Write the "Fortunately" sentences. The pass each paper to the other player. Turn it over and write the "Unfortunately" part. For example, "Unfortunately, it rained every day, and our bicycles rusted." If your child wants to play more, you can either make new Fortunately/Unfortunately sheets or you can draw a line under the first part and continue the story. Number each part on the front and back, so you can read the finished stories out loud more easily. Remember, this is not the time to fuss about spelling. If it's easier for your child with LD, let her/him dictate to you. Your role is to help your reluctant writer communicate his/her ideas to the world.
The writer Remy Charlip wrote a classic children's book called "Fortunately", in which one good even happens, followed by its unfortunate opposite. The book opens with, "Fortunately one day, Ned got a letter that said, 'Please Come to a Surprise Party,' But unfortunately the party was in Florida and he was in New York." You do not need the book to play this game, but it's more fun if you first read it together. Each person playing the game receive one sheet of paper. Write in large letters at the top of a sheet of paper "Fortunately." On the reverse side, write "Unfortunately." Talk with your child about a trip he or she has always wanted to take like Disney World, across Canada by bicycle, to the moon, etc. Help your child think of a first sentence about the trip, starting with something like, "Fortunately, we won the lottery. Our whole family decided to buy bicycles and ride across Canada. Mom quit her job." Write the "Fortunately" sentences. The pass each paper to the other player. Turn it over and write the "Unfortunately" part. For example, "Unfortunately, it rained every day, and our bicycles rusted." If your child wants to play more, you can either make new Fortunately/Unfortunately sheets or you can draw a line under the first part and continue the story. Number each part on the front and back, so you can read the finished stories out loud more easily. Remember, this is not the time to fuss about spelling. If it's easier for your child with LD, let her/him dictate to you. Your role is to help your reluctant writer communicate his/her ideas to the world.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Try These Games for Grades K - 2
Eat Your Words
The reluctant writer of any age often needs to return to the word level. Make it fun by baking dinner rolls or cookies in the shape of words that mean something to your child. For example, if he/she loves comic books, bend purchased dough into "Pow!" or "Shazam!" If it's his/her birthday, bake his/her wish, like "Gameboy II." (And if all this is too messy, use Play Dough or craft clay for words - but don't eat it.)
Survival
Pretend you are stranded on an island somewhere in your apartment, house, garage, or local park. You need to write "Help!" so you will be rescued by planes that are searching for you. You don't have a pencil or paper (and if you did, the writing would be too tiny to be read from the air). Tie towels around your head and take water (it's hot on the island). You and your child must survey your surroundings and invent non-pencil ways to write HELP! If you're in the bathroom, you might make giant letters out of toilet paper (and hope there's no wind). If you're in the garage, you might find paint and brushes. If you're in the park, you can always write with your toe in the sand. Suggest as little as possible, unless your child needs prompting. This game allows the child who balks at writing to experience the power of a single word when it is used for a reason. And if your child's imagination is fertile, don't stop at the first idea. Find as many ways as possible in each room or location.
Flying Messages
You'll need a ball or Frisbee, some tape and paper cut into six 1-1/2 - 2" - wide strips the long way. Both you and your child should write three commands, one on each strip of paper, that tell the other person to do something physical. For example, you might write, "Hop on your left foot six times" or "Squeak like a mouse." Try not to see each other's commands. Go outside and stand as far apart as your child can toss the ball or Frisbee. You start the game by taping your first strip to the ball or Frisbee. Toss it to your child. He reads the message and follows the instructions. Then he tapes his first strip to the ball or Frisbee and returns a flying message. If you don't have a place to play outside or the weather won't cooperate, you can stuff the message in a sock, ball it up, and toss it inside. (Hint: Don't play this game on a day when you're pooped.) In school, a child with learning problems may not connect why ideas in his head need to land on paper and be read. But when messages fly through the air, affect the other person's behaviour (and especially make him/her look silly), writing makes sense to the child.
The reluctant writer of any age often needs to return to the word level. Make it fun by baking dinner rolls or cookies in the shape of words that mean something to your child. For example, if he/she loves comic books, bend purchased dough into "Pow!" or "Shazam!" If it's his/her birthday, bake his/her wish, like "Gameboy II." (And if all this is too messy, use Play Dough or craft clay for words - but don't eat it.)
Survival
Pretend you are stranded on an island somewhere in your apartment, house, garage, or local park. You need to write "Help!" so you will be rescued by planes that are searching for you. You don't have a pencil or paper (and if you did, the writing would be too tiny to be read from the air). Tie towels around your head and take water (it's hot on the island). You and your child must survey your surroundings and invent non-pencil ways to write HELP! If you're in the bathroom, you might make giant letters out of toilet paper (and hope there's no wind). If you're in the garage, you might find paint and brushes. If you're in the park, you can always write with your toe in the sand. Suggest as little as possible, unless your child needs prompting. This game allows the child who balks at writing to experience the power of a single word when it is used for a reason. And if your child's imagination is fertile, don't stop at the first idea. Find as many ways as possible in each room or location.
Flying Messages
You'll need a ball or Frisbee, some tape and paper cut into six 1-1/2 - 2" - wide strips the long way. Both you and your child should write three commands, one on each strip of paper, that tell the other person to do something physical. For example, you might write, "Hop on your left foot six times" or "Squeak like a mouse." Try not to see each other's commands. Go outside and stand as far apart as your child can toss the ball or Frisbee. You start the game by taping your first strip to the ball or Frisbee. Toss it to your child. He reads the message and follows the instructions. Then he tapes his first strip to the ball or Frisbee and returns a flying message. If you don't have a place to play outside or the weather won't cooperate, you can stuff the message in a sock, ball it up, and toss it inside. (Hint: Don't play this game on a day when you're pooped.) In school, a child with learning problems may not connect why ideas in his head need to land on paper and be read. But when messages fly through the air, affect the other person's behaviour (and especially make him/her look silly), writing makes sense to the child.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Help Your Reluctant Writer at Home
Your struggling writer needs practice at home, but you don't want to make it seem like another school chore. The answer is to sneak writing into play - and vice versa.
As Joseph Pearce says in The Magical Child, "The child can never learn to play without the parent playing with the child. Play.....is a huge creative potential build within the child, which never develops unless it is stimulated by the adult model, the parent."
Remember that your role as a home writing coach is to have fun and to honour your child's imagination. You don't have to be the drill sergeant in charge of spelling. In fact, research shows us that in the long run, it's far more important to encourage the communication of ideas than to hamper a child's style for the sake of correct spelling.
The root of the word "communication" is "to commune" - in other words, to coax the ideas in your child's brain down through the paper and up into your brain. You can help by:
As Joseph Pearce says in The Magical Child, "The child can never learn to play without the parent playing with the child. Play.....is a huge creative potential build within the child, which never develops unless it is stimulated by the adult model, the parent."
Remember that your role as a home writing coach is to have fun and to honour your child's imagination. You don't have to be the drill sergeant in charge of spelling. In fact, research shows us that in the long run, it's far more important to encourage the communication of ideas than to hamper a child's style for the sake of correct spelling.
The root of the word "communication" is "to commune" - in other words, to coax the ideas in your child's brain down through the paper and up into your brain. You can help by:
- Saying, "Let's play a game." There's no need to mention "writing game" if your child is a reluctant writer.
- Choosing subjects your child loves, like brontosauruses or monster movies or soccer or shoes.
- Talking through ideas, asking questions, and listening carefully to answers.
- Making drawings, notes, and story maps together, if your child can't remember ideas.
- Taking dictation or having your child use a computer.
- Praising honestly and liberally.
- Keeping games short.
- Posting written work on the wall or refrigerator, or sending it to family members and friends. Writing is meant to be shared.
- Quitting if it isn't fun for your child or for you.
Make Writing a Game, Not a Chore
- Writing has many stages before it reaches paper - generating ideas, noticing likenesses, deciding on one main idea, eliminating others, choosing appropriate words, and putting them in an order that readers can follow - not to mention problems with the physical act of writing.
- Your child with learning disabilities may struggle anywhere along the path. Bur if he or she writes for reason and an audience, half the battle is won. Incorporate writing naturally into play and it need not be a chore for your child or for you. Let those ideas flow into print and sparkle.
Great Ways to Encourage Kids' Writing
Spark your child's interest in writing at home with engaging, fun activities.
It's natural for your children to bubble over with ideas, schemes, and jokes. Unfortunately, capturing those ideas on paper is not so natural for many kids with learning disabilities. They may freeze up, forget their ideas, or fight the pencil.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Summer Reading & Fluency: Tips for Parents from Reading Rockets
You've got the reading lists. You've got the books. But what else can you do to make your children better readers this Summer?
Help them read more quickly and accurately. Schools call this reading fluency. Fluent readers understand what they're reading. When they read aloud easily and with expression this makes reading a lot more enjoyable. When their attention is focused on sounding our each word their comprehension and motivation can suffer.
Here are four things parents can do to help their child continue to develop reading fluency:
1. Choose the right books
Help your child choose books that she/he can comfortably read. The "five-finger test" is a useful guideline for beginning readers. As your child reads, count the number of words he cannot read per page. In general, there should be five words or fewer that give him trouble on each page. If a book contains several pages on which you count more than five words that he can't read, consider reading that book to your child until he develops more reading skills.
2. Listen every day
Once you've found a collection of books that your child can read, listen to your child read every day. Be patient - new readers often read slowly! Offer help when your child gets stuck, and always give lots of praise and encouragement.
3. Read it again, Sam
Encourage your child to reread favourite books, and make it fun! Repeated readings improve children's fluency and comprehension. They also provide opportunities to practice reading with expression. Children will enjoy giving the wolf a scary growl or using a squeaky little voice for a mouse.
4. Read to your kids every day
Model your own fluent reading as you read and reread books with your child. Even though your child may be able to read on her/his own, continue to find time each day to read books to her/him that are just beyond her/his reading level. She/He will enjoy listening to more advanced stories, and she/he will hear a great example of fluent reading. Cool summer reading is the perfect antidote for those hot summer days! Enjoy.
Help them read more quickly and accurately. Schools call this reading fluency. Fluent readers understand what they're reading. When they read aloud easily and with expression this makes reading a lot more enjoyable. When their attention is focused on sounding our each word their comprehension and motivation can suffer.
Here are four things parents can do to help their child continue to develop reading fluency:
1. Choose the right books
Help your child choose books that she/he can comfortably read. The "five-finger test" is a useful guideline for beginning readers. As your child reads, count the number of words he cannot read per page. In general, there should be five words or fewer that give him trouble on each page. If a book contains several pages on which you count more than five words that he can't read, consider reading that book to your child until he develops more reading skills.
2. Listen every day
Once you've found a collection of books that your child can read, listen to your child read every day. Be patient - new readers often read slowly! Offer help when your child gets stuck, and always give lots of praise and encouragement.
3. Read it again, Sam
Encourage your child to reread favourite books, and make it fun! Repeated readings improve children's fluency and comprehension. They also provide opportunities to practice reading with expression. Children will enjoy giving the wolf a scary growl or using a squeaky little voice for a mouse.
4. Read to your kids every day
Model your own fluent reading as you read and reread books with your child. Even though your child may be able to read on her/his own, continue to find time each day to read books to her/him that are just beyond her/his reading level. She/He will enjoy listening to more advanced stories, and she/he will hear a great example of fluent reading. Cool summer reading is the perfect antidote for those hot summer days! Enjoy.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Rediscover Your Public Library
For families with young children, the public library is a great place to find entertainment, valuable information or educational and cultural enrichment. Here are the top 9 reasons to go visit your library.
Free Programs and Activities - From author visits to puppet shows to family films, libraries offer programs with kid appeal after school, on the weekends, and during the summer. Ask your librarian for the schedule of upcoming events.
Story Times - There's nothing like hearing a good story read by someone who loves to read aloud. Libraries are terrific settings for story times which often include finger plays, games, songs, and crafts that can be learned and enjoyed again at home.
Workshops - Many libraries offer workshops that can help enrich your life as an adult and support you as a parent. At many libraries, it is possible to learn to knit, prepare your taxes, update your resume, gain computer skills, or improve your parenting skills.
Books - Librarians are happy to make recommendations and most public libraries have a special section just for children's books.
Audio Books - Listened to a good book lately? Most libraries have a collection of popular adult and children's titles available for checkout on tape or CD.
Movies - Your public library is a great source for free access to the latest blockbusters, family movie classics, documentaries, or favourite TV shows.
Music - Want to introduce your children to Beethoven or the Beatles or new children's songs? Check to see if your library has a collection of music on CD.
Magazines and Newspapers - Introduce your child to some of the magazines designed just for children. With bold photographs, poems and a joke or two, magazines are another reading choice for beginning readers. Or catch up on the news in your community and share a smile over the comics.
Computers - Most public libraries offer free Internet access, computers with educational games for kids, and valuable online resources for teenagers.
Libraries are also working to get more of their own resources online. Your local library may have its own website with links to other resources within your community.
Free Programs and Activities - From author visits to puppet shows to family films, libraries offer programs with kid appeal after school, on the weekends, and during the summer. Ask your librarian for the schedule of upcoming events.
Story Times - There's nothing like hearing a good story read by someone who loves to read aloud. Libraries are terrific settings for story times which often include finger plays, games, songs, and crafts that can be learned and enjoyed again at home.
Workshops - Many libraries offer workshops that can help enrich your life as an adult and support you as a parent. At many libraries, it is possible to learn to knit, prepare your taxes, update your resume, gain computer skills, or improve your parenting skills.
Books - Librarians are happy to make recommendations and most public libraries have a special section just for children's books.
Audio Books - Listened to a good book lately? Most libraries have a collection of popular adult and children's titles available for checkout on tape or CD.
Movies - Your public library is a great source for free access to the latest blockbusters, family movie classics, documentaries, or favourite TV shows.
Music - Want to introduce your children to Beethoven or the Beatles or new children's songs? Check to see if your library has a collection of music on CD.
Magazines and Newspapers - Introduce your child to some of the magazines designed just for children. With bold photographs, poems and a joke or two, magazines are another reading choice for beginning readers. Or catch up on the news in your community and share a smile over the comics.
Computers - Most public libraries offer free Internet access, computers with educational games for kids, and valuable online resources for teenagers.
Libraries are also working to get more of their own resources online. Your local library may have its own website with links to other resources within your community.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)