Play will get child ready for reading

Detroit Free Press

Dear Leanna: My daughter, Olivia, had an OK year in kindergarten, but she’s not reading like some of her classmates. Her teacher says not to worry, but I do. Are there flashcards, workbooks or online courses we can use this summer to help her catch up as she enters first grade?

Answer: I’m with the teacher. Lots of kids don’t read as they exit kindergarten, so she’s not behind. Don’t make her feel like she is. Pushing her with flashcards or drills can do more harm than good. Devote the summer to play.

Yes, play. Researchers say play is an essential component in learning to read. Play helps kids develop background knowledge so they can link the words to things they’ve...

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Food for thought for new readers

By Pamela Brill, Disney FamilyFun magazine

My kindergartner, Peyton, is excited that she’s beginning to read, so I was thrilled to discover Pop for Sight Words.

This fun game should help her maintain her skills and enthusiasm over the summer. Players take turns picking kernel-shaped pieces from the popcorn box. If a player recognizes the word on the piece she’s chosen, she says it and keeps the card.

But if she draws a piece that says “pop,” she has to return all her cards to the box. The words range from easy (do, now) to challenging (please, there). The game is simple, yet addictive — kind of like its snack counterpart. Ages 6 and up, Learning Resources, $10....

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Vocabulary vitamins: Playful ways to build your child’s word power

McClatchy-Tribune

Want to help your children to become better readers and stronger students? Feed them a steady diet of interesting words!

Studies have shown that children with rich vocabularies do better in school. It’s common sense: When kids sit down to read any text, they have a huge advantage if they are familiar with a large number words and what they mean. And that holds true whether the words are on an exam, newspaper, billboard, computer or cell phone screen.

“Vocabulary knowledge is a major indicator of reading comprehension,” says Joseph Pettigrew, who teaches at Boston University and recently conducted an online seminar with tips to improve students’ word power. “Motivating students to learn new words is crucial,...

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Prevent summer slide: Ways to get your child reading this summer

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Inevitably, children lose some of what they’ve learned during the school year over the course of a three-month vacation. Teachers typically spend several weeks in the fall making up for this “summer slide.” The best antidote to prevent learning loss?

Reading. It is one of the most essential things that kids can do when school’s out. A 2002 report from National Summer Learning Association states that children lose approximately two months of learning over the summer.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), a national children’s literacy nonprofit, has a number of ideas to help make this summer a season of reading:

• Combine activities with books. Going to a baseball game? Head to the...

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Tips to improve your child’s reading skills

When it comes to kids today, it seems to be all about the screen — computer games, handheld games, websites, social media, cell phones, TV, and, of course, text messaging.

But what about reading? Many parents today are concerned because they know that being a good reader remains a crucial skill that kids need in order to be successful in school … and life.

If you’re one of those worried parents, here’s a bit of good news: There are simple things you can do to encourage, entice, and even excite your children about picking up a book. The first is to set aside some family time for reading. Next, try these seven tips to make the experience enjoyable — while developing your child’s skills.

1. Start with an interesting topic, and read out loud together....

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Learn to read by the senses

By Priscilla J. Dunstan, McClatchy-Tribune

Learning to read isn’t as simple as knowing ones letters, it involves a great many different skills and various mental processing milestones.

An understanding of sequences, pattern recognition, symbols and how sounds interchange to create new words, are important for children to understand what they read. By catering to your child’s dominant sense, you can ensure that those skills are mastered, making learning to read, easier, quicker and more solid.

For tactile children using letters they can pick up and handle, in many differing fabrics and materials will help them associate more personally with each letter. Getting them to physically spell out their name, favorite food or activity will help them...

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Is your child gifted?

By Julie Landry Laviolette, McClatchy Newspapers

For some parents, getting a child into the gifted program is akin to winning a gold medal in the academic Olympics. It’s a label parents and some students crave as much for the prestige as the potential for higher learning.

Educators say parents who clamor to get the inside track on gifted testing should consider whether it’s really right for their child.

“This is not a club you’re getting into. It is services by the school system and some gifted kids need them and some gifted kids don’t,” said Cynthia Park, director of Advanced Academics for Broward County Public Schools.

Take a look at your child. Is he or she challenged in school? What behaviors do you...

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Help your teen get the most out of required community service

By Ana Veciana-Suarez, McClatchy Newspapers

To encourage social responsibility and civic engagement, most high schools require volunteer hours for graduation. But for some reluctant students, community service becomes one more dreaded assignment to rush through.

“There are so many opportunities out there, yet too many students wait until the last minute to get their hours,” says Christine Siwek, community-service coordinator for Cooper City High School in Broward. “They come to me in the last part of their senior year desperate for a project, and by then it becomes a burden.”

Looking ahead to the two-week winter break, when many students try to rack up hours, what can parents do to steer them toward meaningful community...

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My son isn’t going to college, and I’m proud of him for it

By Tracy, New Jersey Moms Blog

My kid’s not going to college. That used to be a hard sentence to get out because people looked at me funny. During my son’s high school junior and senior year, friends would talk about where their kids applied to college, who they’d heard from and where they were going, maybe. And the plans, Oh! The plans. When they asked me I was honest, “My son’s not going to college.” My son’s always had other plans. The look I got was a cross between pity for me and embarrassment for asking.

My son is in a luthier apprenticeship. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what that means; spell check doesn’t either. A luthier is someone who makes or repairs stringed instruments; in my son’s...

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Watch out for SAT scammers

By Tim Darragh, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)

The scam: High schoolers thinking about the next leg of their educational journey just took the PSAT, the precursor to the dreaded SAT. The big test is one of the key steps for students looking to get into college. Since the SAT is so important to so many, it’s not at all surprising that rip-off artists have taken advantage of those who want to improve their scores.

How it works: The Better Business Bureau in Dallas reported earlier this year about one test-prep business. It said the company called homes and falsely told parents that their children asked for help preparing for the standardized test. Parents were pressed into agreeing to buy $120 of software and materials and...

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