Bottom line… YES! But do we hit the mark every night… NO! Here are some statistics that really do show the benefit of the ACCUMULATED hours of reading. “If daily reading begins at day one, by the time the child is five years old, he or she has been fed roughly 54,750 minutes of brain food!”(from Why… Continue reading Does My Kid Really Need to Read for 30 Minutes Every Night?
Tag: early education
Practicing Patient Parenting
(By Guest Blogger: Ciara Cheriese) When I was a substitute preschool teacher (while my daughter was in grade school)… I had a simple rule/ boundary in place… “I will not agree to sub on days that I cannot give the students my very best patient self.” I did this to ensure that I would have… Continue reading Practicing Patient Parenting
Writing Inspiration: Llama Friends
I was a little surprised when my kids got to kindergarten and they handed us a list of SIGHT WORDS. They told us they will need to start remembering these words and will be evaluated on their reading level based on how many they know by sight! As a young mother, I wish there had… Continue reading Writing Inspiration: Llama Friends
How to REALLY Make Reading FUN (for the Unmotivated Child)
Here we are, 4 months after my first post about motivating my kids to read. You can probably guess where we’re at; maybe your situation is similar. (see ‘The Power of NO’ with a FREE printable Reading Reward Chart!) I have one girl who is so excited about school and motivated to read. Their school… Continue reading How to REALLY Make Reading FUN (for the Unmotivated Child)
5 Easy Ways to Help Kids with Reading Comprehension
Have you ever read something… and then completely forgotten what you just read? I call this “zoning out” and I do it a lot. I recently switched to audio books and it has helped improve my focus. But even still, unless a book is really interesting or captivating, it is really easy to “zone out”… Continue reading 5 Easy Ways to Help Kids with Reading Comprehension
5 Back to School Hacks
We survived our first week back to school face-to-face. After 18 months of doing school at home, it may take us awhile to get used to leaving in the morning. Lunch boxes were forgotten and water bottles lost at school. But after a week of getting back into it, we have learned a few things… Continue reading 5 Back to School Hacks
10 Ways Coloring is Therapy for Kids
Whether it is back to school time, before a test, or anticipating a doctor’s appointment, our kids get ANXIETY! Below are some ways that coloring can help. We may not always notice how anxiety manifests in our children. Depending on their personalities, they may tell you how they are feeling or show other signs that… Continue reading 10 Ways Coloring is Therapy for Kids
Parent’s Guide to Reading Fluency
I have always thought my kids were great readers. From the time they could barely make out words to now when they are reading most books in our house, I thought my kids were always right on track! Enter… THE THIRD GRADE!! I started to notice my daughter sounded a bit choppier in her reading,… Continue reading Parent’s Guide to Reading Fluency
Teaching Typing to Kids
When my kids went on spring break last March (2020)… and then NEVER WENT BACK… I had one burning question. Why have we not been teaching them TYPING from day one?? Although I am always surprised by the technological skills my kids already have, the pandemic has been a great eye-opener as to what life… Continue reading Teaching Typing to Kids
Writing Inspiration – Spaceship Tree
When I first thought about writing books for children, I thought back on a childhood experience that made an impact. This was before I even had kids so I could only grasp at my own child-like memories. The first thought was this beautiful old sycamore tree on the playground where I grew up. We were… Continue reading Writing Inspiration – Spaceship Tree