Literacy Hero Training Coming Up!

You can be a hero!  

Read with at-risk kids in the greater Holland community, serving as a Literacy Hero volunteer.  If you are 18 years or older, enjoy working with kids one-on-one, and have an hour or two to share each week, this may be the opportunity you have been looking for! 

We will be training a new class of Literacy Heroes on Monday, September 23 from 6:30 – 9:00 pm!  If this is of interest to you please sign up on our website here.  

Book Sharing as a Positive Experience

I’m going to point out something that seems so simple but it needs to be said:  Please, remember to keep reading and book time a positive experience!  This alone can make all the difference between a non-reader and a reader.  Our emotions are not controllable.  How you feel is how you feel.

If an adult reader is stern or negative during reading time, it is almost certain the child will associate that with reading and will avoid reading if at all possible.  Negativity and fear are strong emotions for kids.  They are road blocks to learning of any kind.

On the other hand, if the adult is playful and enjoys books, it’s catchy!  A child is much more likely to enjoy books!

There are no rules about having to finish a book.  If the child loses interest just set the book aside and do something else for a while.  Let the child choose a different book to read.  It’s possible that the child is just not up for reading at that time.  Maybe you can find a time when the child is more rested or alert to try some book time.  Quality is more important than quantity!

Read with your children.  Note the word WITH.  For pre-readers this looks different than it does for readers but I still think WITH is important!

If you are sharing a book with a pre-reader be sure to stop often.  Talk about the pictures.  Talk about how the characters are feeling.  Ask what is going to happen next.  Be sure to wait for answers.  The younger the child, the longer you should wait.  If you are both taking turns talking you are doing it right!  The child should be contributing to the story.

For beginner readers try taking turns with the reading task.  Maybe they read the left hand page and you the right.  They will tire faster than you will so don’t force it.  We all love to be read to.  But do continue to stop often.  Talk about the pictures.  Talk about how the characters must feel.  Ask what they think will happen next.  Once again, you should both be contributing to the conversation so allow time for them to talk.

For readers maybe you could take turns with chapters.  But there is no need to force it, as I said previously.  They will most likely still like you to read to them.  But, once again, don’t just read.  Stop and talk about the book and what is happening.

If you happen to have a reader that thinks they are too old to be read to (Nonsense!  I’m old and I love to be read to!!) maybe you could both read the same book and chat about it after each couple of chapters.  Another great way to share the books would be to start a parent/child book club.  You could all read the same book and then come together to talk about it.

You may see a pattern here.  Your interaction with your child’s reading process will help build language usage skills, comprehension, and vocabulary!  You will build a stronger bond with your child and hopefully instill a love of reading in the process!

Games to Play in the Car

Playing games in the car together is a great way to explore sounds and letters and even some arithmetic.  Remember playing alphabet?  Everyone works on finding the letters in the alphabet, starting with "a" and ending with "z", on road signs, billboards, business signs, and license plates as you travel.  This simple game of finding letters as we look through our car windows is a way of not only recognizing the different letters, but it also points out the importance that these letter groups have in our lives.  They make up words that help us maneuver through this world.

Another fun game is "I spy".  This game can have many hats.  Sure, for the little ones, you can use colors.  "I see something red."  But how about spicing it up for preschoolers with "I spy something that rhymes with..." or "I spy something that begins with /m/ (m sound)..."?  

Once they understand the letter sounds, try going through the alphabet, taking turns and naming something that begins with each letter.  

Person 1: apple

Person 2: bag

Person 3: car

Person 1: dump truck 

etc.

Of course, on the second time through the alphabet you can't reuse any words used the first time through!

My grandchildren in California play a game spying Volkswagen bugs.  The new models are worth 1 point and the old models are worth 3.  Once a person has claimed a sighting they have dibs on those points.  Each person keeps track of their own score.  This is a memory exercise and an adding exercise.  I, personally, think that a VW bug convertible should get some bonus points!

What I like best about all of these games is that you can play them as a family!  They are fun and, through repetition and your encouragement, they are learning something!

Summer Journaling

I’ve got another literacy tip to keep your child practicing their literacy skills in a fun way this summer.  Practicing their writing skills sounds like a chore but remembering the fun parts of the day can be appealing!  If you add taking pictures or drawing that makes it even better.

It’s not too late to encourage your child to keep a summer journal.  This is a good discipline that will strengthen writing skills and create a record of the summer.  Have them write one fun thing that they did that day or something funny that happened that day. They can draw pictures in the journal or add photographs.  Keep a journal yourself and share journal entries.  It’s a nice way to look back on the day together and talk about the good parts of your day.  These journals are also fun to go back and read in later years!

Reading is fun. Especially in the summer!

Keeping reading fun for kids through the summer  can be a challenge, but kids have a chance to do more leisure reading in the summer and you can take advantage of this.  They can read just for the fun of it and on any topic they choose!

Try making a weekly trip to the library together and let your child pick out books.  They may have interest in books that are too difficult for them to read on their own, but their interest can be a big motivator.  Try reading these books together.  Share the task and talk about the book together to ensure that they are understanding the content.  They also may pick books that are very easy for them.  This is not all bad.  Such books may give them confidence in their reading abilities.  Is there a younger child that they could share the book with?  

Even if your child is not reading yet, picking out their own books can be fun.  You can always sort out anything you might think is inappropriate before actually checking them out.  For many kids this is like going into a candy store and they can pick out whatever candy they want.  Yes, they do need some oversight!  

While you’re at the library pick out some books to read with your child at bedtime!  Don't forget that chapter books are great at bedtime for older children.  Read one or two chapters each night.  This is a good opportunity for the child to “re-cap” what has happened previously in the story before beginning each night.  Bedtime reading is great at any age.  We all want to know what’s going to happen next. I love being read to at nighttime and I’m not so young!  Is it bedtime yet??

Mix some reading into your Summer travels!

In my June 25 post I encouraged everyone to join one of our summer reading programs.  There are actually programs for everyone 0 – 100 years old  ... and older! 

Registering your child in a summer reading program is just one way that you can help them avoid the ”summer slide” where a child can actually lose reading skills if those skills are not exercised over the summer months.

There are other fun ways to keep them reading.  I’m planning to post some of my ideas on this topic in the coming weeks.  I am hoping you find some of the tips useful and fun!

Traveling this summer?  Check out a few books first.  We have books on Michigan and all the other states, other countries, wildlife, fishing, camping, bugs, outdoor sports, and much more.  This can make your trip more meaningful.  It may spark some latent interests!  Make it a family adventure and learn together.

Not traveling this summer?  Check out a few books and do some armchair travelling with your child!  You can go anywhere your imagination takes you!  Ancient Egypt, modern day China, France, Hawaii, Mars ...  You can even pick the weather!  This can be great fun.  Draw pictures of where you have traveled and write letters home to tell everyone about your activities and what a great time you are having!  Maybe you can even build a vehicle together for your travels.  Just imagine…..