This dinosaur themed escape room is sure to be a big hit with your kids!Â
So much fun for parties, group bonding or just for a change of pace! Print and play today. Great for building critical thinking skills. See here for more info or click on the image.
A little about me... My name is Annette Termini, and I have 25+ years of experience between the classroom and homeschooling. Now I spend my time creating educational resources for parents and teachers that make learning both engaging and effective!
You have probably tried so many things already to help your young one become a fluent reader. Don't give up, it will happen! My second daughter was 10 before she became a fluent reader BUT she has never looked back and loves to read as a young adult.
Here are some ideas that worked with my daughter when she was a young girl.
Find a book series that captivates your child. Here are a few that my children loved: Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse, the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spirit Animals. My kids got hooked on these. If the reading level is not quite a match, read aloud with your child and help them where they get stuck. After a while, after all, they won't need you to help them. Look at this as a special time!
This idea follows from the first above. Sit down together with your child and take turns reading, "My turn, your turn" style. The workbook pictured above is perfect for this. Have your child read a paragraph and then it is your turn to read a paragraph. Fun! Don't forget to ask your child some questions about what you have just read.
At the dinner table, or in front of a group, ask your young reader about what they are reading. They will be so excited to tell you the turn of events from their book, or what they have learned if it is nonfiction, and this will excite them to read more.Â
Remember, the more your child reads, the better they will get at it!
A little about me... I have 25+ years of experience between the classroom and homeschooling. Now I spend my time creating educational resources for parents and teachers that make learning fun! Blessings to you and yours, Annette
Good news! Disinterested readers can become engaged readers overnight, literally.
How? You need to find what they are interested in. Believe it or not, not all beginning readers are captivated by fairy tale picture books. A case in point, my middle child, who was a reluctant reader until the age of 9. Unfortunately, her standardized test scores reflected this. (She now holds a masters degree in geographical information systems so she eventually figured it out:)
Here are a few suggestions that worked for me...
Go to the library or a bookstore. Browse through the aisles with your child. See what catches their eye. For my daughter, it was the outer space books, animal books and how things are made books. Who would have thought? Choosing these books highly motivated her to want to figure out what those cryptic letters spelled!
Now that you have an assortment of books that your child actually is interested in, set aside 10-20 minutes a day where you all sit down and peruse through books. Let them have some quiet time to explore but be there if they have questions about what they are reading. And what are you going to be doing during this time? Reading, of course. Show that you love reading also, by reading your own book or newspaper or magazine at the same time. (don't read on your phone)
Celebrate reading by making a reward chart with stickers for every time that they complete a book or perhaps a reading passage as in the workbook above. When the chart is filled, celebrate with a fun activity or outing. It's all about making reading a non-boring desirable activity!Â
Try these and let me know if it helped your disinterested reader.
A little about me... I have 25+ years of experience between the classroom and homeschooling. Now I spend my time creating educational resources for parents and teachers that make learning fun! Blessings to you and yours, Annette
As an educational professional, believe me when I say that you can make a big difference in your child's journey to becoming a fluent reader.
It is frustrating, I know, to watch a child struggle while reading.
Here are a few ideas to ease you and your child's frustration with reading, and set them on a path to success.
Have your child read a high-interest reading passage with you. When they get stuck on a word, highlight it with a marker. Stop and discuss each word individually and break it up into syllables. Talk about what the word means. It's okay if it takes a while to get through the passage. Then practice reading only the highlighted words. To cap it off, read the passage again and praise your child for their improvement.
Choose a reading passage that has high interest for your child. The workbook above, for instance, is filled with highly-interesting animal facts about different animals. Record yourself reading the passage, then have your child listen to the recording several times before trying to read it on their own. This is a great way to set your child up for success.
This next ideas is a follow-up to the previous one. After your child is proficient at reading the story passage, have them record themselves reading it. Then let their younger siblings or classmates enjoy the recording themselves!
A little about me... I have 25+ years of experience between the classroom and homeschooling. Now I spend my time creating educational resources for parents and teachers that make learning fun! Blessings to you and yours, Annette
Coming from an early ed classroom teacher and homeschool mom background, I can tell you there are so many fun ways to help your child read better!
Let's look at a few...
Choose a high interest reading passage and sit down next to your child. Tell them that you are going to read the passage a sentence at a time out loud. While you are reading the sentence, have your child follow along by putting a finger on each word as it is read. Then tell your child it is their turn to read the sentence aloud. Make sure they are following along with their finger on each word.
There is something magical about memorization. Choose a special poem with your child (there are many online) and have your child write it down. Maybe have them illustrate it too. Then have them memorize the poem by reading it over and over again. To finish this off with something fun, have them recite it in front of family or classmates.
Here is another one to help with those tricky words they might have a hard time sounding out. Read a passage together and make a note of the words they are having trouble with. Then make flashcards to practice those words. The workbook shown above is perfect for this. It is sprinkled with life science vocabulary that children may not be familiar with. After practicing with the flashcards, try reading the passage again together.
A little about me... I have 25+ years of experience between the classroom and homeschooling. Now I spend my time creating educational resources for parents and teachers that make learning fun! Blessings to you and yours, Annette
