Teaching Your Child the Fun of Reading

As you know,it is extremely important to establish good reading habits in your child early on. Without good reading skills a child’s entire learning process is really put behind the proverbial eight ball.

Let’s look at some of the best ways you can help your child to develop good reading skills.

First of all, make reading a daily activity. And above and beyond that try to make it during the same time frame each day. And this should not just be reading bedtime stories either. Bedtime stories are excellent, but get together and read with your child when they have more mental energy. In today’s busy times, make the reading time that you spend with your child something special. If you do, the rewards will come back many times over.

When your child is reading to you, patience is the key. As your child works to get through words they don’t necessarily recognize, give them a chance to think about it and sound it out. Don’t just immediately tell them what the word is; you’ll just become a reading crutch for them.

And by the way, don’t always have the child reading to you.

You’ll want to read to your child as well, and have them paraphrase back to you what you have read. This will give you a barometer of their listening and comprehension level. So, trade-off who reads to whom… again make reading time special, relaxing, and most of all enjoyable!

When it comes to developing good reading habits and your child, two words come to mind… encourage and praise.

When in doubt… see above.

Children love to please their parents and hear the praises of putting forth a good effort. Let them know. Never run the risk that your child may feel as though they have failed or are failing you.

Even when you aren’t actually reading talk to your child about their favorite story or the current reading you are working on with them. Have them tell you about the story and their favorite part, talk about the characters, talk about what they think is going to happen in the story. This will build excitement about reading and wanting to get back to their story. Take the time to reinforce any new words the child has learned. This will build their vocabulary and increase their comprehension abilities.

Although somewhat down on the list, but just as important, is that you should be a reading model. It’s amazing how many parents simply missed the boat with this one.

Remember, you are your child’s hero.

For them to see in you that you truly enjoy reading cannot be understated. If you haven’t, pick up a book and read your book while curled up with your child reading theirs.

This is huge.

And finally, if you haven’t noticed by now… make reading fun. Make it relaxing. Make it special.

If you can, dedicate a reading spot in your home just for you and your child to read. Even take it a step further and set up a spot in your home for your child’s own personal library. Decorate it as such and make it very special for them.

Reading that begins early pays dividends for a lifetime. Start laying the foundation of success for your child today.

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Parent and Child Preparation for the First Day of School

If your first child is about to start school this year you may be wondering who has more anxiety about it – you or your child. The first day of school is significant in so many ways; your child is growing up, you are not personally planning their days and you know, even if your child does not, that it is only the beginning of a long stretch of firsts.

If you or your child are feeling anxious about the coming school year, what steps can you take to ease the transition and develop a healthy sense of expectation and challenge instead of fear or loss?

GIVE YOUR CHILD PRACTICE

If you have been the sole caregiver for your child it is quite possible that your child will have more anxiety about spending the day with people he or she doesn’t know than a child who has been in a public day care environment before.

During the summer, before the big day, you may wish to enroll your child in preschool even if it is only one or two days per week and only two hours at a time. This gives both you and your child the chance to experience the separation without the overwhelming challenge of full time school.

If your child is not ready for a typical preschool environment, try group play activities such as a music class or book reading that involves following the teacher’s instructions and spending time with a group of children while parents stay close by.

SPEAK POSITIVELY ABOUT SCHOOL

As hard as it may be, try to remain positive about the school experience. Even the boldest child may be put off going to school if they sense their parents’ apprehensions about it.

Talk to mothers of school aged children. You may find your concerns to be commonplace, but you’ll quickly adapt to the routine and may even find time to enjoy it.

Find out if you can visit the school before the new school year starts. Some schools have days when children planning to attend the following year can come to a library reading one day a week as a means of getting accustomed to the school environment.

Taking your child ’school shopping’ can also create enthusiasm. New school clothes, shoes and even a ‘big kid’ book bag are all ways you can foster excitement about going to school.

GET INVOLVED

It may be possible for the school to put you in touch with other parents who have children starting school at the same time as yours. Meeting other children before the school year can ease nerves and create a supportive bond.

If your school doesn’t permit that information to be shared you may request that an invitation be given to parents who would like to meet, or post a notice on the bulletin board.

Once school has started stay involved with your child’s progression. Discuss the activities of the day, read books brought home from school and volunteer to help in the classroom or on trips if you have the ability. All of these steps show your child that you are participating even though you are not there with them. Soon enough you’ll find your little one getting the hang of it, maybe even before you do!

Video Games Can Be Good For Kids

I am Seth’s grandfather. That little rascal can be a handful with his Babe Ruth league baseball, science projects, skate boarding, practicing new martial arts moves, trying new tricks with his bike and with lots of other activities that 8 year olds such as him enjoy. It is truly a blessing when he settles down to read a book or spend some time at the computer. One of his favorite past times at the computer is video games.

Now many people seem to criticize those online video games as if they are going to turn ones head to mush. Some say that these games lead to an increase in anti-social behaviors, including violence, loss of communication skills, and even health issues such as obesity. Now if this is true you sure can’t prove it by Seth. This kid is so energetic that he is hard to keep up with. Overweight? Neither Seth nor any of his also highly active, energetic, video game playing friends.

Now with some children, video games may in fact cause some problems in these areas; critics seem to agree for the most part that online video games can increase hand eye coordination. Most critics, however, have yet to recognize the beneficial effects that video games may have on the mind.

As parents and grandparents you may wish to check out online educational games that offer players brain training that can help one actually become more intelligent. These games work by testing the cognitive functions of your brain like memory, reasoning, logical decision making, and so forth. Try to visualize yourself spending time working out at your local health club to get your body in shape. Playing educational video games is like taking your brain to the same gym to get mentally in shape.

Educational games are often synonymous with words like boring, un-cool, and primitive. The truth is that educational games can be as much fun as any other type of game. Often times they can be even more fun because of the rewarding nature of the games. Think back to that game of trivia you played with friends several years ago. Do you remember how good it felt to get those answers correct? That’s the type of feeling one can get from playing an education game. The more people play these games the greater their confidence becomes. With greater confidence people have a better chance of succeeding at whatever they set their mind to achieve.

The best place to play educational video games for free is on the internet, and in fact you will find some sources to them right here at SethsBooks.com.

The internet has provided a platform for educational learning like none before. Educational games have become more sophisticated to cater towards users interests. One obvious interest for many users is learning skills that can be used in the workplace. One example of where this occurs is in the dental field. Many websites offer users online educational games that are fun, informative, and catered towards user interests. Games can include choices like Wordsearch, Matching Pair, and Crossword Puzzle. Each game offers users a fun and interactive way to learn real vocational terms that they can use in the work place.

The internet is helping transcend the traditional boundaries of online games by offering useful, user beneficial and educational content. Why not play a few games yourself and after you play a few games on the internet, ask yourself if you’ve learned anything new. You may be surprised by the answer.

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