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9 ways to keep your child reading this summer

4/25/2016

For most children, summer vacation is a time for staying up late, sleeping in, playing video games for hours each day, and doing as much of “nothing” as is humanly possible! They want to get as much of this done as they can before school starts in the fall. Parents (educators too) need to be sure that children are not falling into the depths of summer vacation and experiencing “summer slide”. Extensive research has been done, and the results conclude that children who read on a regular basis during the summer can improve their reading level and fluency. Lack of or no reading at all during the summer can make a student’s transition to the next grade level somewhat difficult, so why not find creative ways to get your child engaged in reading during summer vacation? It can only help!

Here are some tips regarding how to help your child become committed to reading during the summer and school year as well.

Schedule weekly trips to the library
Let your child select reading material that interests them (some may already have required summer reading, so free choice is a good thing..they will be more receptive to reading if they feel they have control over what they read)
Read to/with your child (if they are a beginning reader)...you can also let beginning readers experience print media on their own sometimes (e.g them looking at and flipping pages)...early exposure is important
For young/emerging readers (attend story hour at the local library), for older readers attend readings/plays at local libraries/bookstores
Attend “meet the author events” at small, local bookstores(often times the author will stay for a Q&A session)
Encourage your child to read in bed (let them stay up late sometimes if they agree to read in bed)
Use reading as a bedtime routine (read a predetermined number of pages or a chapter each night)
Have your child do a creative book report on a book or books they read during the summer. There are many formats that are creative and fun. Click here for ideas to get you started or think of your own original idea for presenting a book report
Most of all, be a model. Always read in front of your child and encourage them to read any/everythin

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i am from poem

4/18/2016

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I recently read an article about teaching poetry through the lens of the immigrant experience. It can be empowering and powerful for students as well as adults. I decided to write an "I Am From" poem about myself. Take some time this week to write one about yourself. Perhaps your entire family can write "I Am From" poems during the weekend and designate a time to share them with each other as a group? I hope you enjoy my poem and are inspired to write your own! Don't forget that April is National Poetry Month!

I Am From

I am from Robert and Carrie, Arkansas and Alabama
From “always do your best” and “play to win”
From my brother’s 5 Speed Schwinn bike with a banana seat and ram horn handlebars
I am from the last house on the south side of the street with a gas light on a well manicured front lawn

I am from the Lone Ranger and Spider-Man, Three Stooges and Benny Hill, The Jeffersons and Good Times, Ultra-Man and The Justice League
From Saturday morning cartoons and Cap’n Crunch with Berries
From homemade biscuits, fish and spaghetti, and my grandmother’s homemade apple jelly

I am from playing football in the street and “Cork” in the alley off of Abner Place everyday during the summer. That was our Busch Stadium!
I am from backyard barbeques and Wiffle Ball (if you hit it over the house, it was an automatic Grand Slam!)
From riding bikes all day and playing Hide & Go Seek at dusk

From youth football practice at Penrose Park (Kill the Man with the Ball before practice!), track practice at Northwest High School, track meets at Flo Valley College and the Junior Olympics in Poplar Bluff
I am from toll roads at Natural Bridge & Kingshighway and Natural Bridge & Union

I am from Lexington Elementary School and the Public School Stadium
From the Pie House “Fill Up” burgers and the chop suey joint on the corner of Union & Lexington
From Pla-Mor Roller Rink and Normandy Lanes Bowling Alley

I am from fireworks competitions with neighbors on the 4th of July
From sweltering summer heat and humidity
From St. Louis, “Gateway to the West” and Greer Avenue in North St. Louis
From my mother graduating from Homer G. Phillips Nursing School and her sister finishing her PhD at the age of 66
I am from the Midwest

I keep these memories close
Savoring their warmth as I recall each of them
Very fond memories of a special time in my life
I am home

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6 Benefits of online tutoring

4/3/2016

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The modern day tutoring profession has experienced a substantial evolution. It is an organic result of rapid advances in technology and its connection to educational needs of students. Online learning has been embraced, and students of all ages have been exposed to/engaged in some form of online learning. It is a powerful instrument of learning that is here to stay.

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9 ways to keep your child reading this summer

i am from poem

6 Benefits of online tutoring

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