Reading the same book repeatedly helps your child learn!

You may get bored when your child reaches for the same book every night but “repetitive reading” can actually help a child learn new words. Some children have favorite bedtime books and always reach for them. Some parents, thinking more is always better, buy lots of different books to provide variety. Half of a group of three-year-old children were read the same book while three different books were read to the others. The children were all tested a week later. Those who heard the same story repeated several times learned 3.6 new words on average while those who heard different stories remembered only 2.6 words. Obviously a child needs some variety and some repetition. But maybe when Baby reaches for the same book every night, Mommy or Daddy could stifle their yawn and bow to Baby’s wisdom! The important thing is to keep reading. Read often. Read with enthusiasm. Point to pictures and words while reading. Ask Baby to point to the picture. And don’t forget to let your child see you read to yourself. Children learn the behaviors we model. Source:  Marilyn Heims, M,D., author of the parenting newsletter Parents Kids Right.

Why Dads Should Read Bedtime Stories

Often, when teachers and other people involved with education talk about parental involvement, it’s assumed that they mean mothers. But research shows that children’s literacy levels improve substantially when their dads get involved with reading.

Dads and other male care givers are just as important as moms in encouraging children to enjoy reading and perhaps even more so when it comes to boys since reading is often thought of as a “girly” thing to do.

Dads can be role models and seeing them enjoy reading will help boys and girls alike to pick up a book and try it.

Children who have favorite books when they are young tend to do better in school. Regular reading for pleasure and enjoyment can be the foundation for educational success and good life long reading habits.

Now don’t worry dads, when your child reaches school they will have their own methods of teaching kids to read. You’re most important job for the first five years of their life is to spark an interest in books and show them how fun reading can be.

Dads can support children’s reading by:

¨ Talking to them about the world around them.

¨ Setting aside a certain time each day for shared reading.

¨ Singing songs to them.

¨ Taking them to the library.

¨ Playing word games.

¨ Involving them with your reading interests.

Source: love2read.com

10 Reasons to Read Aloud to your Children

1. When you hold children and give them attention, they know you love them.

2. Reading to children will encourage them to become readers.

3. Children’s books today are so good, they’re fun for adults, too.

4. Illustrations in children’s books rank with the best, giving children a life long feeling for good art.

5. Books are one way of passing on your values.

6. Book will enable a child’s imagination to soar.

7. Until children learn to read themselves. They will think you create magic.

8. Reading together helps develop a child’s attention span.

9. When you give children this gift, you create special memories that last a lifetime.

Source: “Relatives As Parents Program” - Orange County Extension.

Reading to Children for Better School Performance

Many parents today start planning for their children’s college education funds when those children are still in diapers. Yet, there’s another investment parents should consider that could have a significant impact on their children’s entire educational experience . . . even when they’re still in diapers – READING.

Research has shown that reading to your child at a young age is not only beneficial to your child but to you as a parent as well. One of the first and most immediate benefits is spending some quality time with your child every day. An academic benefit is that reading with your child helps them to be better prepared when they enter a formal school environment. Reading together 20 minutes a day can make a difference in your child’s language, grammar and reading skills as they get older.

Reading certain types of books will also help children build their cognitive skills. For example, folktale and fables help children learn to make predictions and gain decision-making skills. Fantasy books are great for generating questions for discussion such as “what if” or “wouldn’t it be fun if.” Books about families help children learn to relate their reading with personal experiences of their own.

Here are a few tips to help you and your child form an enjoyable and educational reading relationship. First, set a specific time each day that you read together. Second, try to choose a variety of books on different subjects, but be sure to keep your child’s likes and dislikes in mind. Boys usually like books about real things – trucks, animals, etc. while girls tend to like fantasy books. Also, use expression or different voices when reading dialogue to make the story interesting.

Cuddle up with your children tonight and read a book!

The Reading Gap between Boys and Girls

Boys lag far behind girls in reading proficiency. Test scores – in Hillsborough County as well as Florida and the nation – confirm the disparity. Girls are more proficient in reading than boys at all grade levels.

The gap, which is as wide as ten percentage points, is widest in fourth and fifth grades when reading shifts from basic skills to more complex subject matter.

Boys also outnumber girls in remedial reading classes and summer reading camps. Educators have long recognized that boys and girls learn differently and new brain research has convinced some that more consideration should be given to the findings.

Girls’ left brains tend to develop more quickly than boys’ left brains, which enable girls to actually do the writing, fine motor skills, hear better and sit in their seats longer. Boys’ right brains (responsible for spatial and visual motor skills) develop faster than girls’ right brains. Educators say it is critical for children – both boys and girls – to see adults read and to have books read to young children often.

Speaking of adults . . . one in four adults (27%) say they read NO books in the past year, according to an Associated Press–Ipsos poll. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid readers. The typical reader claimed to have read four books in the past year.

Who are the 27% of people found to have not read a single book in the past year? Nearly a third of men and a quarter of women fit that category. They tend to be less-educated, lower-income, minorities and from rural areas. Among those who said they had read books, the median figure was nine books for women and five for men. The poll also indicated that those with college degrees read the most and people age 50 and older read more than those who are younger. Read a book this week!

Harry Potter- Good for Reading

Are you excited about the new Harry Potter movie? I am, but I usually read the books before I allow myself to see the movie. I’m a little behind on Deathly Hallows.

When you think of celebrities that are household names, you’re not likely to think of a fictional character – yet Harry Potter has certainly earned that distinction. And while the Harry Potter books and movies have catapulted to record-breaking success, even amid controversy, these books have also had another extraordinary effect on our youth. Harry Potter has stimulated an interest in reading among older children.

In a recent study conducted by the research firm Yankelovich and Scholastic Educational Publishers, children and their parents credited the Harry Potter series with getting more young people to read for fun and with helping them do better in school. Just more than half of the children between the ages of 5 and 17 claimed that they didn’t read books for fun before reading Harry Potter, and 65% reported they have been doing better in school since they started reading the Potter books.

Their parents were a little more enthusiastic, with 89% reporting their children showing an improved attitude toward reading, and 76% believing their children are doing better in school since starting to read the Potter books.

In the Kids and Family Reading Report, the researchers found that older children claimed that they don’t read for fun because they can’t find books that interest them. However, the Harry Potter books have garnered interest along all ages and have given many families books to enjoy together. This leads to improved attitudes toward reading.

Perhaps the magic of Harry Potter was equally powerful outside of the story, as the study shows that parents who want their children and teens to read may have found a spellbinding solution. Now I need to go find my daughter’s latest copy of Harry Potter!

Hey Daddy - Read to Me!

I have very fond memories of my father on Sunday morning reading the comics out loud to us. All four of us would gather up on the couch, finding our favorite place on the back of the couch, on Dad’s lap, snuggled by his side, or balancing on the armrest. We were all squeezed in together, still wearing our footie pajamas.

He would “read” the comics to us. His idea of reading was to create long, elaborate stories that probably had nothing to do with the actual comic. But the stories were always funny and the couch was always warm. It was his way of showing us his love. Our lives were enriched because of those Sunday mornings.

One of the best and least expensive gifts fathers can give their children is the gift of reading. Many years of research show that a fathers’ reading to his children increases their success in school and later in life.

Our children “learn to read” well before their formal education begins. Many have a favorite book or story that has been read to them so, so many times. Even when we have read that book twenty times already in one day, they want it read to them again. They know the book by heart. They may even “read” the story to their stuffed animal audience. They correct us if we try to hurry through or modify the story - I admit I tried it more than once. Some even pick up a magazine and begin to “read” aloud a story that exists in their imagination. What smart children!

Fathers – it’s your duty and honor to help give your children a love for reading. Your children watch your every move – let them catch you reading.

Read the sports page, the gardening articles, the comic strips, or the latest car report to them. Sure, they may not understand every word, but they will see the excitement on your face and hear it in your voice and begin to connect that joy to reading. Visit your local library with your children and pick out a couple of books you will read together each week. Write a story together. Have your children make up a story while you write it down, then read it back to them and illustrate as you go.

Thanks, Dad!

Please share your stories of reading in the comment section.

Reading to Children

When my children were little, we used to set aside some time before bed for reading. What we read about really didn’t matter as long as my children were interested. And research has shown that reading aloud helps children learn to read on their own. It improves their language skills, increases their vocabulary, and helps them learn how books work.

In an article published in the journal of The Reading Teacher, researchers explained ways that parents (as well as teachers) can make the most out of story time based on the research about what helps children learn from reading aloud.

Reading aloud gets children actively involved in thinking and talking about the book with the parent. One strategy is to ask a question and give the child time to answer. Another is to repeat what they say and extend it by adding a few words of your own. Another step is to prompt the child to talk about the book in their own words by asking, for example, “What do you think this child should do next?” Parents may also ask the child how the book relates to their own experiences.

Parents can also help children build their vocabulary by focusing on words and explaining their meanings. These authors recommend not sending the child to the dictionary, but creating “child friendly” definitions and talking about how words are used and connecting them to words kids already know. Regardless of the method used, it’s important for parents to show they are interested in what the child has to say by giving the child time to think and answer in her or his own words.

Reference:
Lane, H. B. & Wright, T. L. (2007). Maximizing the effectiveness of reading aloud. The Reading Teacher, 60, 668-675.