Monthly Archives: February 2014
Fun Magazine Activity
My middle son loves to cut and paste things. ANY things! He’s also learning his letters and letter sounds so one day I decided to pair his love of cutting and gluing and my desire for him to learn letter … Continue reading
February 23 Books
These books are a few of the big boys’ favorites! We have given these as birthday gifts all year because, yes, I’m THAT mom! I figure that kids get so many toys for their birthdays that a book or two … Continue reading
Favorite Informational Texts
Here are a few of my boys’ favorite informational texts: Tabbed Board Books: My First Things That Go: Let’s Get Moving! (TAB BOARD BOOKS) Fire Trucks and Rescue Vehicles (Mighty Machines) Books by Gail Gibbons are great too. She does … Continue reading
Just the Facts, M’am, Just the Facts
Often children are read almost exclusively fiction texts. With the new Common Core Standards taking effect, this will be changing dramatically in schools. Therefore, as parents we need to get on board as well. When my boys and I … Continue reading
February 16 Books
The books we got this week were kind of duds. Ok, that’s a big harsh but there weren’t any that we really, really loved. That happens sometimes and that’s ok. It’s great to still introduce them to a variety of … Continue reading
Tell It Again
When your child begins reading, one of the most important skills they must conquer is being able to retell the book they’ve just read. People often confuse retelling with giving a summary so I want to clear that up and … Continue reading
February 9 Books
G and M both loved the following books by Andrea Beaty: Rosie Revere, Engineer Iggy Peck, Architect Both boys love building and creating things so they thought these books were really neat because the kids in the text were the … Continue reading
Don’t Sound It Out!
As proficient readers, we utilize a variety of strategies to make sense of what we read. For example, we visualize, we use our background knowledge, we look for patterns in words, we use the pictures, and in instances when we … Continue reading
Reading with Babies
It can be frustrating reading with babies! They want to eat the books, won’t sit still and you might think they aren’t listening to what you are saying…..but they are. I started reading to my boys when they were a … Continue reading
Language
Language is an amazingly powerful thing. As a Reading Specialist and teacher, I’ve read tons of research and know how it can impact kids but to see it firsthand with the boys has been phenomenal. I think I didn’t pay … Continue reading