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In this issue:
I. Encouraging Soon-To-Be Readers: How to Excite Preschoolers about
Books... Part 1: Talking With Your Preschooler
II. Free Reading Tips for Parents booklet in .pdf
III. Too Much Electronic Stimulation?
IV. The Reading - Writing Connection
V. How to Make Your Child Be The Star Character in a Book
VI. Book of the Month for Kids
VII. Working from Home
VIII. Past issues of the Reading Railroad
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I. Encouraging Soon-To-Be Readers: How to Excite Preschoolers about
Books.
This is the 2nd in a series of 5-articles.
Part 2: Encouraging Play
Although you may think of play as what you do when you're not working, your children
don't make that distinction, and rightly so.
I remember taking a graduate course,
Play Therapy,
as my last undergraduate class. It was the
most fascinating course I took in undergraduate school. One of the most profound statements that
I read by the famous author, Virginia M. Axline,
in her book, Play Therapy,
was that "...a child's play IS his / her work."
A child who has dressed a doll, molded clay, built a city of blocks, pedaled a bike, lined up
toy cars on a pretend road, put together puzzles, prepared a bubbly broth in the bathtub,
and listend to a story has put in a full day of "work".
That's because all these play activities are also learning
activities that foster a wide range of skills, many reading-related. For example...
- Fitting pieces in a puzzle board helps children distinguish shapes and sizes.
Later they draw on these visual skills to
tell the difference bertween similarly formed letters and look-alike words.
- Building with blocks is a step toward understanding words that tell about placement and
relationship, such as under, on top of, and bigger.
- Pretending to be someone else - a cook, a fire fighter, a mommy or daddy, a superhero
- involves language and
imagination, the same skills that enable readers to understand and "see" what's happening in
a story.
Given plenty of opportunity to play and a wide variety of props and materials, children learn
by their own
experimentation and discovery.
You don't always have to be a playmate. Most youngsters are happy just to have a parent take
the time to ask questions, offer suggestions, and admire what they do and learn.
II. Free Reading Tips for Parents booklet in .pdf
The Colorado State Library has developed a brochure entitled
Reading Tips for Parents. It is available to download in PDF format.
Reading Tips for Parents.
The brochure offers tips and ideas on how to read to children and how to set an atmosphere
for reading activities. It also includes general reading tips and age appropriate ideas and
techniques from birth to 6 years of age.
III. Too Much Electronic Stimulation?
Deseret News
The Kaiser Family Foundation deserves credit for being the first to comprehensively
study how infants, toddlers and preschoolers are being exposed to television,
computers and other interactive media. As its report, released in October 2003, makes clear,
no one knows for sure what the long-term effects of this exposure means. Common sense would
suggest, however, there is ample reason for alarm.
click here to read the full report.
(Washington Post) The Federal Government assembles a mountain of information that
reveals both important and interesting trends in education. This year’s report notes
that differences in reading skills, often observed in later grades, are present when
children enter kindergarten and persist or increase during the first two years of school.
Click here for more highlights of the 2003 report.
IV. The Reading-Writing Connection
Many Internet sites include lists of outstanding and award-winning books, stores to
read online (or to print and read off-line), and access to popular authors' Web sites.
Your child may be interested in writing an e-mail message to one of his / her favorite authors. Other sites have interactive storytelling
and book-making activities. Start by looking at these popular Web sites:
Children enjoy corresponding with online penpals.
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Kids' Space Connection is an international meeting place for children.
Find penpals from around the world! Check out interesting projects you can contribute to,
and cool clubs you can join.
V. Book of the Month for Kids
VII. Working From Home
Site-Build - I always wanted to build a web site to contribute to the greatness of
children
and did not know the first thing about doing so. Then I was referred to Site-Build. It is a
program
that gives the average person a means to fulfill their dreams. You do not need to know the html
codes nor do you
need to be experienced on the internet. It is a complete package for the novice. Look at this
Quick Tour Slide Show...
An internet buddy from New Zealand had sent me this and I was intrigued:
Site Build It!
Why build JUST a Web site... when you COULD build a Web BUSINESS?
Whaa-la... my www.super-science-fair-projects.com
site was born!
Site Build It! SweepStakes
There are not gimmicks.
VIII. Past issues of the Reading Railroad
Back Issues of the Reading Railroad
To go to How to Build A Train Table from The Reading Railroad 004
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