The Reading Railroad 015

Your "biggest wish" has been granted, easier colors on the eyes and larger print!

In this issue:
I. Note to Parents
II. How Do I Know a Good Reading Program When I See One?
III. How to be an Advocate for Your Child Special Ed Child
IV. Kids Site of the Month
V. Book of the Month for Kids
VI. What’s YOUR Story? – Tell us about it!
VII. New Past issues of the Reading Railroad -live on the Internet
VIII.Discounts, Coupons and Specials.
IX.New Children's Personalized Music CDs - Look in the left column.

--------------------------- I. Note to Parents
Hi and Congratulations! You've survived getting everyone back to school! As your family settles into its new routine, here are some good habits that will become the foundation for a successful school year.

Experts say that for kids K through 2nd be given a maximum of 20 minutes of homework a day. Personally, I do not believe in giving homework to kids until 5th grade! But I am not your child's teacher.

The best learning occurs when you are interacting with your child while engaged in a conversation and through play.

II. What are the Skills Kids Need to Read?
As a basic foundation for learning to read and write, kids need strong speaking and listening skills. When you and other adults are around your kids, encourage them to talk, ask, questions, and use dramatic play. It increases their vocabulary, allows them to hear and practice building sentences, and gives them more knowledge to understand spoken and written language.

There are three skill areas that form the foundation for reading. Kids who develop strong skills in these areas have greater success learning to read:

Print knowledge -- an understanding of books, letters, and words.

For example, understanding that print carries a message, recognizing that people read text rather than pictures, and being aware of how to read a book (right side up, from beginning to end, from left to right, from the top to the bottom of the page).

Beginning writing -- first efforts to use print in a meaningful way.

For example, a child's first efforts to use known letters or approximations of letters to represent written language, such as to attempt to write his or her name, and knowing how text should look: letters grouped together into words with spaces between words.

Language awareness -- an understanding of how language works.

For example, being able to count the words in a spoken sentence and being able to hear the individual sounds in a spoken word.

Children develop these skills by having many early experiences with language, books, and print. They can have these experiences as part of everyday life, through play, conversation, and a wide range of activities. Young children use play and talk as a way to expand, explore, and make sense of their world. When kids talk about daily tasks and special events, tell stories, sing songs, and scribble, they are laying the groundwork for reading and writing.

Why kids have challenges

Why do so many children experience challenges when learning to read? Many simply do not have enough experiences with language, books, and print. They need more time at home and in their early childhood programs devoted to helping them develop the skills that lead to reading. A lack of developmentally appropriate skill-building at an early age can significantly limit the reading and writing level a child attains.

A child's intelligence (within a normal range, as measured by standardized tests) does not determine the ease with which he'll learn to read and write.

However, for about 5 to 7 percent of kids, what some experts call a learning disability -- a different way of processing information and learning -- may account for their difficulty learning to read. I believe these children must to taught how to read in a different way. They are not disabled, the teachers just don't have the time or take the time to teach them within their learning modality.

If the classroom teacher cannot provide the individual attention that a child needs, then that is where parents need to step in and fill in the gap. I suggest you read the article How Children Learn that I wrote last year.

III. How to be an Advocate for Your Special Ed Child

Your children may have already headed back to school — or will be very soon! It's an exciting time filled with possibilities, but if you have a child with a learning disability, you may need some ideas on how to best provide support. Read more...

The article has excellent tips for all parents.