On Cloud Nine!

Hi everyone,

I have been teaching my little 4-year old granddaughter her alphabet names and sounds over the past several months. Four days ago I started her in "ABC's See How to Chop and Blend" and we worked on the exercise to stretch out each sound. Then today, I taught her how to blend sounds together to make a word. She had no problem at all! She read five words! It is the most thrilling moment for me when going through the teaching reading process. Up til now it's all been fun and games learning letter sounds and their fun picture clues. But when they realize that blending those sounds together makes a word and that they just read it, it is one of the most powerful moments in all of their learning life! All of the sudden, the written word comes to life! And that is why I am on cloud nine.

And my granddaughter was bursting with excitement when she realized what she could do. She won't go to Kindergarten next year, but the year after that.

I would love to hear your cloud nine stories. Please share them with us.

Doreese

A New Twist on Story Time

We all know we are suppose to read aloud to our children every day. But sometimes you may want to do more than just read through the book. Ask thought-provoking questions to get your children's minds and imaginations working. You could ask them to predict what they think will happen next. Also, after reading the story, ask questions about things that took place in the story and what certain character's names were. This will help their memory skills. If they can't think of the answer, go ahead and tell it to them before they become frustrated. This is to be a fun time.

Using books this way makes them become interactive, almost like playing a game. In fact, you could call it that. You could say, "With this book, let's play, 'Guess who does what?'" When kids know they will have an active role at reading time, you might be surprised at how much better they pay attention! This activity isn't just for new books. You can do it with old favorites. Your children will probably know exactly what is going to happen and that is just fine. They will feel all the smarter when it turns our just as they predicted!

Doreese

Quote Of The Day

Have you ever gone for a brisk morning walk or an early morning bike ride? Maybe you have pushed your baby in her stroller to the park on a sunny afternoon. Could it be that you got the kids on the bus and sent them on there way to school then turned on the T.V. to your favorite morning show and watched it while walking on your treadmill? It is so refreshing to our bodies to exercise them.

Let me share a quote by Sir Richard Steele with you, he said, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." I LOVE that!!! Just as exercise fine tunes our bodies, reading fine tunes our minds. Both build and strengthen us in their own ways. Reading will not only teach you and keep you well informed, it will better your concentration and memory. Let's make sure we read for at least a few minutes every day to help keep our mind in shape!

Hugs!
Sherry