Help with LETTERS

Help with LETTERS

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Instead of throwing your hands up in despair, how about searching for fun ways to teach, those precious little ones, the letters of the alphabet? We have to remember that what works for one child, may not work for another. Children are like snowflakes; none of them identical. Sometimes teaching is more about the teacher learning, instead of the child. We always have to be willing to improve our teaching skills and that requires us to continually search for new, and better, methods. Below are some fun things to try with your child. Remember, patience is a wonderful virtue!

Hands on as We Grow – 50 great activities to try.

No Time for Flash Cards – 25 alphabet activities for kids.

Just Mommies – 10 creative ways to teach your child the alphabet.

Teach Mama - 10 fun ways of helping kids learn the abc’s.

I Can Teach My Child - 35+ Alphabet Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers.

Your Child Learns – Alphabet adventures.

Fun-A-Day – Teaching children about letters.

Spoonful – 26 alphabet activities for kids.

My Life in Verbs - 21 ideas to help your child learn letters and letter sounds.

Ready-Set-Read - 14 ways to explore the letters in your child's name.

Make learning fun, not only for the child, but the teacher as well. There is plenty of time for worry, stress, and rush, later on in life. Brighten a child’s day by spending time teaching and playing with them.

Introducing Charity through a Book

Introducing Charity through a Book

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Do you remember your favorite book as a child? What about your child’s favorite book? Is there anything as sweet as watching a child’s eyes light up as a story is read to them? It’s like we are making a whole new discovery in the world. Reading opens doors to the most wonderful adventures in life. Imaginations soar upon the clouds chasing dragons and befriending fairies. Oh for the joy of freedom in our own little piece of the world.

I found the most awesome website. And beyond that, it inspires reading in a child… it is FREE and inspires charity and teaching your child to give and help others. I can’t think of a more worthy cause to support. Please go to We Give Books and start your journey with your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, student, or neighbor.

The books are laid out by age. There are so many to choose from. “Together with the Penguin Group, the Pearson Foundation has launched We Give Books, a digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online. By reading one of the Penguin or DK books online, you are assisting the Pearson Foundation in donating a book to a child in partnership with one of the exemplary international, national, or local literacy organizations that the We Give Books program helps to support. Just think, by allowing your child to read online, you are helping another child who doesn’t have that opportunity. It’s a win/win situation.

The We Give Books site also offers parents the opportunity to:

Explain how a child can help people by his or her actions.

Speak about the volunteering and charity they do.

Talk to the child about how his or her actions make other people feel.

Discuss goals.

Encourage opinions.

Tell children that you are proud of them.

Explain the importance of giving to others.

Top 10 Ways to Keep Your Child Interested in Reading during Summer Break

Top 10 Ways to Keep Your Child Interested in Reading during Summer Break

Robin @ Kids Matter

1.     Join a reading club at your local library.  This allows for interaction with their peers and may broaden the range of books from what they would normally read.

2.     Read the book then, watch the movie or cartoon.  It’s fun to see the words you’ve just read come to life on screen.  Afterwards, you can discuss the differences in the two.

3.     Have a book-themed celebration.  For example: have an ice cream party after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Don’t treat it like a reward for reading, which makes reading seem like a chore.  It’s just as an occasional special experience.

4.     Help your child practice reading skills as part of everyday activities such as reading a menu, looking at a map, identifying letters on street signs, or reading a recipe.  This helps build vocabulary.

5.     During long trips e-books or books online may be a good option to help pass time.  There are many free books available for all ages.

6.     If you have relatives far away or your child has a friend who has moved out of town, encourage your child to write letters.  It’s a good way to practice spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  And it’s really fun to get letters back from them. 

7.     Challenge your child to write a biography.  It may be a biography of their own life, or of a celebrity or sports hero.  Younger children may draw pictures and tell you what to write for each one. 

8.     Change it up and have kids read a bedtime story to the parents.  This gives children a sense of pride in doing something that is usually the” parent’s job”. 

9.     Buy a notebook for your child to use as a journal.  It may be for everyday use, or just to record fun experiences from summer travels.  This is a very special keepsake that they will likely love to reflect on in later years. 

10.   Make a special trip to the library and let the kids pick out several books that interest them.  Getting a variety of books that catch their attention is good.  You can schedule library time every two weeks or so to change the books out for new ones.   The Association for Library service to Children (ALSC) offers a list of award winning books that will be helpful if you want suggestions.  They also have recommended book lists, games, puzzles, and other great library related suggestions for parents, children, and educators.

Happy reading!  Hope you have a wonderful summer!

International Children’s Book Day

International Children’s Book Day

Robin @ Kids Matter

International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) has been celebrated on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, which is April 2^nd.  Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish writer from the 1800s who is best known for writing fairy tales.   Per the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the purpose is, “…to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books.” 

            Each year a different theme is chosen.  An author from a chosen country is asked to write a special letter to the children of the world and a poster is made by a prominent illustrator in that country.  International Children’s Book Day celebrations around the world focus on a new theme and culture every year.  The theme for this year is, Imagine Nations Through Story. Here is a link to the letter for 2014.   The poster, shown above, was designed by Niamh Sharkey, and the message written by Siobhan Parkinson.  The country in the spotlight is Ireland.  Past countries participating have been: USA, Mexico, Estonia, Spain, Egypt, Thailand, New Zealand, Slovakia, India, Greece, Brazil, and Austria.   The list of participating countries goes on and on. 

            ICBD is an excellent opportunity to introduce your child to other languages, cultures, and arts.  It would be great fun to make it a themed lesson and try sampling foods from the region you are studying.  If anyone in your classroom has relatives of that heritage, they would be a great guest to come in and talk about life in that country and possibly be a guest reader for of a book. 

            Due to globalization and advances in technology, the world is getting smaller and smaller.  We are able to travel around the world faster than in past years, and can communicate face to face with people on the other side of the world with the click of a button.  So, it’s very important that our children are taught skills at an early age that will help them in this new world.  Knowing how to speak a foreign language is a valuable skill to most employers.  Knowing how to treat people from other cultures without offending them due to differing values and cultural backgrounds is also vital to performing well on the job.  Exposure to different people and cultures broadens a person’s understanding of others and enriches life.  I love the experience of traveling internationally.  Meeting people from different countries, on their own turf, can be an amazing experience.  I recommend it to everyone, but, if you can’t travel in person, at least travel via book.  Happy reading!

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Favorite Books (Part 3 of 4)

Belinda @ Kids Matter

“The more you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go.”  - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Open a book and go exploring with your child. Take your child to places money can’t buy, on adventures one can only imagine, and through time at your leisure. If eyes are the window to our souls then books are the window to our imaginations. The Literacy Company states, “Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year.” Exposure to words is a step to greater achievement in life. Read to your child, read with your child, and share happy experiences found only in a good book. Visit your local library and allow your child to pick out a book while you bring your childhood classics to the literacy party. Bring the book to life with great enthusiasm. Add character voices and sound effects to increase excitement. The book is just the foundation from which to build your imaginary world. Don’t be limited by the words on the page, but instead, use the essence of the emotions of the writer to create a reality within the covers of the book. Enjoy your imaginary world and the wonderful time spent reading to your child.

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss and his whimsical enthusiasm in bringing characters like Cat in the Hat to life? One can’t help but smile just looking at that green ham.  If you are a grandparent, you have spent years reading that story many times to many children. It’s just a classic fun story loved by millions.

Eric Carle not only writes this wonderful story, but also illustrates, animates, and provides insight into the life of a caterpillar. Children are always fascinated with caterpillars and butterflies and when they learn one becomes the other the search is on. 

Karen Katz beautifully combines affection with counting and winding down a child for bed time. Hugs, kisses, and some serious sleep is nature’s cure for the cranky child. The book is handsomely illustrated.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and charmingly written by Michael Rosen. The book is a delightful comedic drama of a family going on a bear hunt.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was written and illustrated by Ron and Judith Barrett. The couple provides a hilarious look at a town called Chewandswallow where the weather is constantly raining some type of food.

Written by Ruth Krauss and cleverly illustrated by her husband Crockett Johnson. It details the life of an egg until one day POOF, it’s a bird and its whole life changes. Suddenly everything it couldn’t do as an egg it can now do as a bird.

Written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz, this book is an inside look at how bad days can sometimes be to us and yes, to everyone.  

This epic tale was written and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli. With fantastic illustrations the reader is captivated from page one. The book teaches the difference between things that are yummy and things that are yucky.

The Purple Crayon gives a very simplistic view of a very complicated and thought invoking process. If you could take a crayon and color yourself anything, what would it really be?

Shel Silverstein takes us on a journey deep into the heart of love and friendship. The Giving Tree is an exceptional story. The illustrations are minimal yet add to the depth of the piece. This book is an opportunity for those lost in life to find a way back. The tree represents a very special person and the sincerity of love.

May to August Educational Bridge

“Woo-hoo, schools out!” A time for cheer and adventure, but also a time for “what they don’t know won’t hurt them”. Sneaking in a little learning won’t hurt them. Learning should not stop just because the school doors close for a few months. A child’s mind needs constant “food” to grow. As parents, we need to figure out ways to keep the child learning without making it seem as if they were swooped from one school into another. Sometimes, when faced with a task such as this, parents become unnerved and don’t know where to start. The task becomes work when it should not. The main thing we need to remember is keep it simple and fun.

·         Read a favorite childhood book – My son had a “very favorite book in the whole wide world.” It was Fox and the Hound. I have discovered while reading this book to his son that I can interject stories of my reading it to his Dad. He loves knowing he is doing something that his Daddy loves and it brings excitement to an already fun-filled book.

·         Have a book themed event – Let’s say you want to pull out the old classic, Cinderella. Oh, what a wonderful theme for a day that could be and how exciting for the child. Have the child pick a character from the book that they would like to be. Don’t automatically assume the child will pick Cinderella. The mice in the story add a lot of enthusiasm and adventure. Now the fun begins: you can play dress-up, create masks, eat cheese, grow a pumpkin, or even do chores like Cinderella. Your book themed day is only limited by your imagination, so think fun and exciting.

·         On the road word search – Learning is not only limited to a brick and mortar foundation, but also can be a traveling school on wheels. Take your education to the road on that trip to the grocery store. Choose a word to search for on the way. How about the word “sale” for starters. This activity inspires the child to read every day words they see in the community. The child will be reading signs all over town in order to find the word “sale”. You make the rules of the game. One possibility would be to see how many times the word could be found and the winner gets a small prize. Another possibility could be to choose another word after “sale” has been found. The trick is to keep them reading.

What tricks do you have for keeping your child learning and bridging the gap from May to August?

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Literacy in America

We frequently see the headlines about literacy in America, but I have stumbled upon an interesting statistic. As I perused the Kids Count Data on the Annie E Casey Foundation website, I saw a listing for "Children ages 1 to 5 whose family members read to them less than 3 days per week". The latest data that they have is 2007, but I still found the numbers shockingly high.

On average in the United States, 16% of children ages 1 to 5 are not read to by family members at least three times per week. That means no nightly bedtime stories, no fun rhyming books, no board books, no picture books, no literacy.

Research has shown that the earlier a child has access to books, the better their academic achievement. A baby that plays with board books, grows into a child that reads chapter books, grows into an adult that is literate and able to continue the cycle with their children. Without literacy, there can never be quality education!

For a family that is struggling to pay for the basics, affording books can be out of the question. How do you provide quality literacy moments for these families? With the prices of new children's books averaging from $3.00 for softcover to $15.00 for hardcover, it can be an unattainable dream for struggling households. Sadly, in these households a book can be a luxury, much like a cashmere sweater or concert tickets to another household. These children are beginning their education, markedly behind children coming from households with a family library. A family library does not have to be a huge affair, just a chance for children to look through books and understand that the marks they see on the pages, conveys a story to match the pictures. Every child should have this opportunity and every family member should have the opportunity to provide the joy and happiness that books can provide to their children.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and he would have been 108 years old! I find it amazing that his books were written so long ago and still, they are as popular as ever. They may even be more popular now! Not to mention, the number of great authors that he has inspired over the years!

In celebration of his birthday, several people that have taken the Kids Matter Pledge volunteered to read children's books on video for us. There are some Dr. Seuss books and books by many other authors. Check out our Facebook page for all of the links.

Enjoy!

Jack O Lantern Paper Cut Story

As I was looking around online, I came across a great pumpkin paper cut story on Dr. Jean's website. I thought this would be a great story to recreate with kids and gave it a try on my own son.

I changed her story a little bit to make it more relevant to my son's activities. Please go to Dr. Jean's website for the original story, but ours went like this.

Once there was this funny little lady that lived in an orange house. Her house was different because it was shaped like a half circle and the sidewalk came straight out of the bottom of the house.

Now this funny little lady wanted to go outside and sweep her sidewalk but she had trouble getting her broom out the door so she had a long door cut for her broom handle. Now she can go outside and sweep any time she wants.

Now this funny little lady had a new problem. She liked to wear a tall pointed hat whenever she went outside to sweep but her hat kept getting knocked off when she tried to go out the door. She decided to have a special door cut just for her hat to fit through. Now she can wear her tall, pointed hat anytime she wants to go outside and sweep.

Later, she wanted to get some pet bats, but they could not get inside the house. She decided to cut out a special window for her bats to fly in and out of. Now the bats can come and go as they please.

So on Halloween, the neighborhood kids went over to the funny little lady's house and knocked on the door. She came to the door and said "I have a surprise for you! Now close your eyes!"

The house is a Jack O Lantern and inside the house is the funny little lady and she is wearing a witch costume and playing with her pet bats! I then let my son decorate the Jack O Lantern with witch and bat stickers and it is now hanging proudly on our door.

Lima Bean Literacy

I had a bag of dried large Lima beans in my pantry for quite sometime and I knew they would never get used. I am the only one in the family that eats Lima beans so I was trying to figure out what to do with them when I thought - Alphabet! Doesn't everyone look at Lima beans as a learning opportunity?

The only supplies you need are beans and a permanent marker. You can also use a sealer if you think the beans will be used frequently but I did not bother since they are quick and easy to make. I took 26 beans and wrote one capital letter per bean. I then took another 26 beans and wrote one lowercase letter per bean.

We reviewed our letters with the beans and then we started playing. The first game we played is a version of Memory. We flipped all of the capital beans over and mixed them up. We also mixed up the lowercase letters but left them face up. As he picked up a capital letter he would name the letter and then find the matching lowercase letter and put them to the side.

Next we worked on spelling, using upper and lowercase letters. Once you start spelling you will have to make multiples of your bean letters but like I said, it is quick and easy.

Tuesday Teachings - Encouraging Early Literacy

There are many ways to encourage early literacy skills for your child during her normal play time. You do not have to sit down with your child and force her to complete a worksheet for you.

During the day there are numerous times to "fit in" literacy. If your children are playing and she says "Let's play restaurant. I'll be the waitress." This is a great opportunity! Suggest that she write the "order" down on a notebook and hand her the notebook and a pencil. This is a huge learning activity for her. She has to stay in character, write down what you ordered to eat, go get the food, recall what she wrote down and then return to you with the food. When she returns to you, tell her that she needs to tell you what everything is as she sets it on the table.

Do you have picture books in your house? We sit down a few times a week with a picture book and my son will look at the pictures and then make up a story to go along. Sometimes the stories are closely related, other times he can look at the same book 3 days in a row and the story will be different each day. In addition to understanding that the pictures have meanings, he is also recalling his friends and past activities as they often make appearances in his stories. These stories are a building block to strong literacy skills.

Does your child love to paint or color with crayons? They are learning the tripod grip that is vital for writing skills, but they are doing much more than that. As they are painting, they have an image in their head that they are trying to re-create. Once a masterpiece is complete, ask your child to tell you all about it. I will frequently write down these stories that my son tells me so that we have a memento of the moment.

Doing worksheets and memorizing letters are an important part of every one's education, but it does not have to be the only part. There are many ways to learn and as parents and teachers, we need to offer a variety of ways for our children.

Tuesday Teachings - Summer Learning

Picture Source

Most schools are out or getting ready to let out here in the United States and kids can not wait for summer vacation. As a child, I remember the excitement and thrill I felt when it was time to finally put away the textbooks and pencils; it was time to run, play and be free! Kids need that time to just be kids but summer vacation is also no time to just forget everything they learned in the past school year.

You can give your child numerous opportunities to continue learning over summer vacation without them even realizing it.

Cook together - Let your child pick out a new recipe to try and then take them to the store to purchase all of the ingredients. This gives them opportunities to work on reading (recipes and food labels), writing (grocery list), math (measuring ingredients and timing meal) and is a great activity to do together. Research shows that when kids are involved in selecting and preparing food they take ownership of the meal and are more likely to not only try the food but to also enjoy the food.

Garden together - Go to a local garden center and give your child a set amount of money. They can then select several plants to grow in your yard or in pots. This works on math skills (spending money and spacing plants), nurturing skills (caring for the plants)and then recipes and cooking skills.

Scavenger Hunts - See our blog post of 6/4/10 for a great scavenger hunt in the grocery store and we are hoping to give another scavenger hunt sheet for the great outdoors in the next week or so. This is a great skill for kids to teach them to focus, pay attention, search and read.

Photo Source

Public Libraries - Our local library kicks off their summer reading program on 6/1/11. The theme this summer is One World, Many Stories. We have participated in the summer reading program every year. It is cheap, challenging entertainment that encourages literacy making it a win-win for everyone!

Art Camp - No need to pay expensive camp fees. Get together with some of your friends and organize a camp for the kids. Each day the kids can rotate the house they go to and each parent would be responsible for one day of camp. If you need some great art ideas check out Pink and Green Mama's blog for some great ideas and e-books on outdoor arts.

Make homemade art supplies - see our blog posts for Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments, play dough, Chalk Paint, and Surprise Soap.

In addition the the activities listed above, also remember that "Playing is Learning"! Have a great summer!

A Great Resource

I was looking around online one evening and just by chance I stumbled upon a very nice website. It is called Mrs. P's Magic Library. The idea is that the website is in interactive digital library. Mrs. P (played by the wonderful actress, Kathy Kinney) is sitting in her library/parlor and you choose books from her bookshelves and she will read them to you. The majority of the books are for ages 6+ but I did find some for 3+ also. In addition to the story books there are also games and currently there is a writing contest for kids also.

This is a great resource for your family. Don't let you child sit in front of the computer all day every day playing games and listening to stories, but it is a great treat occasionally and lets face it, many of our children already work a computer better than we do.

Monday Meanderings - Read Across America

On Wednesday, March 2nd we celebrate Read Across America. National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. NEA's Read Across America also provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.


Here are some links to some great Dr. Seuss related activities that you can do with your kids.

First is A to Z Teacher Stuff with a large list of Seuss activities to do with kids of varying ages. They even have a lesson plan for my favorite Seuss book - "Horton Hatches an Egg".

Next we have Crafts and Art For Children with a recipe to make Oobleck. If you have not made this yet, I recommend it. It is so much fun and amazing that it goes from a solid to a liquid.

Another fun activity is to make cupcakes  with your kids to celebrate the day. Every birthday deserves cupcakes and Southern Plate has a very cute cupcake printable of a wocket.

In addition to enjoying these activities with your kids on March 2nd I hope you will take the time to read to your kids on a daily basis. There is no reason to limit the enjoyment of reading to just one day. Lots of parents read to their kids at bedtime and this is great but be sure to read to the kids at other times too. At bedtime they are tired and do not always absorb the great experiences that reading can do for them. When you talk to your kids and read to them they pick up on the language of the books and the form of conversation.