Let's Read and Write!!!

 

   When parents help their children learn to read, they open the door to a big, exciting world.  As a parent, you can begin an endless learning chain like this: You read to your children, they develop a love of stories and poems, they want to read on their own, they practice reading, and finally, they read for their own information or pleasure.  When children become reader, their world is forever wider and richer.

 

Here are some things you can do:

• Read aloud to your child: books, newspapers, magazine articles, the back of the cereal box, labels on cans, or directions.
• Read poems aloud together to learn about rhythm and repeated sounds in language.
• Point to the words on the page when you read.  Move your finger from left to right.
• Listen to your child read homework or favorite stories to you everyday.
• Go to the library together and check out books.  Be sure to ask the librarian for good books or to help you find what you need.
• Have books, magazines, and papers around the house, and let your child see that you like to read, too.
• Encourage older children to read to younger children.
• Help experienced readers talk and write about what they read.

 

 

One of the most important parts of knowing how to write well is to feel comfortable doing it.  The magic in writing comes from the ideas you have.  Let ideas flow, as they would if you were talking.  The beauty of the written word is that you can always go back and make changes: rearrange the ideas, correct the spelling, add new ideas, take out ideas that don't fit.  The important thing is to think of writing as a reflection of your thoughts.

 

Here are some things you can do:

• Show they you write often to make lists, take down messages, write notes to the school, write letters to friends.
• Write to your child:  put a note in a lunch bag, make a birthday poster, send a postcard from work.
• Encourage your young children to get ready to write.  They can scribble, draw pictures, make designs with letters.
• Play writting and spelling games: have family spelling bees, do crossword puzzles, play scrabble, play waiter or waitress.
• Explain that math problems are a form of writing. 2 + 3 = 5 is a sentence.
• Talk about why people write.  Are they giving step-by-step instructions, telling a story according to when they events happened, describing how something looks, or trying to convince someone to do something?