Day 6

Fun Fact for the Day: Today I am continuing to talk about reading. There are so many important areas that developing a working knowledge of reading and that concept will change the way that your child learns for life. Caroline Snow and her associates at Harvard University did a long-term study on home factors affecting literacy. Here are the factors that encourage childhood reading, ranked in order of their effect:

1. Home "literacy" environment: books, newspapers, attitudes
2. Mother's educational expectations of the child
3. Mother's own education
4. Parent-child interaction (side note...this means TALKING with your child)

The father's expectations and background apparently had no effect on reading, but they were important in promoting the child's development of writing skills.

It is important that reading is not just a once a day task. There are things all around our homes that we can use to teach reading. The guide channel on the TV, cereal boxes, magazines, mail, store signs, etc. We so often neglect what our children see on a daily basis and forget to use those things to teach a skill.

Tip of the Day: Write books with your child. At the earliest stage, when your child begins to play with crayons (around 12 months old) save the papers that they have drawn on and staple them together (3 or 4 tops at this age.) Sit down with them and make up a story about the "pictures" that they have drawn. Now...I do understand that at this age most of their "pictures" will be scribbles at best, but that does not matter. You are teaching your child that they are important, what they do is good and has meaning, not to mention all of the reading benefits that this activity has. As they get older and begin to draw real pictures, let them tell you the story and you can put the book together as a team. Now, you are encouraging not only reading, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, self esteem, quality time, but you are beginning to teach them the art of writing. As they begin to write letters, have them listen for the beginning sound on that page and write that letter at the top. For example: mom: "what is this?" child: "Boat" mom: "what sound do you hear, B-B-B-Boat?" child: "B" Mom: "good! Do you know how to write a B?"

You get the picture. Scaffold and model for your child, you will be amazed at how they will surprise you!

Sign for the Day: "Thank You"

The sign for "thank you" is made by touching your lips with the front of the fingers of your right hand.

Your hand should be an "open-b."

Move your hand away from your face, palms upward.

Smile.