The month of May is designated to celebrate many things, among them is “Mental Health Month.” According to experts, to have good mental health, your brain needs to be physically fit and emotionally fit. To keep your brain physically fit, keep your body healthy. This will boost your self esteem, mood, and overall mental state. At least 30 minutes a day of some sort of physical activity helps improve memory, reasoning, and reaction times in your brain. You can do things like walk 100 steps [Read More]
Encourage your child to read
Reading sets the stage for success, reading encouragement starts soon after birth.
We know reading sets the stage for success. And becoming a reader really starts soon after birth. If youth can read easily and understand what they are reading by third grade, they can more easily take advantage of the learning opportunities in subsequent grades and beyond. Before school life begins, youth are hearing the spoken word, then begin to understand the written word when being read to and seeing others reading—this is the beginning. The beginning of forming a habit that will have [Read More]
Coaching Young Readers
Whether your relationship to the youth in your life is one of teacher, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or someone else special, part of what you do can be considered coaching. As a coach, there are a few qualities that lead to success. Things like patience, fairness, commitment, leading by example, willingness to learn, keeping everyone involved, making it fun, and encouragement. You can apply these good coach qualities to reading, in whatever reading technique you are using: reading [Read More]
Why read a book? Happiness is as happiness does…
Not too long ago, a study was published confirming “happiness spreads readily through social networks of family members, friends and neighbors.” Further, it described how a person’s emotional state depended not only on actions and choices made, but also on actions and choices other people made—even persons unknown. People who are happy tend to live longer. In essence, the study “concluded happiness is like a contagious disease.” Unfortunately, other studies concluded the same for obesity and [Read More]
Launching Independent Literate Youth – LILY – means encouraging your child to take the necessary steps.
We all want the best for the youth in our lives. Developing skills that lead to a child having the best advantages to make the most of their talents, skills, and dreams must be started at a young age. Just like walking - skills were learned incrementally and practiced to the point where walking was easy and, from there, we could run if we chose. The time to lay the foundation for success is now. To get started, here are some key habits: Read to your child. Not only can you set aside 15-20 [Read More]
Do you hear what I hear? Add a new dimension to storytelling and reading while celebrating Better Hearing and Speech month in May.
In looking at the school and events calendar, I realized May is fast approaching. Of course, we are familiar with May events such as May Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, and Mother’s Day. But there are some other days in May to learn about and celebrate. Armed Forces Day, Florence Nightingale’s birthday, and Mother Goose Day. Moreover, May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASLHA), the annual May event ”provides [Read More]
Use leveled books to help children understand family values and the meaning of friendship…
In thinking about the Paxton Hood quote, “Be as careful of the books you read as the company you keep…”, I am reminded how important it is to learn about friends, companions, companionship, and family. Leveled Reader has selected several books on these important subjects. Not only are they engaging and introduce the subject in an intriguing and varied milieu, but they are leveled for your convenience so you have a better idea of which books would be appropriate to challenge your young [Read More]
Curiosity may be something that you attribute to cats, we have found that it is a corner stone of success in humans
We all know the curiosity of a child. So many successful men, like Bill Gates, stress how important creative thinking is and how curiosity is a part of being a creative thinker. In an article on About.com, Bill Gates talked about how to promote creative thinking and innovation. Among his tips were “Read a non-fiction book every week, read …. read with pen and notebook in hand; jot down any idea that comes into your consciousness.” Leveled Reader has an entire section of non-fiction books for [Read More]
“Spring” your child (or classroom) into reading with books that reflect this exciting season.
Don’t let "spring fever” make your child lose interest in books. Literacy is not a seasonal activity. Show the kids you care about how to keep spring in their hearts all year long with stories that reflect this great time of year. When I think of Spring, cool breezes on sunny days come to mind. And wild flowers along the road, lambs, calves, foals: baby animals. There is a feeling of wonderment. I think of how we, as teachers and parents, can share some of that wonderment with the children [Read More]
Lily says "3 R's just aren't enough when you want your kids to get excited about reading!"
It is Women in History Month. There are so many famous women in history to consider. One who comes to mind is Florence Nightingale…..and that reminds me that nurses are taught the five “R’s” as a way to avoid medication administration errors: right patient, right time and frequency, right dose, right route, and right medication. Well, when you think of it, the same can apply to elementary school age readers. To set the stage for success, you must provide the right book to the right child at the [Read More]
