Back-to-School Buzz

This has been a week full of children meeting new friends, making memories and getting to know their teachers.  As I visited classrooms early this week, the children were already engaged in learning.  In one classroom the students were using their technology to begin a lesson on reading.  The teacher was using solid teaching techniques combined with an interesting Smart Board presentation to introduce the students to the reading program. 

Reading is the foundation for success in school and in life.  The ability to read and write is necessary to master other subjects and to communicate what is learned.  Even more important, children who enjoy reading will continue to learn and grow throughout their lives.  Reading is one of the most inexpensive and readily available forms of education and entertainment. The experts note that literacy is crucial and that children should read more.  They also comment that children should be encouraged to try reading different types of books. 

Encourage your child to bring home books from the school library!  Whether your child is a beginning reader or an experienced reader, the school librarian will be able to suggest great books and exciting book series for your child. 

To help direct your child as you capitalize on their reading time, you may want to check with your child’s teacher or simply search for “what books should children read?”  One website that has a nice list of books categorized by age group is http://www.teachersfirst.com/100books.cfm .  One of my favorite books for young readers is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.  It just happens to be first book on the Teachers First list.  This book may be accompanied by various activities to help wake up your child’s understanding and creativity.  Those activities may include talking and writing about food, drawing caterpillars, hunting for caterpillars and butterflies, and phonetic activities tied to the foods in the story.  

Young children love reading, but what how should you tie your teenager’s interests to a deeper understanding of what they are reading?  You may choose to read a book along with them or simply talk to them about the books they are reading, yes, some teens read several books at once.  To encourage your teenager to read you should model reading, so that when they read, you read.  Another way to encourage your teen to read is to have them use informational reading sources to help plan activities for your vacation or even for short day-trips.  This way the reading will have a reward at the end and your teen will be the expert on the area or attraction you are visiting.  For other ideas about how to encourage your teen to read, check out a website like RIF @ http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/teenagers-and-reading.htm . 

By encouraging your child to read, he or she will increase their level of self-esteem and broaden their world.  Your positive feedback and interest in the books they are reading will encourage them to read more.  Have fun reading with your child!  Do you have questions about how you may partner with the Columbia School District to benefit your child?  Email me at pamela.campbell@myeagles.org or call me at 517.592.6641.