The Department of Education encourages parents to read aloud to their children 20 minutes a day at a minimum. The idea is to read aloud to them for longer stretches and more often as you are able. It’s also suggested that you continue to read aloud to your children long passed the time you thought … Continue reading Ideas for Reading Aloud with Older Children
The Common Core State Standards, which help to guide what education is provided by our public school system, has left teaching cursive off the list. There are SO MANY REASONS to teach children cursive, and each is as compelling as the next. Cursive…. Helps children with spelling – Because the letters are connected, cursive helps children … Continue reading Reasons to Teach Your Children Cursive
Emotion language provides children a tool for managing social exchange. By the time they get to Kindergarten, I want children to be able to look at their friend and say, “I am mad at you. You took my block,” rather than clobber them. There are many ways to teach children emotion language, here are a … Continue reading Ways to Teach Children Emotion Language
There are many ways to encourage early language: Provide Running Commentary– Running commentary is talking about all the things your child is seeing, doing and feeling. Be sure to use lots of labels. This sounds like, “oh, you have a ball. You rolled the ball. That ball is rolling fast. I have it; I caught … Continue reading Encouraging Early Language
So, I’ve been asked many times in the last year for my thoughts about young children playing on iPads or reading on Kindles. My answers always lean towards it being better to play with toys or each other and read books rather than screens. Even when it’s just to occupy them because you need a minute, I … Continue reading Exactly! Downside of E-Readers for Young Children
Once they are talking, there are many ways to build a child’s vocabulary. Continue giving running commentary – Talk about all the things they are doing and seeing. Be sure to include functional definitions and adjectives. Continue echo expansion – When they say, “more juice,” model back, “you’d like more apple juice, please?” Keep their … Continue reading Building Vocabulary
There are many ways to encourage early speech. Here are a few ideas: Pair Gestures with Your Words – Nod when you say “yes,” wave when you say “hi.” More True Toys, Less Passive Toys – If there are speech concerns, do away with all the electronic toys that do the talking and make … Continue reading Encouraging Early Speech
Parenting by Dr. Rene 