This first step is to lay a strong foundation on which to build your children's education. 
Enjoy the bi-weekly articles below.
These sections  are organized by age level, but the information is not confined to that age group. Consider looking at other age ranges as well. Also, make sure to check out the Archives.

 
Helping Young Children to Write
     One of the most important jobs of parents as teachers is to create an environment that nurtures creativity, innovativeness, perseverance and true grit without the restrictions of time and scheduling that the school year provides.  Children should be free to explore their environment within secure boundaries and that is, within their own family.
By writing their thoughts and memories down, children will be able to remember them better.
     Some basics first:
     Pencil grip:  Watch your young children as they pick up their pencils and crayons. They should hold their pencil between their thumb and index finger with it resting on their third finger and the other fingers slightly bent supporting the third finger. The pencil should be held high enough so  they can see the sharpened area of the pencil.  They don’t hold their writing instruments in a fist or in another awkward position that makes it uncomfortable to write.
     Provide an attractive notebook or paper that encourages your children to want to write.  Young children can write just a sentence about their day and maybe even draw a picture.  If you need to, you can write for them demonstrating how to hold your pencil or pen properly.
     Encourage your young children to always pull down to make their letters, not begin the letters from the bottom up.  You may need to provide a model for them to copy or write a word for them they want to use. Again, take your time and let them see how you form the letters.
     Help your children to write or print because handwriting is good for their developing brains. Handwriting helps children focus and uses both their left and right brain. It calms and centers their mind. 
     Handwriting is a valuable skill for children and should be grown along with keyboarding skills.

Scavenger Hunts to Help Your Children Learn
     Have you ever had the opportunity to go on a scavenger hunt?  Did you like the challenge of finding different objects?  
     A scavenger hunt is a game in which organizers prepare a list of specific items for one or more persons to find, not buy. The person or group who finds all the items first is the winner. 
     In the summer heat, many parents may be wondering what they can do to keep their children occupied (instead of video games) when children must be inside much of the time.  Try a scavenger hunt! 
     For your young readers, try a scavenger hunt to review their basic needs to bcome a good reader.  Make up a scavenger list of things your children must find that begin with a certain letter or have a certain sound.  You can make up a list of sight words or vocabulary words they need to make a sentence. 
     Becky on her website--thisreadingmama.com--has lists and ideas for math number hunts, 2D shapes, 3D shapes, measurement and telling time. There are alphabet, sight word and summer hunts.  You must subscribe to use these hunts using your name and email (for free) to join Becky and to print hunt lists.  Becky also provides other great ideas to strenthen your young readers in time for school.
     Scavenger hunts give parents or an older sibling a chance to be creative. These games also give the parents time to do their own work or have some quiet time.  Children can find these things mostly on their own and develop their problem-solving skills while they figure out what they need to find.  For younger children, older children might find pictures on the computer or cut them out of magazines or newspapers.  For older children, you may need to give an incentive, like extra screen time if they are the first to find all the objects. 
​

Still Have Struggling Readers? 

     Are you disappointed that your young children still cannot read? Your children may not have had the foundation they need to develop reading skill. They may have missed an important lesson. They may not have had enough practice. Some children need repeated practice to put necessary concepts in their brain to keep for them to use in the future. They may not have realized the sounding of letters and words was a step to learn to read. They may not have been able to hear the sounds of the letters (phonics) or been able to hear the differences in words or how the sounds make words we hear (phonemic awareness).  There may have been trauma or upset in your family that your children did not understand which blocked their ability to learn to read. 
     We must use our children’s formative years to give them the tools they can use to survive and provide for their own families...creating a positive future for generations to come. 
     Reading is so fundamental to their lives that we must do all we can to help them learn to read 
Children learn best when more of their senses are involved. Becky Spence (https://www.thereadingmama.com) says the brain is a highway system with on and off ramps. Children struggling to read run into traffic jams. As you would look for another route or way to leave the highway, we need to find other “routes” in a child’s brain to help learners make meaningful connections. Help them write letters on a board or sidewalk to make words as they say one sound or blend sounds to begin words. Maybe use magnetic letters to build words.  Maybe write words in jello or pudding powder that they can lick their fingers when they write and say the words successfully. Even sing the sounds. 
      Mix concepts they already know with new concepts. For instance, see if your child knows the sounds of these letters—M, A, S, P, T, N—and can use them to make words such as pat, sat, mat, map. tap, nap, tan, pan, man. If the child knows the sounds of the individual letters, try saying pa-t, sa-t, etc. which is blending sounds. Forming words with just these six letters could be a step to give children confidence that “I can.”  Repeat using other vowels: e,i,o,u in place of “a.”  
You can help children visualize the words by closing their eyes or maybe drawing a picture of the word. When you read a book to your children, let them point out words they know in the text. If the word is a new one, point out the “easy part” and what parts may be harder. If you are reading a selection that your children can mark, let them highlight green for the easy part and yellow for the harder or tricky part.  
     As the adult, you can think out loud about how to figure out words and have your children practice.   
Most of the above methods for beginning to read come from a podcast by Anna Geiger which you can access on her website (https://themeasuredmom.com). 

Happy Kids
     The time you spend with your young children playing with them. observing them and just enjoying them is a gift for you as a parent right now.  Young children are so curious, so eager to learn, especially from you. When you watch your little ones, notice how much they imitate you -- your actions, your words, your attitude.
     Help your young children be happy.  Find things to smile about, to laugh about.  Find funny sayings, rhymes, and songs. Make up your own.  Your children will remember your "silliness" for many years, even after you have long forgotten.