How God Works
May 18, 2011
Recently I was working with a young student who came in one day and proceeded to tell me a tall tale about what happened to his material, kinda like "the dog ate my homework" kinda thing only more detailed and far-fetched. A few minutes later he recanted his story and said that didn't really happen. I explained to him that we are not supposed to tell fibs. He asked why and I explained that a fib is a lie and that God tells us in the Bible that we are not to lie. This was the basics of the first discussion on this topic.
We continued to work together over a couple more weeks but we were struggling and he was "forgetting" words that we had practiced numerous times. Then on one occasion, when he said he didn't know a common word that we had read many times, I said, "You know if we say we don't know something when we do, it is like telling a fib or a lie." He tilted his head for a moment and thought about that. He didn't say a word, but from that moment, he started showing remarkable improvement. I believe that, at...
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Tags:
fib, god, lie, reading, reading progress, testimony
Posted at: 08:37 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Bookshelf Spring Cleaning
May 14, 2011
Time to clean out those bookshelves! I have found that most children, when given a choice, will frequently select books that are easy to read. A third grade student may be reading first grade books at home, etc. Why not clean out that bookshelf and replace some of those with books that are at or slightly above the student's current reading level. Encourage the student to try something a little more difficult. If there are younger children in the home, than by all means keep those lower level books, but you might consider placing them in a different location, but know your student's reading level and encourage them to select books at that level or above. If the books you select at or above the current level seem too difficult for the student, then do shadow reading a couple times. Make it a habit to reassess those bookshelves at least on a yearly basis. There are lots of places to donate those books that are no longer needed.
Tags:
books, bookshelf, children, reading
Posted at: 09:20 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Book Review
March 26, 2011
Have a young child dealing with low self esteem? Have them read
No Longer a Nobody. It is about a young boy who has no friends and feels down and out because he doesn't have a pet like the other kids. He thinks if he just had a pet, he would be more accepted and people would like him. And to top it off they are having Pet Day at school and he has no pet to bring. In the process he learns that nobody is a nobody to God.
Tags:
book review, children, reading, self-esteem
Posted at: 09:39 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Spelling Helps
March 25, 2011
If you have a student who struggles with spelling, before practicing and writing those spelling lists, please make sure they are able to read the list. Many times I have found a student studying and writing spelling words, but if they don't recognize how the word sounds when it is spoken, how are they going to know which word to write when the teacher gives it in a spelling test. This may sound ridiculous but you would be surprised how many times it happens. Also, there is a website that is an excellent resource for those who struggle with spelling (spellingcity.com). It allows you to enter a list of words, complete several fun activities to practice them, and then test yourself. A few minutes each night on this site will do wonders for spelling results.
Tags:
reading, spelling, vocabulary
Posted at: 11:31 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Struggling Reader in the Family?
March 25, 2011
I can remember, as a young mother, wanting to help my child when they were struggling with reading or another school subject but feeling lost as to where to start. And having the time to spend extra time with them seemed almost impossible, between work, household chores, appointments - there were just not enough hours in the day. Evenings go so fast with homework, dinner, cleanup, baths, etc. I am sure any mother can relate to all this. So then it becomes easy to put all the responsibility of the child's education on the school. But the truth is, our children are indeed our responsibility. They are a gift and as a parent we truly do want the very best for them. Helping a child (or anyone) learn to read well is something you can do that will last, and there are some small, less time-consuming activities that will make a big difference. Look at what you are doing now to encourage reading and think about what small step you can add. Here are some suggestions:
1. Does your child read to you? If not, this is a good place to start. If so, rather than just having them read...
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Tags:
reading, vocabulary
Posted at: 07:28 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Download Page - More Coming Soon
December 30, 2010
In addition to the Books for Boys download, other pages will soon be added, including but not limited to: Accelerated Reading List with over 5,000 books, and Phonics lessons for reading levels 1-3. The Phonics Handbook is also currently being revised and should be available in the Spring of 2011.
Tags:
books, phonics, reading
Posted at: 02:23 PM | Permalink
Reading for Boys
December 30, 2010
Many times I have worked with a young male student who hates to read because he doesn't feel there are any interesting books for him to read. So, I have compiled a small list of Books for Boys which can be downloaded from the Download page.
Posted at: 02:20 PM | Permalink
