tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21470325670696853922024-03-06T00:05:20.669-07:00Raising Happy ReadersThe perfect "I only have 5 minutes" ideas to help your little readers and writers bloom.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-89347913504286582992016-03-05T17:11:00.000-07:002017-07-07T18:09:21.002-06:00Post Discovery: Making Sense of Reading Levels for Parents<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2014/07/making-sense-of-reading-levels.html"><img alt="making sense of Reading Levels for Parents (Book Level at Library for Kindergarten)" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORWy3U8hj3NjHoPKopZrybAURb0NlFGFE0UXeBDo2m2jCDUbGr5dZGIqstPdgAFYnKv2lEIqX8AcyylOTh8uYzlII36hWgNJBFoNCXun0xlJKaNeiUBWp6pETnBeDOIjO3yqGTGzp2A/?imgmax=800" width="185" /></a></div>
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This post from 123homeschool4me.com is a great "cheat sheet" for people who are trying to get their heads around reading levels. It can be tough because there are several different systems out there to try to understand. Plus, just because a certain system says that a third grader should be reading a certain level doesn't mean it will necessarily be right for your child. Read their post <a href="http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2014/07/making-sense-of-reading-levels.html">here. </a>Hope this helps!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-59998443098019398142016-03-05T16:38:00.001-07:002017-07-07T18:09:38.920-06:00Post Discovery: The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Kids to Read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/how-to-read/"><img alt="This is so helpful!! The step-by-step process for teaching kids how to read and simple ways to do it. The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Kids to Read." height="320" src="https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/This-is-so-helpful-The-step-by-step-process-for-teaching-kids-how-to-read-and-simple-ways-to-do-it.-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Teaching-Kids-to-Read.-683x1024.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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What a thorough guide to help you understand the basic concepts of teaching a child to read! You can read the whole thing or just skip to the part of reading or pre-reading that you're most curious about right now. Love that Malia Hollowell at playdoughtoplato.com mentions starting with a child's favorite word - their name! Click to read the whole post <a href="http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/how-to-read/">here.</a> </div>
<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-36015638744935187102016-02-03T10:17:00.000-07:002016-03-05T16:27:41.081-07:00Post Discovery: What to Do When a Child Can't Read a Word<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thisreadingmama.com/strategies-for-unknown-words/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="15 Reading Strategies for Unknown Words | This Reading Mama" src="http://thisreadingmama.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/strategies-for-unknown-words.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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I know many of you struggle with what to say when your child gets to a word they don't know and looks up at you for the answer. One powerful thing you can do is nothing at all! I know that sounds revolutionary, but the goal is for them to be able to think of strategies on their own, so a short pause or a prompt of, "what could you do to figure out that word?" might go a long way. This Reading Mama has a fantastic post on more details about this very important topic. Find it <a href="http://thisreadingmama.com/strategies-for-unknown-words/">here.</a> </div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-44011553112898230122015-01-29T13:52:00.002-07:002015-12-02T09:07:18.983-07:00Post Discovery: Emergent Reader Book Suggestions from HeidiSongs<div style="text-align: center;">
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One of the great frustrations in my career as a teacher of reading has been the sheer lack of good quality books available for beginning or "emergent" readers. Parents with the best of intentions will buy their kids the Level 1 readers at the book store but they are way too hard for little ones who are just learning how to read. I really enjoyed HeidiSongs' <a href="http://www.heidisongs.com/blog/2015/01/best-paid-free-emergent-readers-for-kindergarten.html">post</a> about the books she used in her classroom. These are similar to the ones I use and in fact I own some of the very same ones. Please go over and check it out to get some new ideas for your readers. She says it's for kindergarten but I know lots of first graders who could use these too!</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-53556731377292922622015-01-04T19:26:00.001-07:002015-12-02T09:09:15.473-07:00The Fluency Challenge<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blog.maketaketeach.com/4-ways-to-improve-oral-reading-fluency/#_" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="orfpostred" src="http://blog.maketaketeach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/orfpostred.gif" height="400" width="276" /></a>Hi Friends! Happy New Year! Here's a great post on simple ways to help your child read more fluently. Usually that means smoothly like an expert reader would read it. I especially like that Julie from Make Take Teach mentions rereading books to help with fluency and having a more experienced reader read it, too. That's why I'm a huge fan of reading simple poetry. In my classroom, every Friday we would add a fun, easy to read poem to our poetry folders. We would practice reading and re-reading them every week so that we could learn how to read smoothly and with expression. Check the blog article out <a href="http://blog.maketaketeach.com/4-ways-to-improve-oral-reading-fluency/#_">here.</a></div>
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Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-22157240851017845042014-12-10T13:50:00.000-07:002014-12-10T13:50:26.379-07:00Alternatives to Round Robin Reading<br />
Friends, one of the most visceral memories I have from my childhood is quaking in my seat waiting to read out loud in my eighth grade English class. Remarkably, round robin reading - the process of having kids go around and read out loud one at a time - is used constantly in classrooms every day. It's happening in my son's classroom. I've used it as a teacher before, too. However, on a gut level I know that it is fairly worthless. The aha! moment I had when I read this excellent <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/alternatives-to-round-robin-reading-todd-finley">article </a>by Todd Finley is that is equally bad for both good readers and poor readers and reluctant readers. So who are we doing it for? It is hard to say. As a really good reader, I hated reading out loud anyway because I wanted to do it perfectly and I was shy. I would be surprised if anyone in the class was actually paying attention to what was happening in the story during student read aloud time. Finley's article gives great alternatives to round robin. I hope you will read it and think about how you could apply the strategies to reading at home. Echo reading, where you read and then they read the same thing, is easy to do. Shared reading where you read together is really helpful, too. Above all, remember that you reading aloud to your child, with all of your great fluency and expression and pronunciation, has been shown to be just as beneficial as your child practicing reading on their own.<br />
<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-83067493552130430422014-12-02T14:13:00.001-07:002014-12-02T14:13:10.943-07:00Great Find! Collection of Easy Reader Printable Books from Growing Book by Book<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/12/01/winter-easy-reader-printable-books-kids/#comment-12863"><img alt="Free Printable Books for Kids: winter themed books for emergent and early readers " src="http://growingbookbybook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Free-Printable-Books-for-Kids-for-Winter.jpg" /></a></div>
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God bless Jodie from <a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/12/01/winter-easy-reader-printable-books-kids/#comment-12863">Growing Book by Book</a>! She is always putting up quality information and her Facebook shares are great, too. But this time she must've really read my mind. My favorite thing is to find free printable books for beginning readers on all of the fantastic teaching blogs. Mostly because it is a) very hard to find books that are easy enough for beginning readers and b) way easier and cuter than me making them by myself. Plus, I have found that my early readers really respond well to thematic books connected to the seasons and holidays. She has saved you and me time and made a beautiful list all in one place. I love it! Be sure to check it out <a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/12/01/winter-easy-reader-printable-books-kids/#comment-12863">here</a> if you have a young reader in your house. Thanks Jodie!</div>
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Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-74595024967398858022014-12-02T14:05:00.000-07:002014-12-02T14:05:10.838-07:00Great Article: Three easy ways to get your kids to read better and enjoy it<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://theconversation.com/three-easy-ways-to-get-your-kids-to-read-better-and-enjoy-it-34013"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/64099/width668/zb42mqmz-1415597609.jpg" /></a></div>
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Love this <a href="http://theconversation.com/three-easy-ways-to-get-your-kids-to-read-better-and-enjoy-it-34013">article</a> by Ryan Spencer that I saw go by on my Facebook feed recently. I love it because it's a concise way of telling parents how to help their kids right now. I also love that he used the term "instant word factory." Do you ever find yourself doing that? Spitting out each word that your child has trouble with? I've definitely had my moments. Sometimes it becomes necessary, when I notice that a child is in a book that's way harder than either of us anticipated. Most of the time, though, I notice the power in staying quiet and seeing what happens. Sometimes it's harder, but it really is the best thing.</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-87535214630553672682014-11-07T10:18:00.001-07:002014-11-07T10:18:23.940-07:00Play is Learning!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://notjustcute.com/2014/11/07/why-play-pretend-when-were-trying-to-build-readers/"><img alt="Pretend Play and Reading" src="http://notjustcute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Pretend-Play-and-Reading.jpg" /></a></div>
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Love <a href="http://notjustcute.com/2014/11/07/why-play-pretend-when-were-trying-to-build-readers/">this post</a> over at Not Just Cute! It will help you understand why play is so important for our little developing people. Give yourself lots of credit if you are allowing your toddlers and preschoolers to play and use language with their imagination.</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-57998256576104581002014-11-05T10:45:00.003-07:002014-11-05T10:45:48.333-07:00Early Chapter Book Favorites from Imagination Soup<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://imaginationsoup.net/2014/11/early-chapter-books-cybils/?mc_cid=9ab2323101&mc_eid=f08bd60295"><img alt="early chapter book favorites" src="http://19xnly3cl9rt2qvk731lwbxpeay.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/early-chapter-book-favorites.jpg" /></a></div>
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Melissa Taylor is always working so hard over there at her blog Imagination Soup. Here are some <a href="http://imaginationsoup.net/2014/11/early-chapter-books-cybils/?mc_cid=9ab2323101&mc_eid=f08bd60295">great new books</a> for reading aloud to your beginning readers or for independent reading for readers who are a little bit more advanced.</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-12446692565492626702014-10-02T14:48:00.000-06:002014-10-02T14:48:19.188-06:00Post Discovery: Great Struggling Reader Tips <div style="text-align: center;">
A fabulously written post about helping your reader! Find it <a href="http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2014/03/03/help-for-struggling-reader/">here</a> on IThinkWeCouldBeFriends.com. I love the author's suggestions, especially having kids read to younger relatives or friends. It's great to have a baby around and have them read board books with simple words and pictures. They get the words solid in their learning memory while having a fun interaction with someone little. Great confidence builder! I know some libraries have programs where you can go read to dogs now, too!</div>
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<a href="http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2014/03/03/help-for-struggling-reader/"><img alt="These are GREAT ideas to help your child become a better reader! School is so much easier if they can read well :)" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/53/3b/ea/533bea3f58c155cacee386b892785ae5.jpg" /></a></div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-9089613930231027202014-10-01T12:09:00.000-06:002014-10-01T12:09:05.349-06:00Parent Tip Sheet for Reading at HomeI've been using this parent tip sheet for my parent workshops and in my classroom. I love it because it is a very accessible way to understand how you can help your child interact and comprehend what they read. We had the discussion recently about how some parents want to read the entire book with no interuptions because that's how they think it "should"be done. It is in fact the opposite of what should be done. Educators researched what good readers do and they found that good readers are constanly interacting with their reading. If you pay attention to yourself while you're reading, you'll find that this is true. You ask yourself what a word means, you catch yourself if you're mind is wandering, you reread a part that was confusing. It's an interactive process. Hope you enjoy this handout! It's available for free download <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Tip-Sheet-for-Reading-at-Home-1137760">here</a> at Teachers Pay Teachers. You have to sign in to get an account, but it's super easy. I encourage you to search for other fun free downloads at that site, too!! There are amazing treasures to be found!<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Tip-Sheet-for-Reading-at-Home-1137760"><img alt="Parent Tip Sheet for Reading at Home" height="400" src="http://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Parent-Tip-Sheet-for-Reading-at-Home-1137760/original-1137760-1.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-17357034742171670352014-09-29T10:38:00.004-06:002014-09-29T10:39:50.946-06:00Finding Books for Beginning Readers<br />
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<a href="http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2014/09/books-kindergartners-can-read.html"><img alt="50 Books for Kidnergartners to Read Themselves Book Level 1.0-1.3" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b2wDcKlOzuJEaTsmt-bCIfkX5BhfQBRai8nq5dtYuPOVILz-OtWd2wyY-Vpwu0kA4nAYsjbyOKMwVT6nL8AoNEY8iLALxS0grylMZlfvPr1mVXTnXUiDDPg1CLiWalJ_OI9Vz-oYpg/?imgmax=800" /></a></div>
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One of my own personal struggles as a teacher was to find easy books for my beginning readers. Even books that usually say "Level 1 - Beginning Reader" are way too hard for actual beginning readers. I just found this great <a href="http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2014/09/books-kindergartners-can-read.html">post</a> from <a href="http://www.123homeschool4me.com/">www.123homeschool4me.com</a> that has a good list of books for our young readers. Some of these books are not necessarily so easy that you could just hand them over to your reader and expect her to be able to read it on her own, but after a few readings together she could easily manage it.<br />
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Though parents are sometimes worried kids have just "memorized" the book, it is not something to be concerned about. They need to see themselves as readers and see and say those words over and over again before they are cemented in their minds.<br />
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Anna over at The Measured Mom has solved the problem of finding easy books by creating a ton of fabulous FREE printable books for beginning readers.You can find those <a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/free-emergent-readers/">here</a>.<br />
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Happy Reading! <br />
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Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-27680825827859283212014-09-15T17:57:00.001-06:002014-09-15T18:04:11.517-06:00Celebrities Reading Books and other ways to give yourself a break...Tired of reading out loud? So done with the same two favorite books? Let this website take over for a while...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Celebrities Reading...</span><br />
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I had no idea that the Screen Actors Guild has literacy programs. That makes me so happy! You can go to their site, <a href="http://storylineonline.net/">StorylineOnline.net</a>, and have your children listen to wonderful story books read by qualified orators ranging from Al Gore to Sean Astin to Rita Moreno. As they say on their site, <span style="color: #1a0504; font-family: Muli, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.285715103149414px;">"Reading to children has been repeatedly shown to improve their reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking, concentration and general academic aptitude… as well as inspire a love of reading. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation records well-known actors reading children’s books and makes graphically dynamic videos so that children around the world can be read to with just the click of a Storyline Online video book image.</span><span style="color: #1a0504; font-family: Muli, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.285715103149414px;">Many teachers play SAG Foundation’s Storyline Online videos for their students. Doctors and nurses play Storyline Online videos for children in hospitals. And parents and children around the world watch Storyline Online videos millions of times every month."</span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-2777422004220059132014-09-15T17:55:00.002-06:002014-09-15T17:55:27.697-06:00Have Fun Practicing Sight WordsAs my first grader is getting into the school year, we are receiving reminders from his teacher to keep practicing those sight words. I just found this super easy <a href="http://www.icanteachmychild.com/roll-a-sight-word/">game</a> from one of my favorite blogs, <a href="http://www.icanteachmychild.com/">I Can Teach My Child</a>. It definitely fits my requirements for very little set up involved and easy to understand. A great bonus is that if you have children at different levels, they can all work on their own word lists. Love it! I hope you enjoy it, too!<br />
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<a href="http://www.icanteachmychild.com/roll-a-sight-word/"><img alt="Roll a Sight Word An Interactive Game for Early Readers Roll A Sight Word" src="http://www.icanteachmychild.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Roll-a-Sight-Word-An-Interactive-Game-for-Early-Readers.jpg" /></a></div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-74344212877278528512014-07-10T12:14:00.003-06:002014-07-10T12:14:25.060-06:00Fantastic Travel Games Full of LanguageHi Everyone!<br />
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Hope that you have been busy enjoying your summer and taking some vacations like we have. I just found a great list of language-rich travel games from Trevor Cairney's<a href="http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/2014/07/20-great-travel-games-for-children.html"> blog.</a> Check them out if you have a minute!<br />
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<a href="http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/2014/07/20-great-travel-games-for-children.html"><img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGj3Q6YSrEZ-be7WUdXLzZrwKTXtjxq-rfrj4F8KcFsMd0i-j62DX_mHQ-6YyS1F7EpMh28uoIlI8Nqw4TFZUu_qrghX_8BnpVw80etSuHGr0kb8OFird6ZYWj-XMRjtyM6fjNEjGzNI/s400/2004.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-66183358690823870632014-05-28T13:34:00.004-06:002014-05-28T13:34:51.295-06:00So Many Reading Lists for Summer!<a href="http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2014/05/summer-reading-lists/"><img alt="summer reading lists and resources" src="http://www.pragmaticmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/SummerReadingLists-580x828.jpg" /></a><br />
Pragmatic Mom wrote a fantastic post with just about every possible reading list for the summer that you can think of! At the end there's even links to some online summer reading programs. Check it out <a href="http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2014/05/summer-reading-lists/">here</a>.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-72728682226039766882014-05-24T10:29:00.004-06:002014-05-24T10:29:58.000-06:00Read & Go For the Summer!<a href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/05/books-for-family-outings.html"><img src="https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10259706_10153015675197715_268362074589980062_n.png" /></a><br />
Love this post from <a href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/05/books-for-family-outings.html">No Time For Flashcards</a>! Perfect for some summer adventures:)Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-72660430585162490502014-04-08T15:28:00.002-06:002014-04-08T15:28:48.543-06:00Great Writing Series is Starting!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/preschool-and-kindergarten-writing-lessons/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhumosSjLQKwKXMd2m43k3yKe7ebBVOerVaaQ-bB44ESD7s1T9gI-Bw_ksZ9XCx5ts2VLbUjK6keVgwyN2CiBntVTIva5YbOSB9cR1Md-ngK6ghVfJXEdg1AiEm9-x6luhgvRgI9oVp33aHkT93PdFmvHmNiR5QwNtFyYQEIHfTC1PIRQxwIuof0EsCfV1Y5KCd7Q_YySZC70gnjlZNhBSxb9Gb6vRqNsre=s0-d-e1-ft" /></a></div>
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Please go check out this amazing series for preschoolers and kindergarteners! We get so little support for our youngest writers, so this is a valuable resource from The Measured Mom and This Reading Mama. Click on the image or <a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/preschool-and-kindergarten-writing-lessons/">here </a>to read the first post. </div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-1844652690204582692014-03-19T15:02:00.000-06:002014-03-19T15:02:23.451-06:00Flip Book FunI find that we frequently find ourselves challenged to find beginning readers enough easy books to practice with. Unfortunately, many of the options can be dull and uninspiring. That's why I was excited for my son to come home with a "flip book" recently that he was super excited about. These are super easy to read and he begged me to find more for him to make. Remember "easy" readers help our kids become fluent readers. The more they see the same words, the faster their brain will recognize them. A quick exploration on Teachers Pay Teachers found me quite a few. I encourage you to look for yourself. I picked some that cost money, but there are several options for free, too! Just click on the pictures to visit the ones I picked. The first two also include worksheets that go along with the flip books.<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sight-Words-Flip-Books-and-Writing-Activities-227548"><img alt="Sight Words Flip Books and Writing Activities" src="http://mcdn1.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Sight-Words-Flip-Books-and-Writing-Activities/original-227548-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Words-Flip-Books-and-Writing-Activities-244507"><img alt="CVC Words Flip Books and Writing Activities" src="http://mcdn1.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/CVC-Words-Flip-Books-and-Writing-Activities/original-244507-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Family-Flip-Books-952435"><img alt="Word Family Flip Books" src="http://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Word-Family-Flip-Books-093923300-1383191810/original-952435-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Family-Flip-Books-Build-and-Write-at-an-ap-1037949"><img alt="Word Family Flip Books - Build and Write {-at, -an, -ap}" src="http://mcdn1.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Word-Family-Flip-Books-Build-and-Write-at-an-ap-1037949/original-1037949-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Flip-Books-40-Books-to-Practice-Rhyming-Words-814585"><img alt="Rhyming Flip Books {40 Books to Practice Rhyming Words}" src="http://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Rhyming-Flip-Books-40-Books-to-Practice-Rhyming-Words/original-814585-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-Flip-Books-Numbers-1-20-Ten-Frame-Base-10-Tally-Marks-and-More-695950"><img alt="Number Flip Books {Numbers 1-20, Ten Frame, Base 10, Tally" src="http://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Number-Flip-Books-Numbers-1-20-Ten-Frame-Base-10-Tally-Marks-and-More/original-695950-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-65544625895092270952014-03-17T19:12:00.001-06:002014-03-17T19:12:02.716-06:00Great ABC Games with Magnetic Letters<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/03/17/magnetic-alphabet-games/"><img alt="8 magnetic alphabet games to build literacy skills from growingbookbybook.com" height="400" src="http://growingbookbybook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/8-magnetic-letter-games-682x1024.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Please check out the very inventive alphabet games that Growing Book by Book shared in her <a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/03/17/magnetic-alphabet-games/">post</a> today. This is such a great example of those quick 5 minute activities you can do with your children without much prep. So fun! </div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-37475583683244026242014-03-11T13:00:00.001-06:002014-03-11T13:00:56.508-06:00Chapter Book List for Read Alouds with 4-6 year olds<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2014/03/read-aloud-chapter-books-for-4-and-5-year-olds.html"><img alt="List of 10 great chapter books to read aloud to 4, 5 and 6 (and up!) year olds" src="http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/chapter-book-read-alouds-4-and-5-year-olds-400x560.jpg" /></a></div>
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Since I have a 4-6 year old, this <a href="http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2014/03/read-aloud-chapter-books-for-4-and-5-year-olds.html">post</a> by What Do We Do All Day? automatically caught my eye! I'm cautious to read many chapter books at this age with my son mainly because we have so little time to enjoy great picture books before everything he'll want will be in a chapter book. However, the books on this list sound like they might be worth it! Happy reading!</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-44706592985671928452014-03-10T12:45:00.000-06:002014-03-10T12:46:51.463-06:00Free Printable Early Literacy Calendar!<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" src="http://www.raisingreaders.org/resource/d/89166/RR2014Cover.793aeb04.jpg" height="296" title="" width="400" /></div>
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Wow! Just found this excellent and FREE printable <a href="http://www.raisingreaders.org/parents_and_families/2014_early_literacy_calendar_for_parents/">Early Literacy Calendar for 2014</a>. Each month has great reminders on a variety of literacy topics for you plus book suggestions. Love it! </div>
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<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-39561313299757144312014-03-09T13:24:00.000-06:002014-03-09T13:36:21.153-06:00What can you do before or instead of sounding it out?!?<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/reading-skills-kids-need-theyre-ready-sound-out-words/"><img alt="5 things kids need before they can sound it out 5 things kids need... before theyre ready to sound out words" src="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/5-things-kids-need-before-they-can-sound-it-out.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
Another great <a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/reading-skills-kids-need-theyre-ready-sound-out-words/">post</a> from Anna over at The Measured Mom that you simply must check out if you've got a little person beginning to read or going in that direction. So often, as parents, all we remember as children was being told to "sound it out," so we tend to rely on that as our sole teaching strategy when helping our kids read. Anna does a great job in this post helping you understand all of the knowledge that has to come before they're ready to sound something out. Also, it's really important to use many reading strategies when a child gets stuck on a word. I need to do a longer post on this but, here's an example of a picture from<a href="http://bpsweb.billings.k12.mt.us/literacy/literacylinks.htm"> Literacy Links</a> that you can print out and use to encourage your child to try different things if they're stuck on a word. There are also lots of sheets like this available on <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/">Teachers Pay Teachers</a> like this <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Strategies-Chart-for-School-Home-FREEBIE-161990">one</a> for free or for a small cost.<br />
<img src="http://it.pinellas.k12.fl.us/Teachers7/TikritiL/images/74EAF50922164FD2A8D0994C630B72F0.jpg" />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2147032567069685392.post-7931980164637116972014-03-07T14:26:00.003-07:002014-03-07T14:28:06.097-07:00Guest Post over at The Measured Mom...Help your child develop a great vocabulary<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/develop-childrens-vocabulary-guest-post/"><img alt="develop a great vocabulary 590x818 How to Develop Childrens Vocabulary (guest post)" src="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/develop-a-great-vocabulary-590x818.jpg" /></a></div>
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I am thrilled that Anna over at The Measured Mom (one of my very favorite blogs) asked me to do a guest post on her blog as she enjoys her new baby girl. Please take a moment to check it out <a href="http://www.themeasuredmom.com/develop-childrens-vocabulary-guest-post/">here</a>.</div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08147259898373521651noreply@blogger.com0