reading
Fun Fall Books and Activities for Kids!
School is back in session, there is a chill in the air, pumpkin spice lattes are back and I even had a fire in the fireplace for the first time in over five months… Fall has arrived! As an educator and mom, I love the combination of reading books followed by an “extension activity”. Extension activities have lots of benefits such as getting children excited to read and teaching them how to connect a book to real life. Activities give a child a chance to use the language from the book in a new way and of course, you have more positive parent-child interaction! Extension activities take reading to a whole new and exciting level and don’t need to be time consuming or cost money. This summer I fell in love with Usborne books after a friend of mine introduced them to me. There are a unique comp...
Parenting question: You Want to Read What?!
Dear Mama Drama: I have three daughters ages 13, 11, and 8. They are all avid readers and generally read well above their age level. My eight-year-old wants to read whatever her sisters are reading, but as they get into their teens I am not always comfortable with the content. When there is sexual content or violence, my eight-year-old is often confused, scared, and has had nightmares, especially after reading some of the vampire books. The girls think it isn’t a big deal, but I do. I am not sure how to handle this with them. ~ Raising Readers Dear Raising: Your concerns about your youngest daughter’s reading material are valid. The themes in books for teens and tweens focus on different experiences and thinking processes than books for younger children. It can be difficult to find e...
Screenwriter Terri Miller Talks With Us About Encouraging Imaginitive Storytelling For Kids
Have you ever wondered if your child may have a natural propensity for writing? We talk with Denver native Terri Miller, a mom and successful screenwriter, about her life as a writer and ways you can identify and encourage your child's gifts for storytelling.
Top 5 Digital Storybooks for iPhone and iPad
Books for the iPhone and iPad are some of my least favorite apps to review. There are thousands in the app store and many of them aren’t worth reader’s time or money. Having said that, there are some real winners out there that stand out from the crowd visually, interactively and creatively. I’ve narrowed the field down to my top 5, must-have storybook
Review and Giveaway: SmartyAnts Innovative and Interactive Reading Program
**CONTEST CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER BRANDEE WALTER!** This month, LeapFrog’s founder released a must-have reading program for children ages 4-7: SmartyAnts. I was sent the product and was asked to try it out. Or rather, my kids were. Last I checked I’m a pretty good reader. Problem is, my 6-year-old daughter Hadley isn’t. I’ve struggled to get her excited about reading but have been frustrated with her lack of patience and my lack of ability in knowing how and what to teach her. SmartyAnts may just save me. What It Is: There are a couple of different components to this product. 1) The SmartyAnts Phonics Reading Pup is a cuddly, 11-inch-tall robotic dog that offers a fun, interactive way to learn to read. 2) The dog comes with a free one-month membership to t...
Read your own book
Hate to read? Learning to read? Read a book you wrote. Yes, you’ll have to write a book – more on that in a moment. Melissa Depper, a youth services librarian at Arapaho Library District, reminded me today how helpful it is for struggling readers to read their own story. She said, “Have the child dictate to you a story. The story will be their vocabulary and their ideas. It makes it easier for the child to read it.” Brilliant! Even early, early readers . . . my four year old “wrote” a book this summer and it was a favorite pick for bedtime stories. She wrote words she knew like “pop,” “dad,” “mom” and illustrated every page. She felt so proud of her first book! And now to write a book . . . Do not panic. You don’t have to buy a fancy book making kit but, if it helps, give it a try. Amazon ...
Mama Drama: Hair Raising Reading
Dear Mama Drama: I have three daughters ages 13, 11, and 8. They are all avid readers and generally read well above their age level. My eight year old wants to read whatever her sisters are reading, but as they get into their teens I am not always comfortable with the content. When there is sexual content or violence, my eight-year-old is often confused, scared, and has had nightmares, especially after reading some of the vampire books. The girls think it isn’t a big deal, but I do. I am not sure how to handle this with them. ~ Raising Readers (photo credit) Dear Raising: Your concerns about your youngest daughter’s reading material are valid. The themes in books for teens and tweens focus on different experiences and thinking processes than books for younger children. It can be difficult...
