I Forgot How To Read!!!!!!! - Part 2

Yesterday's post generated a lot of ether-chatter "Mommy, Daddy I Forgot How To Read!!!!" Many of you wanted specific tips for how to make reading a part of daily life activities and the supermarket example was mentioned more than most, so I'll give you a couple of quick tips today that you can start with right now.

Quick Start Coaching Tips;

- You'll need.... mostly patience. The rest is kid's stuff. Also remember to modify any of these steps for your child's age, reading and patience level.

Before

1. Save food labels from cans and boxes, or have your child cut out pictures of
foods and food names from magazines.

2. Put the pictures and words in a see through shoe box or file-folder.

3. Prepare your child for a trip to the supermarket.
"We're going food shopping. I need your help organizing and reminding me what
to get." Whatever works for you and your child.

4. Take a piece of construction or white paper and have your child make their own
"shopping list" by pasting the pictures or labels of the foods you'll be
buying on to the sheet of paper.

5. Explain to them what will happen and the help you need. "I need you to help
me find the snacks, vegetables etc."

6. Ask them what they're looking for, what letters are in the words, how they
think they can match them up quickly (look for the first letter, first two
letters etc.)

7. Shop.

8. When you get home ask them to make a "shopping entry" in their journals
if they keep one, or to color a picture of what they did and bought.

Here's what happens;
* They are engaged in the process and not getting as bored and antsy.
* They're focusing on the task at hand and the products you/they need to buy
and not the millions of other yummy, enticing, fun, unnecessary food you
won't be buying that day.
* They're practicing word recognition.
* They're learning planning and organizing skills.
* They're doing an "update" while you unpack the groceries.
* They feel empowered that they are able to assist and do a "job".

Follow-Up

Feel free to reward the child in whatever way you're comfortable with for a job well done.

Ask for input as to how they think it went and if they have any ideas for how to make the process work better.

You'd be amazed at the ideas they can come up with. They see the experience in a simpler, less stressful way and have great ideas from where to park the car, to how to navigate the aisles, to which product to choose to how to arrange the bags in the car.

Have fun and enjoy!
Rebecca (Kiki)
********************
Daily Life Consulting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on individual or group coaching, seminars, workshops or materials for your group, school or institution please call at 646.468.0608 or email at coach at dailylifeconsulting dot com.

Mommy!!! Daddy!!!!! I Forgot How To Read!

Imagine going on vacation and coming home to find that you can't read. You heard right. You're away for a couple of days or weeks and you return to find that the street signs are incomprehensible, the writing on the food packages at the supermarket are incoherent, the covers of your favorit DVDs look like squiggles. Something like this? oeirlk jakfjor ieiflj uyejkdjdlk mnbvcgfhu!

Scary? Frustrating? Annoying? Infuriating? Upsetting? Sounds about right.

The above might sound extreme but that's exactly what it can feel like to young children and beginning readers. I've seen it happen after winter breaks and summer vacations. The children aren't yet comfortable with their reading, they go away and don't do any reading for a while and there you go. Gone with the wind at the beach! Reading skills lost along with the pasty white skin of winter.

Now imagine what it's like to have to learn it all over again. It's hard. It can be boring. It's frustrating. It's "agaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnn???????? but I just did that last year in school, why do I have to do it agaiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn?????"

The other negative aspect of this situation is that reading becomes READING. Reading becomes AN ASSIGNMENT. Reading becomes something to PRACTICE,LEARN and (horrors!!!) STUDY, instead of something organic, fun, entertaining, exciting, a doorway to the unknown, an adventure, a journey and all the other fun things that reading can be.

Quick Start Coaching Tips to keep children reading all summer;

* Keep lots of books about topics they love around the house.
* Read to them. It can be for a few minutes a day or as long as you both like.
* Read with them. Model reading at the same time that they are, and let them
"catch" you reading.
* Get them books that relate to their lives or other media that they're consuming.
* Find reading activities online.
* Have them keep a summer journal. Pictures, words, stories, whatever.
* Incorporate reading skills into daily life activities (more details on this
in another post) such as matching food labels at the supermarket, matching names
of thruways/highways/towns on car trips, making shopping lists, clothing lists,
laundry supplies, swimming supplies, barbecue supplies etc. etc.
* Use baking, cooking or art activities as activities. Follow a recipe, gather art
supplies etc.

Any time children are using the written word in some form and can comprehend how they're using it they're practicing reading. Give them the gift of being independent in their pursuit of information, entertainment, new worlds and knowledge. Give them the gift of loving to read.

Enjoy the day your way,
Rebecca (Kiki)
*************************************
Daily Life Consulting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on individual or group coaching, seminars, workshops or materials for your group, school or institution please call at 646.468.0608 or email at coach at dailylifeconsulting dot com.