April Oaks - Write it Down

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2009-11-10T04:27:41.694-07:00

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I saw that on random channels before...but OMG I w...

2009-11-09T15:58:14.074-07:00

I saw that on random channels before...but OMG I want to do it. Lemme know if you go and I will totally do that with you! SO FUN!

Oh wow! Those costumes are soooo clever and adora...

2009-11-08T08:39:13.241-07:00

Oh wow! Those costumes are soooo clever and adorable! It helps that such cute kids are wearing them. ;)

Doesn't look fun to me, but I bet my kids would lo...

2009-11-07T07:40:18.980-07:00

Doesn't look fun to me, but I bet my kids would love it!

Yeah, I saw this on 18 Kids and Counting- it looks...

2009-11-06T12:00:38.413-07:00

Yeah, I saw this on 18 Kids and Counting- it looks awesome! You can put water in them too I guess for a wet ride. I would totally try this :)

OMG how adorable!!! haha. Little autumn....what a ...

2009-11-04T09:57:38.401-07:00

OMG how adorable!!! haha. Little autumn....what a cutie patutie(sp)!
I love how creative you got with your own kids costumes. There is nothing like being totally unique!

YAY

AWESOME costumes. Our kids are impressed, too. We ...

2009-11-03T18:38:35.848-07:00

AWESOME costumes. Our kids are impressed, too. We love creative, homemade costumes. :)

Yeah, your costumes were definitely the best! You ...

2009-11-03T17:15:31.219-07:00

Yeah, your costumes were definitely the best! You rock!

April, Having your kids turn the pages at their ow...

2009-11-03T13:02:34.172-07:00

April,
Having your kids turn the pages at their own pace is a great way to get a kid excited about reading leading towards them wanting to learn to read. :)

When I first taught my children to read, I used a method of phonics, but quickly realized this worked for my eldest but not my youngest. She didn't grasp reading. So after trial and error I began to realize she was a visual learner who needed both elements to learn to read. She only became successful in learning after the sound and visual were combined. And now she is reading at a higher grade level than her fellow students.

I have seen a huge improvement, and suggest for anyone whose kid is struggling with reading to try using both sound and visual to help their kid overcome it too.

OMHeck! So cute! I love them! The jellyfish is ado...

2009-11-03T12:20:45.986-07:00

OMHeck! So cute! I love them! The jellyfish is adorable! What a creative mom you are!

I LOVE the costumes. And yes, your niece and nephe...

2009-11-03T06:59:19.602-07:00

I LOVE the costumes. And yes, your niece and nephew are cute!

Emily, there is some good encouragement here Also...

2009-10-21T13:45:00.970-06:00

Emily, there is some good encouragement here

Also, I can't tell you how often I hear that "later is better than forcing" and it's true. Everyone is different. It sucks to pigeon-hole kids (or anyone) into levels and expectations. Many "later" readers absolutely LOVE to read when it clicks for them. Don't sweat it. Maybe this will reassure you. Hope those help, Em! (And I hope you subscribed to follow up comments so that you see this). :P

Isaac has never liked to read. I worried so much w...

2009-10-21T12:42:20.280-06:00

Isaac has never liked to read. I worried so much when he was a baby/toddler because he wouldn't sit and read with me. I still worry about it, he still won't read. I've made an incentive chart for him and so he does read, but he does NOT like it. He learned the letters and sounds from the LeapFrog talking letter factory video--which is actually awesome--and is learning to read from the talking word factory video. It makes me feel awful that I'm not helping by reinforcing through reading, but he seriously HATES it. I force it sometimes, but probably not as much as I should. He really loves those PBS shows too, so I use those as rewards. He LOVES TV so educational is all the better for him.

Noah is so different. He would read ALL DAY. He brings me books and wants to read them a million times. He loves finishing the sentences in "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss and his favorite is The little mouse and the Red Ripe Strawberry--he can quote the whole thing to me. I don't know why they're so different, I did nothing differently with them. But if Noah brings me a book I instantly drop what I'm doing to read to him, hoping that will send a message to Isaac about how important reading is.

Thanks for your post, I'm so impressed with your kids! Especially Megan, since she and Isaac are the same age.

Cool April! I actually never worked on getting my...

2009-10-21T12:34:57.359-06:00

Cool April! I actually never worked on getting my kids to read- I just read to them. I started reading to Patrick when he was 4 months old and just never stopped. Now Maggie has her favorite books already and my kids LOVE to all sit on the couch together and read. This seemed to have worked too- both the boys are in the highest reading group at school. Plus, what better way to wind down at night and spend time together? :)

What a great post. I loved this. So many great i...

2009-10-20T22:50:38.873-06:00

What a great post. I loved this. So many great ideas. All of what you said is key. Mainly, start early and keep them enjoying it and feeling confident. I will have to look up that website you posted. Thank you!

My little girl came home with a wordless picture b...

2009-10-20T21:19:26.408-06:00

My little girl came home with a wordless picture book from the library just this week! She loves it! Dr. Alice, I'm glad you found my blog. We love Super Why.

Thanks for the comments!

April and readers, As one of the Co-Creators of S...

2009-10-20T20:24:56.810-06:00

April and readers,

As one of the Co-Creators of Super Why I have to first thank you for your post and second tell you how impressed I am by your suggestions and passion for starting your children on the path to the amazing world of literacy.

You might also be interested in exposing your children to Think It Ink It Publishing (www.thinkitinkitpublishing.com) professionally illustrated wordless picture books in which your kids are able to write the story and become authors. I can only imagine how much joy and sense of empowerment they will get from Reading their own writing! Let me know what you think!

Great post, April! Wonderful suggestions--so nice ...

2009-10-20T18:02:43.734-06:00

Great post, April! Wonderful suggestions--so nice of you to share. We love starfall.com, too!

A couple of other ideas come to mind:

1. Play phonics games--I could write an entire post on this, but we have so much fun playing games with words (treasure hunts, index cards with words on them scattered all over the floor and the kids jump from card to card, etc.).

2. It's important that we model the love of reading for our children -- it's good for them to see us reading and talking about our books, attending book club, etc.

3. Books on tape! I can't recommend this enough, particularly the Harry Potter series read by Jim Dale. He is PHENOMENAL. This brings reading to life! Kids learn to hear/learn/love language through the sound of books on tape.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the first few to come right to mind. Again, great post!

April, I loved this post. I am so excited to read ...

2009-10-20T17:16:17.414-06:00

April, I loved this post. I am so excited to read with my baby. Reading is one thing that I think is super important to teach kids at an early age. Your post gave me some things to keep in mind for the future.

You mentioned that Bruce's father would read non-picture books to them at an early age... I remember my dad reading Puddin' Head Wilson by Mark Twain to me and Curtis when we were about the same age as Luke and Megan are. To this day I enjoy Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of my favorites) and I contribute part of that to my dad reading Mark Twain to me as a child. In that sense, I think some of the books and things we introduce kids to when they are young will become things that they will enjoy at an older age as well.

I learned a lot from your entry. Thanks! Plus it ...

2009-10-20T15:08:32.759-06:00

I learned a lot from your entry. Thanks! Plus it was a fun insight into your kids world. P.S. I don't comment on every entry but just so you know I read them all and so does Bruce.

That's so sweet. Did you keep that one for scrapbo...

2009-10-20T09:42:42.671-06:00

That's so sweet. Did you keep that one for scrapbooking? :)

That is sweet! I love fresh flowers and wish I cou...

2009-10-18T23:34:17.366-06:00

That is sweet! I love fresh flowers and wish I could fill my house with them every day! I also wish you could still buy a decent bouquet these days for only $27.57! Times have changed!

What a sweetheart!! I hope it's not the LAST time ...

2009-10-18T22:47:42.218-06:00

What a sweetheart!! I hope it's not the LAST time he bought you flowers ;) PS Why do you have checks from 96 girl?? LOL

I love your random thoughts. I would love a post ...

2009-10-18T20:57:13.386-06:00

I love your random thoughts. I would love a post about teaching kids to read.

Good luck in Cub Scouts! You will be great at it!

2009-10-14T21:22:02.307-06:00

Good luck in Cub Scouts! You will be great at it!