Archives For Julie Haden

Your Child Can Love to Read: Instilling a Growth Mindset

Julie Haden —  : May 20, 2014 — Leave a comment

As your child’s school year ends, your child might begin to realize differences in her abilities compared to her peers. She might say, “I’m never going to be a good reader! All my other friends know how. I just can’t do it.”

2014 05 20 Mindset Then New Psychology of SuccessAfter listening to a great audio book called Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, I recognize the importance of our children having a growth mindset and believing in their abilities. With a growth mindset, children recognize that success is within their power. By working harder and smarter, they can change the outcomes in their life. As a reading specialist, teacher and parent, I see this with my students and own child. Something is challenging, so they think that they are just not smart or something is wrong with them. Without encouragement, they may decide that they can never overcome the challenge.

When teaching your child to become a reader you are also teaching her to become a lifelong learner. Learning to read is how she will expand her ability to learn.Your younger child may be just starting to learn the many rules of reading and spelling. You might reassure her, “Even though you didn’t do so well on your spelling test, you can work harder and study more and then do better on the next spelling test.” Your older child may have challenges, too. Maybe she did not do as well as she thought on her book report. You can remind her, “Now you know that it might take more than just one night to complete a satisfactory report.”

Through this conversation with your child, you are teaching her that she can learn and change her behavior. That is how the growth mindset works – your child realizing that she has the ability to change and grow though her efforts.

What are some examples of ways you have helped instill a growth mindset with your child?

In Blog , , ,
 permalink

Reading and Brain Integration

Julie Haden —  : May 14, 2014 — 1 Comment

2014 05 whole brain childThis week I am writing about a great audio book I just finished called whole brain child: 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind, survive everyday parenting struggles, and help your family thrive by Daniel Siegel. The book helps the reader understand the two parts of our brain labeled “emotional” and “thinking”. We learn how we can teach our children how to integrate the two parts.

You might be thinking, how does this relate to reading? In my experiences teaching children to read, the key is motivating them to want to read. To do this I have to work on the “emotional” part – essentially my students’ drive and inherent motivation to want to read – by helping my students regulate their behaviors throughout the reading process. Simply by staying focused and keeping their bodies quiet during my instruction, my students improve reading mastery.

Here are three examples of how to do this with your child:

2014 05 14 visual timer1.) One big component of reading instruction and reading is sustained reading attention. This is making sure your child is focused enough to be able to learn a concept or material. One way to get your child focused on reading and not worrying so much about how long she has been reading is to use a timer. Have your older child set it for 20 minutes and then read. Use a visual timer if your child is younger. Let her set it for just ten minutes. This gives your child some control over the time. The focus becomes the material and not on, “How much longer do I have to read?”

2.) Another key component of reading is listening and reading comprehension, particularly when your child begins to read longer materials such as novels or chapters in textbooks. Some children find being still for long periods of time very challenging. So, a way to help regulate the “emotional” brain and bring it back to the “thinking” brain is to let your child move after ten to fifteen minute intervals depending on your child’s needs and age. This might look like doing twenty jumping jacks or some yoga-like stretches – like downward dog. The key is to break up the time, get your child moving, and then back to reading.

2014 05 14 word families 23.) A third component of reading, especially when children are young or just learning to read, is remembering patterns when reading to be able to spell and read the words. You can help integrate the “emotional” brain with the “thinking” brain to make learning all the structures and rules of reading less overwhelming by creating “structures” for patterns in words. Charts which show word family patterns or sound rules can help your child learn the patterns in word that are essential to learning how to read.

By practicing these examples, your child can integrate the “emotional” part of the brain with the “thinking” part to help motivate reading and build an inherent love of reading.

What are ways you help regulate your child’s behaviors to help create a greater focus and motivation toward learning new skills?

In Blog ,
 permalink

The Benefits: Your Child and One-on-One Instruction

Julie Haden —  : Apr 30, 2014 — Leave a comment

pairs in Julies Spring 2012 class-001Whether you are a teacher, parent who is homeschooling your child, or a reading specialist, your child can benefit from one-on-one reading instruction for many reasons:

  1. Instruction focuses on your child’s specific learning needs, such as working on short vowels or teaching word family patterns. It is individualized to your child’s unique learning style.
  2. Learning and mastery is much faster because the focus is on just your child. I have worked with both individual and groups of children to provide both enrichment and remediation. I can teach one child much more than I can a group. In a 45-minute session, I can teach a skill – such as “at” family words like “cat” and “bat” – and my student will master the concept by the end of the lesson – not likely with a group.
  3. Assessment is easier and goal setting becomes more specific, too. For example through one-on-one instruction, you might notice your child has mastered short “a” and short “i” vowel sounds, but is struggling with the short “u” vowel sound. Now you can set your goals accordingly and focus on just that sound. You might on occasion use a “test.” However with your individualized interactions with your child that follow your lesson plans, you can assess progress informally after each specific lesson – did your child learn the short “u” vowel sound?
  4. You or your child’s tutor can create a portfolio of specific work samples. One-on-one instruction makes this easy. Your child will love seeing progress and growth through the school year. Handwriting samples are a great way to motivate your child for example. Your child will see how hard work pays off. Imagine hearing, “Look Mom! My letters look like they’re all going in the right direction!” A portfolio makes this possible and is easily accomplished through one-on-one instruction.

These are just a few good reasons to consider one-on-one reading instruction for your child’s reading success.

How do you work with your child one-on-one to help them learn?

In Blog ,
 permalink

Month 4: Your Child’s Journey to Becoming an Early Reader

Julie Haden —  : Apr 18, 2014 — Leave a comment

At month four, your child is beginning to develop a sense of herself, and how she relates to the world around her. She demonstrates this by smiling, communicating, reaching out, and engaging in activities.

Pat_the_Bunny_imageThrough some wonderful books, you can help your child explore the world through touch and sound. They may make sounds – like crunching – or have rough or smooth surfaces to touch.

In the classic Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, the brother and sister in the story get to pat the soft bunny or touch Daddy’s scratchy face. This was my daughter’s longtime favorite. She loved looking at herself and making faces in the book’ mirror. As my daughter grew older, she would rub my husband’s face in the morning, and chuckle with a smile, “Scratchy face.”

On The Farmon the farm by Dana V. Swartz (Author) and Francesca Ferri (Illustrator), was my daughter’s favorite interactive, fabric book. In this book, your child gets to turn each fabric page. As the story unfolds, she puts items in her little fabric basket attached to the book – an egg from the hen’s nest or an apple from the apple tree. I would ask my daughter, “Where is the apple in the tree?” She would reach for it. Because your child now has a greater sense of herself, she starts to become interested in real life images of everyday items and animals. Along the way, the story provides great opportunity to build language and vocabulary.

My Best Friends61JREVXKNEL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_ by Margaret Miller has beautiful photos of children and their pets. Each page has a simple picture with one word on the page. For example, the page for “hugging” has two children hugging their pets. As we read this book, my daughter would hug her favorite stuffed animal.

These books will help you engage your child’s emerging developing sense of self.

What books did your child love at this age?

 

Links to Earlier Months: Your Child’s Journey to Becoming an Early Reader

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

In Blog , ,
 permalink

How Reading Time Creates a Happy Child

Julie Haden —  : Apr 6, 2014 — Leave a comment

648792287310In this busy world, you and your children may have less time to read just for pleasure. Kids today have 8 hours less free time than they did 20 years ago. So I have a proposal to rediscover those 8 hours of lost unstructured fun time – time that inevitably leads to more happy and content children.

Here are a few great ways to find this free reading time:

  1. Schedule time in the day when you and your family read for pleasure. It might be after dinner or before bedtime during the school week or first thing in the morning on the weekends. During this time, make sure all family members participate.
  2. Have reading material on hand that is truly pleasurable for all members of your family. This means reading material that is fun and exciting for your child. It could be comics, books, magazines, newspapers or free e-books available from most public libraries.
  3. Read together with your child on the couch or in bed to make this bonding time, too. Talk to your child about what they are reading and share information about books that you are reading.

Quality time spent together with you – their parent – will make your children content and secure with their life. Reading together is the greatest gift you can offer your children – the gift of your time.

What are some ways you create reading time in your home?

For an article on the science of raising happy kids that are confident and content: The Science of Raising Happy Kids

 

In Blog , ,
 permalink

Motivating your child’s reading

Julie Haden —  : Apr 2, 2014 — Leave a comment

rewardsAs adults, we all know that sustained reading takes self-discipline, self-direction, and sustained attention. So how can you motivate your child to develop and apply these important attributes to reading behavior?

The way I generally reward my students for these behaviors is through specific praise like, “You did a great job tracking the words while you read.” Or by bringing in a new book to work on about a subject they love. It might be dogs or even African Dwarf frogs.

Many of my parents of students I work with ask, “What is the best way to motivate my child to keep reading?” Here are healthy ways to reward your child for their reading abilities:

  1. Reading with your child. Your child’s greatest reward is time spent with you, the parent. So a great way to reward their reading abilities is with reading time together. This can be you reading to them or your child reading to you. My daughter Bella loves to read to me – fairytales especially. Once she read me to sleep. She was so pleased with herself. In this busy world, I often forget how that bonding time makes me feel, too – relaxed and loved.
  2. Time at the public library. Another great reward is a visit to your local public library. It is a great way to introduce your child to different types of genre such as fiction, non-fiction, and even poetry. Also, it’s a great way to teach your child how to find information about an interest. Bella became very interested in frogs. She was so excited to know not only where to find the books, but that the library had vast amounts of information available on the subject.
  3. Learning beyond the books. Let your child’s learning go beyond the pages of books. If your child is reading about the differences between animal and plant cells, find her an inexpensive microscope. Encourage her to take her own samples of cells and visually compare them under the microscope. Or if your child is reading about robots, reward her with tinkering items to help her create her own robot or machine.

Your child will not need these rewards after every completed book. In fact, research shows that intermittent reinforcement is the most effective way to administer rewards. Rewards that come at unpredicted times are very motivating. So it is okay to surprise your child with a microscope when they have diligently been reading or studying cells.

Being creative with your child’s rewards is so much fun. You will be amazed at how excited your child gets with your unique, random ideas for rewards. Here are some examples of unique rewards I have used with my own child and students: thread, needles, seashells, and reused kids magazines.

Learn more about Magazines and your early reader

For more information on positive rewards for your child, read this article.

How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The inverse power of praise. – New York Magazine

What are some of your favorite ways to reward your child for their reading progress and abilities?

In Blog ,
 permalink

Month 3: Your Child’s Journey to Early Reading!

Julie Haden —  : Mar 25, 2014 — Leave a comment

month 3At month three, your child is beginning to understand that certain words sound like their meaning. This makes songs like “Pop goes the Weasel” great fun because your child begins to learn that when you say the word “pop” that it means going up in the air.

This leads me to a great game to play with your child called the “pop” song! It cultivates your child’s new developing love for surprises. Simply sing the song, “Pop goes the Weasel.” Begin by clapping when you sing the word “pop” to emphasize its importance.

Next, you can use a favorite stuffed animal to pop up as you say the word “pop”. Finally, you can use your child to pop up as you say the word “pop”. As you do, replace the words “the weasel” with her name: “Pop goes Bella.” While you do this change your tones from deep to high to help your child focus on the different pitches and sounds in the words.

Your child will also enjoy seeing herself in the mirror while you play this game. She will love seeing your expressions, learning to read your facial expressions while modeling her own. She will learn from you the art of non-verbal communication.

This simply game is fun to play with your three-month-old while teaching her the important skill of words sounding like what they mean.

What are some activities you like to do with your three-month-old to encourage language skills?

In Blog ,
 permalink

Month 2: Singing to Reading. Your Child’s Journey to Early Reading!

Julie Haden —  : Mar 10, 2014 — Leave a comment

One of my favorite activities with Bella at two months was singing to her. I only sing so well but she didn’t seem to mind.

She especially loved to listen to nursery rhymes. This was great for me, too. I could get her to engage physically with me. She would lift up her head while on her tummy or track me with her eyes as I changed pitches to her favorite rhymes that we sang over and over again.

Often times I would add hand puppets for her to visually track. I would act out a song, such as Humpy Dumpty Had A Great Fall, moving the puppets up and down, or London Bridge is Falling Down as I sang the words.

this little piggyOne of our favorite CD/book combinations was This Little Piggy by Jane Yolen and Will Hillenbrand. It was great for acting out the songs. It included lots of rhyming and is  entertaining in general. I would prop her up on my lap and move her body to the rhythm of the song and the beats of the music.

Rhyming is the beginning stage to learning how to read. Nursery rhymes are a great way to engage your child in this process while setting the foundation for later days when she will be reading. A great example of how you can get your two-month-old ready for reading.

What are some ways you engage your two-month-old to help get them reading ready?

In Blog , ,
 permalink

Month 1: Your Child’s Journey to Early Reading

Julie Haden —  : Mar 4, 2014 — 2 Comments

I remember the days of beginning to teach Bella to read. Friends would ask me when I planned to start my early reading intervention. I would reply that I was starting now. They would say, but she is only one month old; what can you do at such as early age?

We started at one month and one of Bella’s favorite activities was looking at black-and-white picture books as I talked about the different objects on the pages.

I would prop her up on her Boppy pillow, show her each page, and talk about what I saw. “Look at the zebra!” or “There’s a bunny.” She seemed to enjoy this exchange and was eager to look at these books again and again.

The beauty of this experience was not only the bonding time together, but also the vocabulary and language skills that we were building by reading the same book over and over and talking about the pictures.

Babies visualize better in black-and-white and high-contrast until they reach about 3 months of age. The author of three black-and-white contrast books that we really love are by Tana Hoban.

This is an example of an activity that you can start with your infant as early as one month to build reading skills.

What are some of your favorite activities to engage your one-three month old?

white on black

black on white

what is that

In Blog , ,
 permalink

Reading Ready by Age 2: Monthly Activities

Julie Haden —  : Feb 27, 2014 — Leave a comment

You can prepare your child before the age of two to become an early reader. In my upcoming blogs, I will recommend activities for you and your pre-two-year-old child. You will learn fun activities that are age appropriate and will build skills as your child reaches each monthly milestone.

Seeing your child read at the age of two and a half is quite exciting! It was for me with my own daughter. The ability of a child so young to read and spell words is amazing. Nothing will prepare you for the first realization that your young child is reading.

Bella reading at age 2.My first experiences include my daughter in the checkout line at the grocery reading the names of different candies. People would ask, “Is she reading that?”

After seeing Bella begin to read at such an early age and later watching students in my own practice with the same capacity, I now truly believe that children as young as two can begin to read and even spell words given the right training. My upcoming series will introduce you to some of the activities I used with my daughter as she grew and matured in her first two years.

These activities will include fun games such as consonant/vowel babble copycat at six months – where your child initiates a sound, like “ma,” and you repeat that same sound – and then eventually you initiate a sound, and your child repeats the sound. Or at nine months, beginning to create for your child a first wordbook to document the first hundred words that your child learns and says. Your child will love to look back at their first wordbook when he or she is six or seven.

So my series of blogs will start with activities for month one and continue with activities for each month until month twenty-four. These month-to-month activities will be fun and hands on. Look forward to hearing from you about any activities you do with your infant to help promote early reading.

In Blog ,
 permalink