Author: owner

The Importance of Reading
Street signs. Warning signs. Assembly instructions. Recipes. Weather alerts on television. No one is born with a full knowledge of the world, so we all have to read daily for instructions and our well-being.
Beyond that, however, reading provides for a successful life. One must read job descriptions and application, work manuals and office policies to get or to keep a meaningful job.
But, perhaps the most important reason to be a reader is for personal enjoyment. Books, poetry, magazines and newspapers connect us to the world, to trends, to self-improvement and to pure joy and inspiration.
Set the Example
Children who see their parents read and who are read to consistently at an early age can learn to read for themselves before they enter school. The pleasure that they get from sitting in a parent’s lap, being cuddled and read to, produces positive feelings about reading and makes them eager to learn.
It is also important that you allow them to read to you. It may be mere words that they sound out from materials that you are reading, or it may be their own storybooks.
Use the Library
Almost every community has a public library with a wealth of age-appropriate reading material for your child. Many churches have established libraries. Visit them often. Take advantage of their special programs that offer recognition to children who read.
And don’t forget that you need a library at home! A home library can be established with a very small budget by visiting yard sales and buying used books. Ask your friends for back issues of magazines. Stock your home with reading materials that suit the special interests of your child. Keep the reading materials in a well-lit room with comfortable seating, so that “curling up with a good book” will be physically and emotionally comforting.
Learn About Learning Styles
Many children learn by looking. Many learn by hearing. Some may also need to learn by moving or through actions. Incorporate as many techniques as you can. Initially, when learning letters or words, a child can benefit from flash cards and from hearing a letter or sound or word repeated regularly. Your child may benefit more from leaning phonetics, the sound of letters and letter combinations. Your child may need to trace the letter or word with a finger or bend his or her body into that shape. Try not to overlook any aspect of learning to read.
Teachers and counselors are great resources for ideas and techniques that will match your child’s learning style. Talk to them. Learn from them. Let them teach you to help your child.
Never Miss an Opportunity
Watching a movie or a television show? Read title, credits and words on the screen out loud together!
Buying groceries? Read the nutritional information together.
Going on a trip? Read a map together.
Every day presents thousands of opportunities for you and your child to read together.
But, take it a step further. Ask questions about what your child has read. Ask him or her to explain it to you in their own words. Ask how or why the information is useful.
Also, remember to listen. Listen to the answers. Listen to the questions. If your child asks you a question for which you have no answer, pull a book from the shelf or get on the Internet and look up the answer with your child. Show him or her how reading will inform and satisfy curiosity.
Make Reading Fun
It is important to make reading a pleasurable pastime. Set up family competitions for number of books read or new facts learned after reading. Engage your child in storytelling. Write down the stories he or she tells so that they can read it later. Let them write their stories and illustrate them. Help them make their own books.
The important thing to remember is that every experience should bring some reading practice, but also some personal satisfaction. It is the most important gift that you could give your child.
Parenting Tips
Cut out letters or words from magazines to make posters or signs.
Play board games that require reading cards or instructions.
Encourage your child to keep a diary or journal.
Make cards for special occasions that your child can read or write.
Praise your child for reading.
Gently correct mispronounced words by explaining the phonetics and the meanings.
Turn off the television or tune in to programs that are educational.
Play the “alphabet game” on a trip. Find words on billboards and signs in alphabetical order.
Look for software and electronic games that reinforce reading skills or teach new words.
Let your child read textbooks aloud to you.
Make labels for items around the house to increase vocabulary and encourage reading.
Read the script for a play and act out the parts.
Read lyrics from favorite songs.
Read about the type of pet that you own.
Read the instructions and rules for a favorite sport.
Provide pencil puzzle magazines for your child with a variety of puzzles that are solved by using words.
Read! Read! Read!

21st Century Community Learning Centers of Elmore County Public Schools
Eclectic Middle School Site Director: Mrs. Marcia Stephens 170 South Ann Street Eclectic, AL 36024 334-541-2131
Holtville Middle School Site Director: Mrs. Amy Stewart 655 Bulldog Lane Deatsville, AL 36022 334-569-1596
Millbrook Middle-Junior High School Site Director: Mr. Kenneth Childree 4228 Chapman Road Millbrook, AL 36054 334-285-2100
Wetumpka Middle School Site Director: Mr. Nick Davis 1000 Micanopy Street Wetumpka, AL 36092 334-67-1413
21 CCLC Project Office Project Administrator: Ms. Carol Kelly ECTC - 800 Kelly Fitzpatrick Drive PO Box 817 Wetumpka, AL 36092 334-399-4013
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to after school programs. An initiative of the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND act, the 21CCLC programs of Alabama are supervised and administered by the Federal Programs department of the Alabama State Department of Education.

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It’s Apparent!

Making Your Child
A Reader

Elmore County 21st Century Community Leaning Center Parenting Tips #02