FAMILY READING HOUR

Mar 192010
 
Reading to Zachary

Reading to Zachary (Photo credit: hoyasmeg)

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

It’s great when children read about subjects that really interest them. Their knowledge and vocabulary expand. Kids start to read eagerly when they see their parents reading eagerly. So sit down and enjoy doing that together!

Here’s an activity to try:

1) Plan a family time when you make independent reading important (when each person reads something they choose on their own).

A weekend evening may work well, or try it on a slow summer day, after a holiday meal, on a rainy day, or when someone’s recovering from the flu and you want to keep things a little quiet.

2) Invite family members to bring what they want to read to the same room and get comfortable.

They might bring a magazine, a comic book, a novel, a newspaper, a technical manual, a cookbook, an atlas, a non-fiction work, a book about animals, a hobby manual, or anything else appropriate. Turn off the TV or radio.

3) Let everyone know that you’ll be spending at least half-an-hour together in the room, with each person quietly reading what interests them. If you have a child who is too young to read, let them look at a picture book.

4) After the quiet reading time, invite each person to talk about what they read, saying whatever they want to say. And if someone gets stuck or doesn’t know what to say, you can ask:

  • What’s something that you learned?
  • What did you notice?
  • What was the best thing about what you read?

5) You may want to serve a snack after the reading time.

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Family Reading Hour supports the English-Language Arts Content Standards related to reading comprehension, literary response, and delivery of oral communication.

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

Coffee with the Stars

Feb 092010
 

Someone once told me that reading What Kids Need was like having a chance to have a cup of coffee with some very successful people and ask them how they learned their life lessons.

Besides being a neat compliment, that comment got me thinking about successful people I’d like to meet.  Since I’m not always able to snap my fingers and get ‘up close and personal’ with people I’d like to meet, I read about them.  I watch movies based on true stories.  I subscribe  to some blogs and lists that inspire, provoke or intrigue me.

I have heard a number of good speakers talk about convening an ‘advisory council’ in their minds. I like this technique.  I’ve heard it recommended  it as part of a creative process like goal-setting and problem-solving.  I’ve taught it to people in workshops who say they want help staying motivated to achieve something important in their lives.

Who are people –living or dead — that you admire?  If you could sit with them, away from crowds and lights and media, what would you ask?  What advice do you think they would offer you, either in general or regarding a specific situation?  When you picture yourself getting their advice, is it in a one-to-one conversation?  Or, do you all sit down around a meeting table and hash things out?

Some people are able to visualize lively discussions with Abe Lincoln taking one point of view and Susan Boyle representing another.  They find it a helpful way to challenge their own thoughts about a plan or a decision.

If that doesn’t come across as well in a blog as it does in person (and I understand it might not) you might want to ask yourself what you are doing to expand your thinking.  Picturing conversations with well-known people and reading biographies is one way…. but there are many others.  Travel (even exploring local resources) is one way.  Trying something new, with or without taking a course, is another.

Other people can change our thoughts.  And no matter how good I think they are, my thoughts usually have room for improvement.  I never know who is going to make them better — or how I’ll get to ‘meet’ them.

SPECIAL POWER

Jan 152010
 
Cinderella -Fairy Godmother -Maris Anderson -1893

Cinderella -Fairy Godmother -Maris Anderson -1893 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

Often fairytale, book, or film characters have special powers A fairy godmother can turn pumpkins into coaches and mice into horses, and Superman can fly. Kids enjoy imagining they too might have a special power that could help them solve problems and help others. It gives them a chance to think about how they’d like the world to be. This activity can lead to talking about what kids really can do through their strengths and abilities, which are their real ‘special powers.’ Here are several ways to do this:

First read a story or book that has a character with a special power  like Cinderella, The Cat in the Hat , Harry Potter , The Phantom Toll Booth , or any such story. Then choose one or more of the ideas below.

1) Ask your child how having that special power helped the character. Then ask, “If you had a special power what would it be?” Let them tell you what they would do with that special power. What would be fun and what would be hard about having it? Encourage the child to make up or write a story about having a special power.    OR

2) Invite your child to imagine the character with special power was his or her friend. Then ask, “What would happen in our house if ___ walked in?”   OR

3) Ask your child to tell you what special power they would like YOU, the grown-up, to have. This could lead to a lively discussion. Let them talk about why they’d want you to have that power and what they would want you to do with it. Then you and your children can make a list of the real strengths and powers they have such as friendliness, courage, curiosity, humor, honesty, perseverance, cooperativeness, and imagination. Hearing these words helps kids develop a rich vocabulary and a strong sense of their abilities.

Special Power supports the English-Language Arts Content Standards related to reading comprehension, narrative analysis, oral explanation, and inferential thinking.

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Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

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