word consciousness

10 tips for read-aloud learning

March 6, 2012

Hip, hip HOORAY! This week has a little gem of a day hiding inside — World Read Aloud Day! March 7th is World Read Aloud Day, and I stand firmly behind the idea that every child, every person should be able to read.  And who wouldn’t, right? And I’m a huge fan of reading aloud–with [...]

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learning during read-alouds: oral language development

September 12, 2011

Sometimes, simple is better.  Sometimes, more choices make us more confused. If Maddy, Owen, and Cora were shown an amazing pallet of face paints and were able to choose anything in the world they wanted designed on their cheeks or arms, I’m betting they’d all balk. Either it would take 30 minutes for them to [...]

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trying tapas: rockville restaurant week (& giveaway!)

September 7, 2011

For the last few days, Cora and I have read Susan Middleton Elya’s Bebé Goes Shopping more times than I can count. In the story, Mamá y Bebé take a trip to the supermercado, and along the way. . . . . . [j]ust as Mamá is ready to throw up her manos, she gives [...]

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breakfast time reading: cereal boxes and more

July 21, 2011

It all started with Gorilla Munch, and it ended with a ton of reading about adopting gorillas, thanks to a box of cereal and three curious kids. Sure, we’re doing a lot of book reading this summer–in between swim and dive practices, trips to museums and splash parks, and just hanging out, doing nothing summertime-style. [...]

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gettting ready for kindergarten: summertime prep

July 16, 2011

We’re almost exactly at the mid-summer point, and before we know it, the new school year will be upon us. Ahhhhhhh! So with my sweet Owen heading off to the wilds of Kindergarten this year (wah!), I thought it would be worthwhile to share a few things we’re doing over here to get our big [...]

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a word a day: getting the family involved

July 9, 2011

Maddy, Owen, and Cora have loved the Word a Day we’ve been doing for the past two weeks–more than I anticipated and much to my surprise.  It’s been funny to see which kiddo is the first to remember to flip the card or ask how to pronounce the word as we’re throwing back cereal on [...]

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word a day: creating word conscious, word happy kids

June 27, 2011

Our very first day of the Smart Summer Challenge found us lazying around at home because Owen returned from swim and dive feeling really under the weather. So while he caught up on some telly and gave his body a rest, Maddy, Cora, and I did some reading, puzzles, and organizing. But before our plans [...]

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a game for practicing spelling, sight words, or letters: WORDO!

May 26, 2011

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, we’re all getting antsy for summer. So I’ve had to be super crafty during our work time in order to keep Maddy, Owen, and Cora engaged and excited.  As I’ve said before, most days I go with whatever Owen and Cora are up for doing, but [...]

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learning during read-alouds: word consciousness

May 3, 2011

We shouldn’t try to fill every second of our children’s lives with learning and lessons; our kiddos really do need time for free play indoors or out in the fresh air every single day. However, it never hurts to sneak in a little-teeny lesson during read-alouds, especially since many of us read to our children [...]

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creating word-conscious kids

July 28, 2010

A portion of this article was originally posted by me on ABC & 123 on 5/17/10. Just the way that some people will notice a kite in the sky, a new bird in the backyard, or a pattern of numbers on a sign, others have an ear for words. We can–and should–help our children to [...]

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farm-full of rich vocabulary words

February 25, 2010

I always cringe when I hear parents talking in baby voices and using baby words when interacting with their not-so-babyish children. Or other people’s not-so-babyish children, especially once those kiddos are out of Baby Bjorns and are walking, jumping, feeding themselves, and hanging up their own coats at preschool. I usually bite my tongue, but [...]

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