Read The Children’s Literacy Series

understanding how children learn to read

Here are ten articles from my Children’s Literacy Series to help you understand the process of how children learn to read. Most reading difficulties might be avoided if we as parents and teachers knew the importance of the right kind of preparation for reading we could offer to our young children. If you have a […]


The Importance Of The Hand In Language Development

hand language development

Why does your tongue stick out when you are trying to thread a needle? For most of us, when we are doing a job with our hands that requires fine motor control, such as threading a needle, our tongues will stick out involuntarily as we concentrate on the task at hand. It is as if […]


How Singing Helps Reading

singing helps reading

My earliest memory of reading is singing from the Baptist hymnal. I remember being four-and-a-half, standing next to my mother, moving my finger under each hyphenated syllable as we sang. This was a new honor, as my mother had always done that job. Now I could do it! I know that singing with the hymnal […]


Solving The Read Aloud Blues

read aloud blues

Kitchen Scene: Mom and Dad are getting dinner ready after a busy day. Soccer practice is in 45 minutes. Enter six-year-old with book.  “Mom! Dad! I have to read ten pages out loud to you tonight for homework!”  Mom and Dad look at each other and sigh.  Perhaps you have sat painfully listening to your […]


Preparing The Hand To Write

how to help with spelling

Six-year-old Michael had his head down on his writing paper, shoulders heaving with sobs. “I can’t do it. It’s too hard.” I knew he was right. It was too hard for him. As a teacher, I know and believe the more children write, the higher their reading level becomes. What would help him start to […]


Why Teach Two Alphabets When One Will Do?

why teach two alphabets

“What’s this word?” my students ask. “Oh, you know it.” I reply. “No, I don’t.” Then I give them the secret. “What if I told you it started with a capital letter?” For the beginning reader, we add an unnecessary difficulty to learning the letters and their sounds by introducing fifty-two letters when twenty-six is […]


Obstacles To Reading

obstacles to reading

“My child is 7 years old and is not reading.”“Help! My child is ten years old and is reading on a second grade level”.“My 7th grader is making D’s and F’s. What can I do?” Over the years, many parents have asked for my help with their children’s academic progress. Time after time, the children […]


The Steps To Reading

steps to reading

“It’s just a miracle!” parents exclaim. “Our son is five years old and he’s reading.” When children begin to read, it does seem miraculous. Remember when your child began to talk? It seemed as if one day she couldn’t say a word and the next day she could, then you could never get her to […]


What? Don’t Teach The ABCs?

don't teach the abc's

Don’t teach your children their abc’s,” I tell surprised parents of three-year-olds. “They’ll learn their abc’s later, but to be wonderful readers they need to learn something else first.” Most of us learned the letter names, as we sang our “abc’s” (aye-bee-sees). To learn to read faster and more efficiently, help your children learn the […]


Reading Begins At Birth

reading begins at birth

Avoid the trap of thinking that the road to reading for your child will begin in kindergarten. Parents tell me, “Oh, I’m too busy. I’ll just let my child learn to read in first grade.” For many children important skills for reading are not developed at the time of their lives when it is the […]