You can help your child develop a love for reading by reading out loud to him or her regularly. Research shows that reading together just 30 minutes a day significantly increases your child’s reading ability.

Another important activity for promoting literacy is using the library. Get a library card for each child and go often to select new books. Check with the librarian to find what is appropriate for your child’s grade and reading level. Take the time to look at your daily activities and help your child see the connection to reading and writing. Cooking, reading food labels, playing word games, and writing stories can be helpful, too.

For children who don’t read much, it might take time to get used to reading aloud, and later, silent reading. Give it the time it deserves. You may get tired of reading the same stories again and again, but it is that repetition that is so important for your child.

Children see adults around them writing and reading messages, notes, articles or books. This often makes them want to say their ideas out loud so you can write them down. At preschool age or older, children begin to write, using their own invented spelling or best guess. They understand that writing helps them share important information and experiences. It is less important for children to spell the words right than it is to enjoy the experience. Correct spelling can happen a little later.

Language and Reading Activities

Here are some easy language and reading activities to do together with children at home or at school.

At home:

·      read the mail and let children have what you do not need

·    browse together through catalogs

·    keep a family calendar with messages and reminders

·    send birthday and other special occasion cards with personal notes

·    create a family library of magazines, newspapers and books

·    save a space at the kitchen table for drawing and writing

·    have your child tell a story as you write it down

·    read books with your child

For the store:

·    write shopping lists and clip coupons

·    discuss recipes and ingredients

·    read food labels and containers (children love cereal boxes)

·    read words on birthday cakes

Other places:

·    go to the library, yard sales and school fundraisers for sources of books

·    read the names and numbers on athletes’ shirts

·    get library cards for your family and go every few weeks

Creating A Special Place

You can encourage your child to include reading and writing in his or her activities by providing a special place. You might have a child-sized table or desk and low, open shelves, but a designated chair at the kitchen table can work well, too. A nearby bulletin board to display finished work is a good idea. Here are some suggested materials to have available:

·                  magnet boards with alphabet numbers and letters

·                  magnetic poetry

·                  chalkboards and chalk

·                  alphabet and number tiles

·                  puzzles

·                  stamps and stamp pads

·                  clipboards and file folders

·                  envelopes and paper (different sizes and colors, lined  and unlined)

·                  junk mail, catalogues, magazines, coupons

·                  mailbag or mailbox (recycle an old handbag or shoebox)

·                  pencils (regular and colored) and pens

·                  crayons and markers (nontoxic, thick and thin)

·                  paints and brushes

·                  magic slates

·                  bookbinding materials (stapler, hole punch, yarn, scissors)

·                  ready-made blank books

Source:  The Daily Parent, Vol. 8. The Daily Parent Online

Referencing the Final Report of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008), summit attendees reviewed various math programs’ strengths and weaknesses and explored successful methods used in the United States and by countries that performed well on TIMMS, with the goal of adopting best practices from around the globe, raising math interest, and making math an integral part of school culture. Michael J. Connelly, Mosaica’s Chief Executive Officer, announced the rationale at the beginning of the summit: “Literacy and numeracy are the twin tools for international success on the global stage of the 21st century. Our schools are committed to high levels of student achievement and the development of life-long learners who are comfortable participating on that stage. Following our Literacy Summit, which launched our highly successful Literacy Initiative two years ago, this Math Summit is the both the culmination of years of research and planning and the beginning of the implementation phase.”

As a result of the decisions taken at the summit, Mosaica Education will implement a system-wide Math Initiative beginning in the fall of 2009. This initiative focuses on placing Math Coaches in every school, increasing the number of high-quality math teachers at every grade, exploring ways to offer alternative certifications to math teachers coming from science and industry, and bringing math specialists to upper elementary grades. The initiative will also adjust the daily schedule to allow for 90 minutes of uninterrupted math in all grades; provide additional professional development for teachers to cultivate confident implementation of the new program; develop math clubs and competitions in all schools; and – perhaps most importantly – ensure that learning math will be FUN!

Dr. Dawn Eidelman, Mosaica’s Co-Founder and President of its Paragon Division commented, “The beauty of our new initiative is that it will augment project-based learning by linking mathematics more integrally to the history of great ideas and great people in world culture through our Paragon curriculum. To innovate purposefully and to design the future, we must build upon the lessons from our past.”