Mid-week Morsel: Reading Resources for All Year Long

Although Reading Month is coming to an end, that doesn't mean it's time to stop reading.  Quite the opposite, actually.  This week's Mid-week Morsel features three websites to keep your youngsters excited about reading all year long.  Starfall has online games and activities for children learning their abc's all the way up to reading short stories.  Reading Rockets is more of a website for you, to give you information about ways to help your child become a better reader.  They have book lists, FAQ about reading, articles, and many other reading resources.  If you would like to do more research on your own, the Florida Reading Association has a long list of reading websites for you to check out.  As usual, the sites I've recommended above are free resources.  However, there are several good subscription based websites and paid programs out there for helping your child read, ReadingA-Z, All About Reading, Reading Eggs, and Click-N-Read to name a few.

Letters and Letter Sounds Free eBook

As I've mentioned already, March is reading month.  The first step in reading is learning to recognize each letter and the sounds it makes.  When my daughter was learning to read, I had trouble finding materials that were both useful and affordable.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on materials.  After all, as soon as my daughter mastered one concept, she lost interest in the material teaching it as she was already working hard on learning the next concept.  I sat down at my computer and, using Microsoft Word & Microsoft Picture It, I began writing my own books and creating my own manipulatives for her.  Here is the first book on the way to reading, Letter Sounds and Letter Signs.  I made up a song (sung to the tune of Where is Thumbkin?) using the primary sound each letter makes (which means all vowels are short), and included the American Sign Language sign for each letter to make the book more fun and interactive. Each page also includes a picture of both the upper and lower case letter, and a picture of something that begins with that letter sound.  Please note that when your child sings the song, the red and blue letters represent letter sounds, not letter names.  Finally, I have to say a special thanks to my dad for helping me get this converted from Word to PDF.  Thanks, Daddio!  You're the best!  I hope you all enjoy it.  Let me know what you think.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Dyslexia Resources

As I mentioned in my previous post, A Seusserful Day!, March is National Reading Month.  Dyslexia is a learning disability often overlooked when young children are struggling to learn to read and write.  Diagnosing dyslexia early can help prevent children from getting behind in their learning, and more importantly, from loosing their self-esteem and desire to learn. Lexercise offers online testing and services to help children with reading, writing, and spelling disorders such as dyslexia and dysgraphia.  Maureen at Spell Out Loud uses Lexercise with her daughter and has written a comprehensive review of Lexercise.  If your child or a child you know is struggling to read, write, and spell, use Lexercise's free online dyslexia test to see if dyslexia could be the cause.  

A Seusserful Day!

"It's [the] Day of all Days!  It's the Best of the Best!  So don't waste a minute!  Hop to it!  Get dressed!"  Today is the day that fills me with mirth.  Today is the day of Dr. Suess' birth!  Theodor Geisel was born in 1904.  In 1991, he was no more.  He saw and fulfilled a fantastical need.  He made it fun for children to read.  He gave us The Lorax, Thing One, and Thing Two.  He brought to life poor Mayzie McGrew.  So spring to your feet and grab a good book.  Then gather some friends and give it a look.  For March is the month to celebrate reading.  Put kids on their path to the land of succeeding.  Put a love for good books deep in their hearts. Here are some links to give you a start.

A brief biography of Theodor Geisel from the Dr. Seuss National Memorial

Random House Children's Books' Suessville

Seussville's Read Across America Information

PBSkids' The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That

Mary Crystal Williams' Partying with Dr. Seuss Pinterest Board

Dr. Seuss themed games and puzzles by Wonder Forge

Offers for Dr. Seuss related items from Offer.com

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  “You're off to Great Places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting,  So... get on your way!”  

Karissa