I remember learning to read.  I used the Dick, Jane and Spot books.

They were word picture association books with three words on each page.  They were perfect for learning to read. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0448434113/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0448434040&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=06PHQAY1K1PBZATNZ3NM

http://www.amazon.com/Read-Dick-Jane-Go/dp/0448434059/ref=pd_sim_b_1

I think part of the problem for parents is that we are not professional teachers, who specialize in teaching children how to read and we might be using the “wrong” books to help our children learn to read.  As an author and publisher, I am shocked by the number of books that are labeled as “early reading” and yet are not using the appropriate “early reading” vocabulary by age group.   I love Dr. Seuss books!! They are fun and engaging and full of repetition and rhyming patterns, but unless they are part of the early reading series from Dr. Seuss, they are not always the best choice for word picture association and learning to read.  WHY? Because word association doesn’t always work with Dr. Seuss; he uses silly off-the-wall rhymes that don’t add up in a child’s head.  They would not automatically put together green eggs and ham, unless they already knew the book and the rhyme.   

Top tips for helping kids learn to read. 

1. Empower kids into the process with simple “early reading” books that use word picture association and stress word/picture connections.
2. Practice getting kids to draw one page word picture association, such as draw:  Tom has apples. 
3. Getting them to make the connection and guess what the next word is – Tom has…they can see the apples so they can say, apples.
4. Play games to get children to guess word association: if I say peanut butter, you say: __________.
5. Practice, practice, practice with the early learning books that specialize in word picture association and using words in the early learning vocabulary. 
6. Make it fun with lots of picture books with repetition and rhyming patterns that are geared to “early reading”. 
7. Read out loud time makes for better students.  Studies have shown that preschoolers who have frequent read–aloud time with their parents have stronger language skills later in life—including higher reading, spelling and IQ scores at age 13.

Have you pledged to help a child learn to read?  Visit www.target.com/reading to do your part to change our world!

MrsP.com Releases First Interactive Fairy Tale Book

Kids Learn Reading Skills in Conjunction with Free Website

MrsP.com, the popular, award-winning children’s storytelling website, announced the publication today of its first interactive storybook, which uses Internet technology in a new way to help kids learn to read.  Mrs. P’s Four Favorite Fairy Tales and Funny Stories collects in book form stories and introductions available on video at the free website and at the iTunes Store.  Children will be able to follow along in the book as Mrs. P, played by The Drew Carey Show star Kathy Kinney, reads the stories with them.

“I’m very proud of Mrs. P’s new book because of its unique ability to help young readers improve their skills,” said Kinney. “Children and parents can open the book and read along with me at my website.  We even have a Magic Dictionary at MrsP.com, so if kids comes across a word they don’t know, they can just pause the video and easily find out what it means.” 

Studies have shown one of the most productive ways for children to improve their reading skills, particularly for learning ‘sight words,’ is to see the words as they are read to.  “Everyone’s worried about the Internet making books and reading obsolete.  We’ve found a wonderful way to make them work together,” Kinney said. 

The new book includes “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” features 90 original color illustrations and offers new, comic introductions to the stories from Mrs. P. 

“Mrs. P’s Four Favorite Fairy Tales and Funny Stories” will be available to the public at Amazon and other booksellers across the country via online ordering.  Additional information, including a downloadable flyer, can be found at http://www.mrsp.com/Purchase.aspx

Ten percent of all MrsP.com’s after-tax profits from these sales will be donated by Mrs. P Enterprises, LLC to literacy organizations.

“Mrs. P’s Four Favorite Fairy Tales and Funny Stories”

ISBN: 978-0-615-39355-1 Binding: Paperback Trim: Color 8.5 x 8.5 in Pages: 126  and over 90 original color illustration Genre: Juvenile Fiction: Fairy Tales & Folklore – Anthologies Target Audience: Children ages 4 to 10

Cover Price: $19.95

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Favorite-Fairy-Tales-Funny-Stories/dp/0615393551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288744154&sr=1-1

Also see Mrs. P’s special video about her new book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKFak9xSmUQ

Photos and other info about Mrs. P can be found at her press site. http://www.press.mrsp.com/

we were inside the live studio audience for the reaction to “Waiting for ‘Superman’”. 

This is a must see for every parent, student who is old enough to watch a PG rated move, teacher, educator, administrator involved in education!!  This film illustrates that our potential success, the future of prosperity in American and generations to come is in crisis.  Warning:  the film from Davis Guggenheim, the maker of “An Inconvenient Truth” shares the grim and depressing news that our current public educational system has been failing since 1970 and spending more and more money has not made any significant difference!   It fuels the debate on whether it was our failing schools that lead to the downfall of our neighborhoods or was it the downfall of our neighborhoods that lead to our failing schools?

Guggenheim shares the plight of five compelling children who are hungry and eager to learn but stuck inside the walls of a failing public school.  We learn the heart-breaking saga of Anthony, Daisy, Bianca, Emily and Francisco. They all have dreams and goals.  They all agree escaping public schools is the only option for each of them to succeed.  The film also highlights renegade reformer and Superman, Geoffrey Canada, who tried and failed to change the public school system.  So he started his own Charter School, The Harlem Children’s Zone, where his educators start with a child and family at birth and stay with them until they graduate from college.  We are also introduced to the KIPP Academy, another successful Charter School but we are also told in the movie that many Charter Schools are also failing schools.  We meet another superhero, Michelle Rhee and her battle to change the system by cutting the central office and firing bad principals and teachers who were ineffective inside an already failing system.  She found education to be more about the needs of the adults.  Michelle Rhee’s days are numbered at the top of DC’s public schools. Soon she will be another victim of a system who is resistance to eliminating bad tenured teachers and moving to a pay for performance incentive for teachers to excel.  The educational system believes that no teacher should be left behind regardless of performance.  

As a student inside a public school in America, maybe you are not surprised by these finding because you have already seen those cracks in education inside your own school.  Maybe you have had more than a few horrible teachers, been tested on things no one ever took the time to teach, or have seen your favorite teacher disrupted and overwhelmed by the same three kids who should have been suspended years ago!  Maybe you are that teacher who is tired of trying to reform a system that is intolerant of change or maybe you work with that teacher who is stumping those 25 minds in math leaving them 6 months behind grade level? 

You can’t go by what the critics have said about this movie because many have inconveniently missed the truth about “Waiting for ‘Superman’”.  Many fabulous educators have tried to change the system.  They couldn’t because the top tiers of education, those who are paid the most to care about education, care more about protecting their own jobs.  They have enabled a powerful ally in the teachers union with the stance all teachers should be protected regardless of performance.  Thus Guggenheim’s agenda is simple:  to create a firestorm so hot that it smolders and burns down the current failing and crumbling foundation of education.  The goal is that failure is not an option and we need an uprising so big that change is the only solution.  It is not about teacher bashing it is about a system that needs to crumble from the top. 

The only way for Guggenheim to succeed in his quest for change was to keep it simple.  He did.  The film does not get into the politics of the issues; it is not about blaming teachers but a system that is set up to fail; the fight between public and charter; the need for special needs; teaching to each child; healthy lunches; exercising during gym; national standards on the table that are still immeasurable; and endless other areas that are all important issues in education.  Had the film introduced all the issues the masses would have had a field day debating these issues instead of fighting as a united force and a catalyst for change starting at the top of education.

The Oprah Show audience was made up of parents, teachers and school administrators many electrified, outraged and on fire for change! As Cory Booker, Newark, New Jersey Mayor said best, every day as children recite the pledge of allegiance in schools across this nation they are not telling the truth as they end the pledge: with liberty and justice for all.  Where is the justice that the success of our kids will be determined by the bounce of a lottery ball?

I cried at the injustice of living in the greatest country in the world, in the land of freedom and opportunity, yet the hypocrisy for these families and millions more comes down to a bounce of a ball? In the film, Anthony has the best odds of that lottery ball being his ticket out of his failing public school.  He is among 64 kids who vie for 24 spots and Francisco has the worst odds with 792 applicants for 40 spots.  Francisco’s mom broke my heart when she said, “That ball could mean the difference between my son graduating from college or going to jail.”  It is actually cheaper on the taxpayer’s burden to send a child to college that it is to send them to jail.  We owe it to our bottom line to help all children succeed. 

We have enabled this to happen by being compliant and by allowing the inside of our classrooms to become stripped of power and personnel; breaking the foundation of learning and adding more layers to insulate the top tiers of education. The fate of our country will not be decided on a foreign battlefield it will be determined in a battle over who controls the classroom.  Many leaders such as Bill Gates believe that if we continue to settle for failing schools we will not be providing competitive skilled workers to operate in the highest paying jobs in our country changing our world dominance. This move has already been happening in the leadership positions in Corporate America; those highest paid American jobs in America are not being filled with Americans.  

So what does that mean for your future, your schools future and the future of America? The movie says we can’t wait for Superman.  We have to all rise up and be mini super heroes inside each and every school across our great land. How can we unite students, parents and caregivers, along with teacher and educators who want change?  We have to work together to revamp education and put the power back inside our classrooms.  What are you willing to do?  Are you willing to move from the sidelines and take action by working within your own school to demand change? The only solution is for the students, the parents and caregivers and the educators to all come together with a united voice and demand change!

As was announced on Oprah’s show, it has galvanized Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Democratic Newark Mayor, Cory Booker to put politics aside to start from the bottom and build a model for the rest of the nation to follow.  Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg likes it and has agreed to donate $100 million to inspire others to get involved.  So here is another opportunity for you to be involved, how would you structure education in this New Jersey Public School model and why not find a sponsor for your school to excel your students to the top of the global map?  Or are you waiting for ‘Superman’…?

I wish everyone a successful and lovely school year!!

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

Want to choose a character to be in the next Cynthia’s Attic book? Here’s how!

Listed at http://cynthiasattic.blogspot.com/2010/07/choose-character-for-cynthias-attic.html are 10 Cynthia’s Attic characters the author, Mary Cunningham, is considering for a recurring role in Book Five. Leave a comment with your choice and an explanation as to why you think the character deserves to return. Mary choose one winner based on the most compelling reason.

What do you win? First is the Cynthia’s Attic book of your choice. You can wait for Book Five (title coming soon!) or you can choose one of the first four titles. Now for the really fun part. If your character and comment is chosen, you’ll also become a character in the book!

Click Here for More Information!

• Choose a quiet time for reading to your child, as in before a nap, bedtime, or after dinner.
• Choose a special place for family reading, like a comfortable chair or pillows piled on the floor.
• Let your child select the book for you to read aloud.
• Hold the book so that she or he can see the pictures. If possible, also let her or him turn the pages.
• Take time to look at and talk about the pictures. Don’t just read the story: talk about it. Let your child point out letters, shapes, colors, and animals.

Click Here to read more…

Parents and other family members need to be involved in children’s reading throughout their school years. Schools recognize the importance of parent involvement in students’ progress and are increasingly encouraging parents to play a more active role.

Click Here to read more…

I will never forget the day I was finally hooked on reading. I was blessed by the presence of my friend Mary Isham one day in 9th grade.

Yes, you read it right. It took me until 9th grade to finally love reading. I wasn’t a born a reader, nor was a child-bookworm.

Even my school librarian knew I dreaded school assignments that forced me to check out books and report on a particular subject—or any subject at all. I was not a struggling reader, but I never found an interest to read anything beyond my homework assignments; which had too much reading in and of itself.

So, back to that glorious day in 9th grade…

I was walking into the school library and noticed my friend Mary Isham having an animated conversation, mostly to herself, as she openly expressed her concerns with the librarian. She was a cute and bubbly girl, dressed in her cheerleading outfit for the big game that night and seemed to be having some sort of problem.

I walked closer and overheard Mary tragically exclaim, “I can’t bear to part with it, I just can’t, you know.  I can’t stand the thought of it being put back on the shelf and no one reading it – I have checked it out three times and have read it over and over for weeks and the thought of it all alone waiting for someone to read it makes me sad.”  Mary spots me walking in and gushes, “Stacey save me!  This is such a great book and I have to turn it in today and I hate to see it sitting on the shelf alone, please, please take it and check it out…it is such a great book.”

I remember her words vividly.

That was it! 

I couldn’t believe that someone could love a book so much that she was having such a dramatic scene about returning it to the library,

So, I figured it must be good, right?  As pleaded, I took the book and checked it out.  I went home, rushed to my room, and opened its first page. I was hooked!

I even missed the football game that night.

When it was time to return it, I checked out another Victoria Holt romance book and the librarian smiled as to say something about that being a life changing event for me.

I didn’t appreciate it until now. Yes, being hooked on reading became a life-changing event for me.

Thank you Mary Isham!

What’s your favorite book? What title can cause you to get dramatic and overly-animated?

Well, whatever book it is, please introduce that book to your child, friend, family member or co-worker.

You never know, it might be a life-changing event for them too!

Copyright 2007-2009 – Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Care to share your favorite book with us?  What about a favorite author or series?  Reading can be a wonderful life-altering experience; the right book can be the key that unlocks the door.

Getting your child ready to read is getting your child ready to succeed in school. Schools deliver 85% of the curriculum using printed words in books, written words on chalkboards/white-boards and digitized words on computer screens. Reading is the most fundamental skill your child will use during his or her 12-20 years as a student. This sections suggests age appropriate activities and books for your baby, toddler and preschool child. It also recommends books to enjoy with your child during the early years of elementary school.

Click Here to read more…