Follow my adventure to Rwanda - with 3 time Olympian Tracy Evans of KidsPlayIntl (see Kids Play Intl) - working with orphans to teach them about sports...
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By HipMomsGuide, on February 6th, 2012
By Kirsetin Morello
“Studies show that if you reward people for doing an activity, they often stop doing it for fun; being paid turns it into ‘work.’” So says Gretchen Rubin in her runaway bestseller, The Happiness Project. She even mentions reading. “Parents, for example, are warned not to pay children for reading—they’re teaching kids to read for a reward,” she says, “not for pleasure.”
 Which begs the question: as long as they’re reading, does it matter?
I have to side with Gretchen on this one. Yes, I think it matters.
With reading, as with much of education, it seems essential to begin with the end in mind. I don’t know anyone who births a beautiful baby boy and thinks, “I sure hope this kid has good Lexile scores.” We might think, “I hope he enjoys Shakespeare one day,” or “I hope he adores Steinbeck as much as I do,” but Lexile scores? Not so much. It’s unlikely they have any role in our hopes and dreams for our bundle of joy.
But then the years fly by and our little guy grows up and goes to kindergarten. Sometimes he’s already reading. Yay for Junior! Sometimes he’s sounding out words. Hooray! And sometimes, he’s still snuggled up next to us, listening to us read to him. Then what? Should we cheer? Or worry? Is it time for us to invest in Hooked on Phonics?
I vote for “cheer.” After all, few things are more precious than snuggling up with your son and reading a book.
If your son isn’t sounding out words, you can certainly help him. There are lots of steps you can take to encourage him. Use learn-to-read strategies like following along with your finger and sounding out words together. But most importantly, keep reading to him. Don’t take the fun out of the story and turn reading into a grind. He’ll get there, eventually. Some kids just take longer than others. But with steady instruction and encouragement, most kids end up doing just fine. It doesn’t really matter what, or even if, he’s reading by himself when he’s 5. What matters is whether he’ll love reading when he’s 25.
About the Author: Kirsetin Morello is a mom to 3 boys, a freelance writer, and the author of I Want to Teach My Child About Media. She spends the rest of her time laughing with girlfriends, attempting tree pose, and on the basketball court. Find her thoughts about parenting and life at http://www.hipmomsguide.com/
Photo by Daehyun Park
By Tara, on February 3rd, 2012
Your daily dose of sunshine!
Photo by D Sharon Pruitt
By Renee, on February 2nd, 2012
By Renee Martinez
I wear glasses for reading, so I have an annual eye exam. Last year when I made an appointment for my yearly eye exam, I thought it might be a good idea to make one for the boys as well. I wasn’t expecting them to find anything, but I thought why . . . → Read More: Annual Eye Exams
By Beth Sanborn, on February 1st, 2012
By Beth Sanborn of Far From Camelot
My son does some pretty amazing acts outside the home. Mainly towards his parents, he acts more like a disrespectful 12 year old rather than an eager 2 year old. His light really seems to shine when we are out in public. It leaves me totally frustrated . . . → Read More: Who Do You Parent For?
By Renee, on January 31st, 2012
By Renee Martinez
I read a study that tracked women from pregnancy through their child’s first five years of life and found ”factors that place children at higher risk for obesity begin at infancy, and in some cases, during pregnancy”. Their research points out some risk factors, such as poor feeding practices, insufficient sleep and . . . → Read More: Soda and Obesity
By Renee, on January 30th, 2012
By Renee Martinez
I have a very exciting meeting today with someone regarding as an interesting opportunity. I’ve never met him face to face so of course I want to look nice, which frankly as someone who works from home is not a necessity in my normal daily life. Well, yesterday I had maybe . . . → Read More: Sometimes, you just have to laugh
By LisaTravels, on January 26th, 2012
In my ongoing articles about our summer European adventure with our two sons (8 and 10), the next leg of journey I’d like to share with you was our time spent in Southern Germany. We went to visit students we had hosted in our home while they studied English. They had experienced Canada through our . . . → Read More: Gutten Tag Germany
By Renee, on January 25th, 2012
Written by Renee Martinez I think I have MRSI (Mental Repetitive Stress Injury). I know, according to doctors “Mental Repetitive Stress Injury” is not a real injury, but it should be. It’s hard to avoid when you have children. It could be called the “Stay at Home Parents of Young Children Disorder” or the . . . → Read More: Mental Repetitive Stress Injury
By BoysAlive, on January 24th, 2012
A blindfold slips over the boy’s eyes as he is guided to a stump in the deep woods. The last rays of the sun touch his shoulders as the night chill descends. And then the night noises begin…and continue…and come closer…and get louder…
Throughout the cold night, the boy sits wrestling with the sometimes . . . → Read More: The Rites of Passage
By Noah Kaufman Ph.D. FACPN ABPdN, on January 23rd, 2012
There are many positive things I can say about the benefits of sports for youth, much of which has already been said. For the interested parent, read almost anything written by Dr. Larry Leith, who has done a great job reviewing the literature on the link between exercise and mental health. Beyond that, it . . . → Read More: Potential Benefits of Competitive Sports for Boys
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