Today, I bring you sage words of wisdom from one of my students in the form of a conversation we had several weeks ago. I have known this lovely young girl since she was a struggling first grader. When I first met Jordyn, she arrived on the doorstep of my office as pretty much a […]
“If I Ate Smarties Every Day, I Thought I Would Get Smarter” Read More »
Watch your ‘bs’ and ‘ds’ and “mind your ps and qs”! Notice these are plurals rather than possessives, so no apostrophes! The necklace below symbolizes the p,q,b,d–so look closely (pqbd.org/jewelry), and was inspired by individuals with dyslexia to show support for dyslexia, start conversations, and raise funds for dyslexia organizations. Truth #1: Many children have
My final thoughts on the return to brick and mortar school for our oldest students, ages 13 and up for both parents and these adolescents themselves. This has been so very tough, so I hear from students themselves and so I read–and I have done my share of reading on the subject. Mostly, what I
Last week, I wrote a letter to be read to children (ages 5-about 8) with the intent of validating their true feelings about the return to school after a bit more than a year of either remote and/or hybrid schooling, or for some, brick and mortar schooling amidst the fear and confusion of the pandemic,
I find myself carrying around my iPad, laptop, and/or iPhone all day every day…this is no way to live an authentic life..especially as a child. Who knew that a 6 year old would learn the word ‘mute’ and know how to use a ‘chat box’?
Lo and Behold! I turned the page on my calendar–Pi Day is fast approaching in just a few days!! Every year for as many as I can recall, students brought all kinds of ‘pie’ to me the week of 3/10 or so since my birthday falls on 3/14 each and every year–LOL! Every year, I
What Does Pi Day (𝝅) Have To Do With Language and Literacy? Read More »
Question Posed: How can I help my child learn to spell? Part 2 – Early Elementary Students (and beyond if necessary) As I reread last week’s post, I realized that it was long, heavy on theory, and easy for folks to get ‘lost in the sauce’–time to unpack some of the information. So, for this
Parents Ask: How Can I Help My Child Learn To Spell – Part 2 “Meat and Potatoes” Read More »
PART 1-Early Elementary Students “Reading [decoding…my add] is like breathing in, and writing [spelling…my add] is like breathing out.” Pam Allyn Pam Allyn’s quote refers to the idea of sharing the voices and perspectives of the reader and the writer, but I think it also perfectly captures the reciprocal and interdependent nature of reading and
Parents Ask: How Can I Help My Child Learn to Spell? – Part 1 Read More »
DEAR PARENTS | L TO THE THIRD POWER!! WHO REMEMBERS CHUTES AND LADDERS? I think pretty much everyone or at least most of us. WHAT DOES CHUTES AND LADDERS HAVE TO DO WITH THE ‘COVID SLIDE’? I think pretty much everything. WHAT IS THE ‘COVID SLIDE’? As I wrote on my website (FAQs Section), the
The ‘Covid Slide’: What Does Chutes and Ladders Have To Do With It? Read More »
This is Oliver, the adorable grandson of one of my longtime friends and colleagues, Sharon R. Please do spend literally 1 minute watching this short video. Here it is! This 17 month old provides us with much information we can use as we approach helping our children understand and enjoy language and literacy, and of
“What Does Reading Look Like At 17 Months Old?” Read More »