5 Tools to Teach Kids to Read at Home
The ABCs of teaching kids to read
By Deborah Long
prev
1 of
-
iStockphotoThe ABCs of teaching kids to read
If you’re reading this article, chances are you already know how important reading is for children. Getting kids excited about books and learning before they're school-age will help them when they do go to school and, more importantly, it will enrich their lives in boundless ways. We’re sharing 5 of the best tools we’ve found to help build your grandchild's literacy skills and make reading a lifelong habit. All of them are designed to make the learning process fun for you and your grandchild. -
Super Why
Whether or not your grandkids are currently fans of the PBS KIDS series Super Why, designed to help kids ages 3 to 6 with the critical skills they need to learn to read, they’ll love the new DVDs. “Super Why: Around the World Adventure” presents a trio of fun-and-learning packed episodes starring the four fairytale friends who moonlight as reading-powered superheroes. The DVDs also feature bonus materials in the form of interactive games, music videos, printable activity and coloring pages and resources for you to use with your own little superheroes. -
Wonder Box
If hands-on play is your grandchild's style, Wonder Box will mail learning right to his house. Every Wonder Box includes 3 projects hand-picked by experts, and designed to teach early literacy and other skills that children need when they start school. Each featured project, designed to keep children engaged with repeat play, includes all necessary supplies and instructions. We love the "Once Upon a Time" box, with activities that work on reading readiness and imaginative play. Included is a child-sized superhero cape with fabric crayons to decorate it, all the makings for a one-of-a-kind hand puppet, a box full of story cards and a copy of the classic book, Stone Soup. -
Brainy Baby
The DVDs, books, flashcards, learning games and toys from The Brainy Company are great tools to help little ones learn their ABCs and more. Recognized as a pioneer and leader in educational materials for children, The Brainy Company has won more than 75 national awards for excellence for its Brainy Baby line. The company’s mission is to help children develop a love of learning for a lifetime and the quality of their products makes it clear they take this mission seriously. -
Slimy Bookwarm
If you remember reading with your own grandparents, you know it just may be the best tool of all to make kids think of reading as fun. For a great selection of children’s books, check out Slimy Bookworm. You can choose by category and by age to find books that will work perfectly for any grandchild. Another thing we love is that up to 20% of Slimy Bookworm’s profits are used to support literacy programs that give economically disadvantaged kids the joy of exploring the world through reading. -
Montessori Home
The most important thing to know about the Montessori Home Reading Game is that kids love it! It makes learning a game . . . and a mobile game at that. The lessons and questions are designed to build confident, successful readers with a life-long love of learning. The Montessori philosophy centers around children interacting with learning materials that are interesting and reality-oriented, and the Reading Game was created with this in mind. It uses repetition and positive feedback for increased success. -
Book Your Trip Here, and Save!
Grandkids Menu
Hot Topics
Compatibility Horoscope
How well do you get along with your grandchild and other family members? Want to know if your personalities mesh?
Find out here.
Comments
P.S. Of course, it's different if you're raising your grandchildren. Then these decisions are, obviously, totally up to you. And IF you're raising your grands - or watching them frequently, as I do - then I'd also love it if you came over to talk with us in Grandparents Caring for Grandkids. We're in the Community Section of this website. Just click on Community, at the very top of this page and you'll see us on the list of groups that appears! (Other relative caregivers of children are welcome too. As well as former and soon-to-be such caregivers.) Looking forward to meeting you! :-)
I really enjoyed this article! No doubt, some of the ideas suggested here could help me further enrich the time I spend with my grandchildren (whom I watch, frequently, while their mom/my daughter works, etc.), while, at the same time, increasing their learning skills. I plan to discuss these ideas and activities with their mom and explore them further.
My youngest grandchild is already in preschool so I don't think that certain items, such as the Brainy Baby series apply to them. However, I would be cautious about getting something like that for a grandchild w/o talking to the parents first. Some parents are all gung-ho on beginning their child's formal education early but others, as I'm sure we all know, feel that babies need more time to be just, well, babies. In fact, parents might want to check out any one of these products to make sure it meets any criteria THEY might have for the reading and learning materials their kids use. That's why I intend to discuss all this with my daughter b4 making any purchases. And I think other grandparents should check with the parents first, too. Otherwise, I think this is a great article with ideas that really seem worthwhile! Thank you!