I often hear fascinating things in my classes that I want to share with you all, but then I never remember to actually share the info! We learn SO many things that I think, "Every parent needs to know this." I am not really feeling inspired to type much right now as I am rather tired after this week and being sick. But I did want to share one little tidbit before I forget again.
This is super important. Every child should have 1000 books read to them before they enter kindergarten!
Yes, 1000. For some families, that is a breeze. They will read a few thousand before that point. For other families, it's more like a reality check. It doesn't necessarily have to be 1000 different books, but the more variety, the better. If you can get 1000 different books, that is the BEST.
If they don't have that many books read to them before kindergarten, they will likely start out behind everyone else and will be scrambling to try to catch up. Basically, they can't really start to learn to read until they have had those 1000 books read to them. If they haven't before they enter kindergarten, they will have to use the books the teacher reads to them to count towards their 1000 while the other kids will already be zooming onto the next level.
Clearly, 1000 isn't a magic number, and they will suddenly just know how to read. But it's a good estimate to strive for.
Oh, and another thing that seems so common sense...TALK to your child! Hello! It seems like a "duh" statement. But it's so sad to see the kids who don't get daily interaction at home or anywhere else. They come to kindergarten and are totally lost socially. I had several kids in my class over J-term in that situation. They weren't talked to much at home, so they didn't understand how to carry on a conversation or even verbalize their thoughts or feelings. Then that puts them WAY behind in reading since they don't even understand language. It is NEVER too early to carry on conversations. I had one student several years ago in my cadet teaching class whose parents never talked to him. It was the saddest thing. He had no clue how to talk to someone.
Okay, I'll step off my soap-box now. :)
This is solid advice! Never heard that number, but it makes sense. I posted a while ago about the importance of reading on educational success and it is true! Being read to increases activity in their brains that then helps them learn to read and also helps them achieve higher academically.
ReplyDeleteI read to my kids all the time, but this number really motivates me to do it more! Thanks Leanne!