Author: weespe5

  Tar Heel Reader is a fun and easy to use website that lets you make your own short books with pictures AND lets you look at other people’s books. The literacy center teamed up with the computer studies department at UNC-Chapel Hill to make it and I have been using it since graduate school. To search for and look at books made by other people, all you need to do is type the search terms and voila! You can look at any of the books, print them, or have the computer read them aloud to you and the child(ren). These books have been written by people all over the world and you can find books written in different language. 

Magic tricks can be a fun activity to target language skills.  As your child learns the magic trick, he or she can share the new trick with a friend or family member.  There also is a great deal of communication happening during the task, such as problem solving, following directions, etc.  After learning the magic trick, your child could perform the magic trick in front of the family.  Taking pictures or recording the magic trick will help your child with his or her narrative skills and sequencing skills, too! Check out the magic tricks at the link below: http://www.kidzone.ws/magic/

Cooking activities are a fun and an interactive way to build language skills, such as following directions, describing skills, sequencing skills, and social skills.  Language skills can be indirectly targeted through the whole cooking process from start to finish.  I found a recipe to make fortune cookies.  Here are some ideas to target language skills, while eating fortune cookies.  Write a number, a letter, a category, or a kind word on a piece of paper.  After the fortune cookies are done baking, grab a fortune cookie to see the surprise.  If your child picks the number five, have your child count to five.  If you decide to put  a kind word in your fortune cookie (i.e. loving, kind, funny), have

Comparing and contrasting…sequencing…identifying story components…and writing paragraphs can appear overwhelming without a structured process. A graphic organizer is a tool to help a child organize information.  If your child is reading a book, a graphic organizer can be used to organize story components (i.e. characters, setting, problem, resolution).  This tool allows the child to extract important information from his or her reading and organize the information, which will help the child answer comprehension questions.  If your child is writing a paragraph, a graphic organizer can be used to help generate a topic sentence, sentences with details, and a conclusion sentence.  One of the more popular graphic organizers is called Inspiration.

  These are characters from an adventure series for young readers called the Kingdom Keepers.  The series consists of seven books.  The author, Ridley Pearson, is in the process of writing the seventh book, which will be released in April of 2014.  Fans have the opportunity to submit entries for sections of the final book.   By involving his fans in the writing process, Pearson indirectly is showing children written expression occurs by creating multiple drafts and constant editing.  The website has games in addition to a blog.  The blog provides writing tips or commentary on recent submissions.   Also, there is an app called Kingdom Keepers Insider. Check out the links below: http://www.thekingdomkeepers.com/ http://www.kingdomkeepersinsider.com/welcome

If so, Dipity just might be for you.  Dipity is a free digital timeline website.  A  Dipity timeline captures a variety of learning styles.  The website allows you to utilize images, text, video, and audio to create a timeline.  It may be used as a tool to help a child highlight important events and form the backbone for a classroom presentation. Checkout www.dipity.com for more information.

Children view the world differently than adults.  As your child grows and faces challenges, don’t forget to find the humor in the situation.  Don’t worry it may not happen overnight, but the humor will eventually come.  I once had a parent buzz cut his hair because cutting his child’s hair was a struggle.  I’m sure in the moment as the child is squirming around, the father was probably thinking can you please sit still and maybe even a little disappointed the haircut wasn’t successful.  On the bright side, as the father looked at his child’s zig zag on his head, he thought why not give myself a buzz cut, but without the zig zag!  I came across an article about

  Fresh flowers…vegetables…fruits… and live music can turn a weekly chore into a memorable summer experience.  Farmers’ markets provide a great alternative to grocery shopping in the summer and early fall.  Going to a farmers’ market can be an opportunity to involve the whole family.  Farmers’ markets typically are less crowded and smaller than a grocery store, plus most markets are outside.  Many vendors offer samples, so you can encourage your child to try a new food or be open to a new experience.  Outdoor markets naturally create opportunities to practice a variety of language skills.  Below are some suggestions for a day at the market and websites for local farmers’ markets. Before going to the farmers’ market, pick a

  Have you ever wanted to make your own ice cream?  Build your own terrarium?  Summer is a time to try new things.  The Museum of Science and Industry is offering an eight week program called Summer Brain Games.  By registering online, you will get weekly experiments exploring different summer themes related to science (i.e. light, gardens, rockets, etc.).  Below is the link to learn more about Summer Brain Games. http://www.msichicago.org/programs/summer-brain-games/?gclid=CJKLjpSF5LcCFUdk7Aod8HIA_Q

  Learning language is often a long and bumpy road for a child with language deficits because story narration, vocabulary, and grammar skills are all intertwined.  A weakness in one area, such as vocabulary, may impact a child’s ability to narrate a story.  As the school year ends, parents often wonder how they can help their child continue to practice learned skills or develop new skills.  The summer creates many opportunities to continue to expand your child’s language skills.  Using smartphones to capture memories can be a way to target many language skills.  Camps, movies, vacations, barbecues, or other activities with friends or family make excellent opportunities to capture your child’s adventures with technology, but also expand his or her