Quote of the Day

Dear Readers,

“No skill is more crucial to the future of a child, or to a democratic and prosperous society, than literacy.”
- Los Angeles Times, "A Child Literacy Initiative for the Greater Los Angeles Area"

Early Learning

Dear Readers,

Babies learn from the time they enter the world. Each day as they grow they are learning about language and communication as you they express their needs and you care for them. They are learning thinking skills by playing. They learn self-control by being able to manage their feelings and actions. They learn self-confidence when they feel good about themselves.

Click on this link to print a copy of "Early Learning".
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/early_learning_handout.pdf?docID=3081&AddInterest=1153

Quote of the Day

Dear Readers,

“If you want to work on the core problem, it's early school literacy.”
- James Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape

Ways to get your child to read

Dear Readers,

The best way to get your child to read is to begin by reading to them early.
Teach your child the basic facts about letters.
1. Teach them the names and shapes of the letters.
2. Teach your child the difference between the lowercase and uppercase letters.
3. Teach your child the sounds of the letters.
4. Teach your child the names of the letters.

These are the building blocks to begin to read.

Source: 101 Ways to get your child to read, Patience Thomson

Quote of the Day

Dear Readers,

“Too many of our children cannot read. Reading is the building block, and it must be the foundation for education reform.”
- President George W. Bush (2001)

If we as parents will build a foundation of reading to our children before they are born (utero) and continue (beyond) to read to them on a consistant basis after they are born we will build a strong, solid foundation that will not have to be reformed. Continue to read to your children after they are born. More importantly, read to them even if they can read to themselves.

Start by establishing a regular routine of bedtime stories.

Quote of the Day

Dear Readers,

"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind" James Russell Lowell

The Effects of Food and the Brain

Dear Readers,

Did you learn in school that you are what you eat? Research shows that diet has an impact on the brain. Scientist are learning that a balanced diet and regular exercise can shield and protect the brain.

Because omega-3 fatty acids are a vital for normal brain function, studies have shown that children who have foods with omega-3 in their diet perform better in school, in reading and in spelling. They also had fewer behavioral problems.

Look for foods with Omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, walnuts, kiwi fruit, soybeans, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tofu, cabbage, shrimp, salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies, snapper, halibut are a few food with omega-3 fatty acids.


Read the entire article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/uoc--slh070908.php

From 0 to 500: Literacy in Everyday Life

Can you both read and extract information from content???

This is the question being asked broadly as we consider what "getting an education" and "literacy" mean. There are three main types of literacy, according to the Department of Education:

*prose literacy, the knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend, and use information from continuous texts. "Prose" examples include editorials, news stories, brochures, and instructional materials;

*document literacy, the knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend, and use information from non-continuous texts. "Document" examples include job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables, and drug and food labels;

*quantitative literacy, the knowledge and skills needed to perform computations using numbers that are embedded in printed material. Examples including balancing a checkbook, figuring out a tip, completing an order form, determining the amount of interest on a loan from an advertisement.

How would you rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 500? Be neither too modest nor self-aggrandizing: The range of scores extends from 207 to 340.

For scores based on a few demographic characteristics, see the Department's "Fast Facts".

Quote of the Day

Dear Readers,

Here is the quote of the day:

“We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.”
- B. F. Skinner

Brain Cells: Use them or lose them

Dear Readers,

We all have heard the phrase "Use it or lose it." Did you know that this is true for your baby's brain cells. A child has developed most of the brain cells that will be used for the remainder of his/her life from the time they are born to mid-childhood.

According to the article "positive and enriching experiences build up brain cells, negative experiences can literally tear away at your baby's development -- even while she's in the womb." The article specificially states that the negative effects on a fetus that is exposed to drugs and alcohol as well as very high levels of stress hormones do great harm to the developing brain." Give your baby a healthy start while in the womb (utero) by reading, singing and talking to your baby, therefore they will not enter the world with less brain cells before their little lives began.

Read more about this article:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/mar/10/the-first-years-brain-stimulation-key-to-babys/