Your child curled up next to you with a favorite book. Just fifteen minutes. No pressure, no stress. What if I told you that this simple daily habit could change everything about your child’s reading future? It’s not just possible, it’s powerful. As parents, we’re all juggling a million things. Between homework, dinner, bedtime battles, […]
Your daughter bounces into the library, makes a beeline for the chapter books, and emerges clutching a 200-page novel about wizards. She’s six. She can read about thirty words. Meanwhile, your son grabs the same Eric Carle board book he’s been reading since he was two, even though he’s now seven and reading at a […]
Your daughter races through the final chapter of her book, eyes dancing with excitement. She can’t wait to tell you what happened to her favorite character. But before she can share the story, you hand her the reading log. Watch the light dim in her eyes as she sighs and reaches for a pencil: another […]
Your child is reading aloud. They come to the word “house” and say “home.” Do you stop them immediately? Wait until the end of the sentence? Ignore it completely? You want to help, but you also don’t want to interrupt the flow or make reading feel like constant criticism. Error correction is one of the […]
Your child confidently reads the word “cap.” Then you add one letter to the end—a silent E—and suddenly they’re stumped. The word looks completely different to them now. “Cape” might as well be a foreign language. This moment happens in every early reader’s development. Silent E represents a huge conceptual leap. Your child must understand […]
Your preschooler flips through a book about dinosaurs, captivated by the colorful pictures but confused by the labels, arrows, and bold words scattered across the pages. Learning to navigate these text features is crucial for understanding non-fiction books and building early literacy skills. What Are Text Features Text features are the visual elements that organize […]
Your kindergartner eagerly picks up a book but loses interest after two pages. Your second grader loves stories but gets restless during chapter books. Building reading stamina, the ability to focus on text for extended periods, is crucial for your child’s literacy success. What Is Reading Stamina? Reading stamina is your child’s ability to sustain […]
Your four-year-old writes their name but flips the ‘R’ backward. Your kindergartner confuses ‘b’ and ‘d’ when reading. These letter reversals worry many parents, but they’re actually a normal part of early literacy development for most children. Understanding why reversals happen and when they’re typical versus concerning gives you the tools to support your child’s […]
Summer break brings excitement for families, but it can also bring hidden learning challenges. While your preschooler enjoys longer days and outdoor adventures, their developing reading skills may be quietly slipping away without consistent practice and exposure to books. What Is Summer Reading Loss Summer reading loss, often called the “summer slide,” refers to the […]
When your child sits beside you, carefully following each word across the page with their finger, they’re doing much more than just pointing. Finger tracking is one of the most powerful yet underused tools in early reading instruction. While it might look simple, this technique actually builds the neural pathways that transform struggling readers into […]
