Wonderful Ways to Love a Child

I often walk my Portland neighborhood for exercise and for mental clarity (and a little Zen).

It is often that I come across Little Libraries that property owners construct for sharing books and magazines with whomever walks by. I take books and also leave some!

This little book is a gem, sharing small (and big) ways to make a child feel loved and valued.

I read an entry each day giving me insights as to how I can best enrich time with my students as much as possible. Along with their structured, Orton Gillingham-based lessons, it is a priority for my students to feel seen and special by me and to me!

Thank you to Judy Ford for writing this sweet little book!

Read Books Aloud

Books educate, entertain and stimulate the imagination. Reading books out loud will put a new spin on togetherness. When my daughter was small, she had so much energy! She was awake and wide-eyed awake late at night while I was sometimes exhausted. So every night I would read aloud to her, hoping that she would fall asleep. She always loved it and I would read one to her every night. Frequently, I dozed off in the middle of a story. But even when I didn't, she never wanted me to stop reading. That's when I put the advantages of modern technology to work! I started recording our reading sessions on tape. Then she could listen to the reading recordings whenever she wanted. They provided comfort even when I was away. Our friend, Ashoka, did the same. He taught her a little French, German and Italian this way. Sometimes he would read the story in English and add a little French for flavor. We even made her tapes together, reading all kinds of stories: fairy tales, rhymes, adventures, and the classics. We added music. She could then play them at any time of the day or night. She took her Walkman, earphones and tapes on car trips and other occasions when she through that she might be bored. She is now sixteen, an avid reader, and occasionally still listens to the tapes we made.

A great gift idea is to buy a book, record it on tape, and then give both. The whole family can make a tape together, each taking turns reading parts of the story, playing the part of one or more characters, or reading with a funny voice. Recordings can make a much better babysitter than the television. Certainly turning off the television and read book sis better for the nerves, not to mention the mind. You can do this for your child or with your child; make one for the grandparents - it's a personalized gift to last a lifetime!

This would be a great little book to gift to a newly pregnant couple, or for an anytime gift for a young family.

post created by Karla for SkyWord Tutoring - reading and spelling excellence especially for dylsexic students