Education

Good reading skills help children become good writers. The reverse is also true. When children learn to write well they internalize the conventions of the English language. Their understanding of English can then be applied to their reading experiences.

So how does writing begin? It begins with the alphabet. Teach your child the traditional alphabet song or just have her recite the alphabet. Always treat this as a game. Reciting the alphabet should be as fun as singing a song or reciting a favorite nursery rhyme.

It’s a documented fact that children’s reading skills drop during the summer months. Children furthest down the socio-economic scale are the most likely to lose ground but all kids are at risk. Children have lots of playtime during the summer months but no instructional time in reading. So what’s to be done?

If you have a struggling teen reader at home there's good news. According to the May 2008 edition of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy one-on-one tutoring can help. One great way to help your struggling teen is through building his/her vocabulary skills. This can be done at home by teaching some simple root words, prefixes and suffixes. I found the following link that will lead you to a user friendly list: http://www.betterendings.org/homeschool/Words/Root%20Words.htm. Don't overwhelm your child by teaching too many at one time.