Tips for nurturing young readers~

DH read Treasure Island to DD's when oldest was 5. They loved it. Find a series of books and read them together. There are so many out there. Some are on tape or cd, which are great for car trips. D

Hi D, What a great idea! I remember reading the Nancy Drew series as a child ... I loved them! I can still imagine how they looked, all lined up in my book case! Roald Dahl has written some wonderful books too ... although not a series. Thank you! I'd love to hear of everyone's favorite books from childhood and what you are reading to your children now. Summertime is a great time for reading~ NancyNic

Great Question! When my girls were in second and third grade they read The Boxcar Children series and some of the Dear America series. Boxcar Children had really great mysteries and Dear America had interesting facts and historical information. They were not borings at all! What books have others noticed their children reading at any age???

One beautiful memory of my own childhood is reading with my family when I was 6 and 7. I know those were the ages because I see myself in the house that we only lived in for two years. My parents and I would sit around the fireplace after dinner and read entire books aloud, passing the book back and forth, each reading a paragraph or two.We read the Winnie the Pooh books, [FONT=Verdana][FONT="]Charlotte[/FONT]'s [/FONT]Web, Alice in Wonderland...there must have been others too. We would stop and talk about the things happening in the books. I remember laughing and laughing at Alice, crying when Charlotte died....Please please please may I have the patience to do what my parents did for me, and not just turn on the tube every night after dinner.

[URL="http://www.nestfamily.com"]Children's bible stories[/URL] help us to encourage our children to study the Bible. It is also a way to impart learning and values as the Bible taught. Like the True Story of Noah's Ark and The Good Samaritan. You could try them to your children!

Dr Seuss really knew what he was doing with all those rhyming books. Reading books that rhyme to very young children is the greatest gift you can give. It helps with phenom developement. I started reading Seuss and other rhyming books to our son when he was a tiny baby. We would lay on the floor together and I would hold the book up above us. And he would actually listen and respond! By age 3 we had to tell him we could only read three bedtime stories a night! The summer before he started kindergarten I read the entire 8 book set of Chronicles of Narnia to him! By 2nd grade he was reading the Harry Potter books. Now he is in the fifth grade and reads and comprehends at high school level. Starting early and reading often is a huge help. And just in case you are adopting an older child, don't dispair it is not too late. Our adopted son was 5 when we got him The first time we tried to read to him he couldn't maintain interest at all. We began with all the rhyming books. We have read to him pretty much every night for the last 2 years. Now he is in first grade and right on track learning to read.

Hi My daughter loves reading. She is a self-motivator. As a 1st grader, she is definitely not satisfied with what she learned from school. It's a good thing for kids, however a tough thing for me, a working mom. Buying activity books here and there, trying to keep up and check her progress...I was looking for other solutions. Then I was recmmended BeeStar,it is a web based exercises, providing answers and keep tracking the score, even email parents the exercise results each week. That's just what she needs! She starts BeeStar and as I expected, she loves it. Her reading comprehension has improved dramatically too, a star reader in her class. She is always excited to check honor rolls and the trophies, and study harder to earn more... from Rita

Beestar is really a useful website. My daughter is a little poor in math, and I was also recommended Beestar. It's not only full of reading exercise, but free math practice. Emma does it each week, and is often excited to see herself in the honor rolls. We are really happy to see her progress in math. Hope every parent knows Beestar, and let kids use it. Nancy

Any thought on Hooked on Phonics First Grade Spelling Workbook?

Books were also my best friends and I want my 18 month old daughter to fall in love with reading as well. I do not have access to many books that can be used to teach children to read at a very young age. However, I was lucky to discover educationalfun.info in the internet. I was able to download reading materials appropriate for my daughter. They are not only educational but they are fun. I recommend this site to parents who want to help their children learn to read at a young age. As soon as my daughter can read on her own, I'll shop for books for her.

When j was 5, I read to her.. by 6, she read to me. These days, we all read together (in my bedroom, at bedtime) Things I found useful. 1) Find something they like to read. Just like with adult, you're more apt to read if you like the subject. We went through all the Junie B Jones, the Geronimo Stilton, then The Bones graphic novels (yes, comic books). It doesn't matter what it is, so long as they develop the habit of reading (Heck, I was reading "Helter Skelter" when I was in 5th grade.. didn't turn my into a serial killer, but it sure kept my interest) 2) Ask questions... I'll ask what happens in a chapter, who the characters are, who she likes best, what was funny, etc. having her reiterate what she read helps me see how she is progressing, comprehension wise (important has her DB has a FAS related learning disability in this realm) 3) Let them bug you.. J has started interrupting all our reading in order to share something funny. it can be annoying - especially if i'm at a good part in my book, but she enjoys sharing.. and the more you can enjoy about reading, the better 4) "Not enough time to read".. was J's complaint as she only gets a 1/2 hour a bed time. The solution? Start reading earlier! :) We do this now

I absolutely love Hooked on Phonics for my kids. Incredibly valuable. I started to see results within days.

NancyKraz,Hooked on Phonics can be deceptive, though.Did you check for comprehension? Every couple of pages did you ask them questions about what they just read?I think it can be a very valuable tool. But, I have also seen children with marvelous fluency who cannot comprehend what they've read.