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As Mother's Day draws closer, the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is encouraging moms (and dads, of course!) to encourage their kids lay off the game consoles and television marathons for some daily, low-impact reading--no electricity required.
"Those fond times spent in a rocking chair reading with your mom are more than memories," said Sharon Darling, president and founder of the NCFL, in a press release. "They are critical for children's future academic success. That's right, your performance on tests and in school is greatly influenced by your mother's education level and involvement in your schooling."
Finding the time for literacy in the home can be challenging in the daily hustle and bustle. One National Endowment for the Arts survey reported an overall decline of 10 percent for reading literature among all ages. The largest decline was among the youngest age groups: 28 percent.
"Many moms wonder what they can do to help their children be successful in school. The answer is surprisingly simple," Darling said. "Many of the things parents do with their children as they work, play, read, and talk together have an impact on the skills needed to become a confident and competent student. Singing songs, making up silly rhymes, talking about what you see, pointing out letters and words in the environment and reading together are just a few activities parents can do."
Here are a few suggestions the NCFL offers parents who want to give literacy a boost at home:
1. Make reading a family habit: Everyone should have a library card and teach children that reading is fun. Create reading rituals by setting aside a special time and place every day to enjoy stories without interruptions. In addition, by cuddling closely with your child to foster a sense of security, you eliminate stress, which scientists have found produces a hormone that blocks learning.
2. Use mealtimes as an opportunity to drive learning: Pilot programs have shown success in incorporating mealtime with literacy. In Southern California, the McDonald's Family Mealtime Literacy Nights have resulted in 90 percent of families attending the entire five-week program, and parents using its strategies and materials at home to improve literacy skills.
3. Make literacy and reading activities portable: As you're driving across town or on vacation, look for signs with words that begin with the same letters as childs name. Play "My Grandmother's Trunk," an old favorite that helps with learning the alphabet. One child says: "My grandmother is going on a trip, and in her trunk she packed an apple." Each person remembers what the other items were and adds an item that begins with the next letter of the alphabet. Make up rhymes using words or items you see as you drive along or alliteration statements where all the words begin with the same sound. See how long you can keep the rhyme or alliteration statement going.
4. Work it out: Use certain techniques for reading that have been proven to increase effectiveness in reading time, including:
- Providing sound effects to capture their attention
- Making connections between the spoken and written word because hearing sounds in words is a basic skill needed for reading
- Talking about the story to reinforce comprehension and memory skills
- Reading it again because repetition helps children recognize and remember words
Difficulty level: Moderate
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