I often point my preservice teachers to the U.S. Department of Education publications site for useful resources. I’m particularly fond of the the Helping Your Child brochure series. This series “aims to provide parents with the tools and information necessary to help their children succeed in school and life. These brochures feature practical lessons and activities to help their school aged and preschool children master reading, math and science; understand the value of homework; and, develop the skills and values necessary to achieve and grow.”
Several of these popular booklets have been updated and are available for free download. Here are some you may want to check out.
- Helping Your Child Learn Science
- Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen (There is also a Spanish version.)
- Helping Your Preschool Child
- Helping Your Child With Homework
The Ed Pubs site also has a number of great resources on reading. Here are a few.
- Dad’s Playbook: Coaching Kids to Read - This brief brochure provides information about the importance of teaching children to read and how fathers can use simple skills to help their children be even better readers. It also describes some strategies proven to work by the most rigorous scientific reading research available on the teaching of reading. I particularly like the personal stories that introduce readers to 20 different fathers helping their children learn to read.
- A Child Becomes a Reader: Kindergarten Through Grade 3 - This booklet, written specifically for parents with children in kindergarten through grade 3, includes ideas about how parents can help their child become a reader when they talk, play, and read together. It also provides ideas about what effective literacy programs look like in day care centers, preschools, and classrooms.
- Booklets in the Shining Stars series are subtitled “How Parents Can Help Their __ Learn to Read.” Fill in the blank with the age or grade of a child. Each booklet describes strategies proven to work by the most rigorous scientific research available on the teaching of reading.
Very excited about discovering your blog. I am a teacher as well, and I like your frank, not-too academic sounding, and resource based blog.
I am actually going to stop commenting and go right to the resource on educating your preschool child you just mentioned in your last post.
Good work!!