Search Results for: blog Common Reasons Why Children Do Not Like to Read

Therapy Animals Can Help Kids Who Are Selective Mutes to Speak

Posted on by

Selective Mutism is something that a lot of people don’t really understand. We hear a lot about Autism spectrum disorders, and ADHD, but there isn’t a much news to be found that talks about children who are selective mutes. It turns out that therapy animals can help children who are selective mutes to find their voices. Although I am not a parent myself, I am familiar with what children who are selective mutes are like. My sister was a selective mute until she was around nine years old. I remember reading somewhere that many kids who are selective mutes decide … Continue reading →

The Song Book

Books are important for children. I can’t even describe or recall all of the wonderful things our son has learned about the world he inhabits through books. Even the most simple things like the names of animals or that a tree is different from a dog. He’s even figured out how to identify guitars (and, in fact, calls the harps that animated angels tend to hold “guitars” as well). These children’s books are clearly important to his development as a person. His recognition of the ideas and items in books has expanded vastly upon multiple readings. He’s especially learned a … Continue reading →

Match #1: We said “No”

I had no idea this would be so difficult. A month or so ago, we were presented with a possible match. On Monday we officially said “No”. The adoption recruiter and case workers tell us to never feel bad about saying no. The Post-Adoption Services Coordinator tells me that we were absolutely right for saying no if we were so unsure. We said no for all the *right* reasons. There were too many concerns. We were not convinced we were the right family for her, and the overall situation made us uncomfortable. We didn’t want to end up regretting our … Continue reading →

Tangled Up in Blue and Pink

Recently Disney had a problem, and her name was Rapunzel. After spending years locked away in the Disney animation studio, Rapunzel was finally scheduled to come down from her tower around Thanksgiving 2010. But “Princess and the Frog” didn’t do well at the box office, and Disney execs discovered it was due, in part, from boys not wanting to see a movie about a princess. The House of Mouse didn’t want to fail again, so it decided to disguise Rapunzel a little, trick boys about her true nature. Specifically, it changed her name. Disney’s latest animated feature, releasing on November … Continue reading →

Muppets Debut at Magic Kingdom Today

They’re characters who feel like an integral part of childhood for generations of kids growing up since the 60s. Some members of their extended family living on Sesame Street still hold a dear place in children’s hearts today, teaching them about reading, counting, and neighborly spirit every day on PBS. But overall, kids today don’t care as much about The Muppets. Disney’s finally starting to change that. The House of Mouse added a new wing for The Muppets in 2004, but has done little with the beloved characters since then. They’ve made a few television and direct-to-video appearances in the … Continue reading →

Teens: How Old Are They Anyway?

A recent Washington Post article addresses the conflict of treating teenagers like kids, or considering them to be young adults. Just who is a “young adult”? Common sense says legal adulthood starts at age 18. But elements of our society have unofficially declared that the onset of adulthood matches the onset of puberty at the very grown-up age of 12 – which is one of the reasons why parents often seem uncertain about how to parent during the critical teen years. The point of the article appears to be that parents should not forgo parenting and being hand on with … Continue reading →

Frugal Month in Review: September 2008

Now that September is come and gone and the kiddies are settled back into school and regular routines, it is time to welcome the fall. Still, there is plenty of good stuff that went on in September, including a bunch of ways to save money. September 1st Frugal Living Week in Review: August 25th Through August 31st Food and back to school are the two things on my mind this week. I e-mailed my son’s teacher ahead of time to ask about additional supplies that she might need for the classroom. She said that she usually asks parents for antibacterial … Continue reading →

Adoption Education for Teens

Posted on by

Last blog, I shared that few teenage mothers place their children for adoption. I believe many do not do so because of common myths about adoption. Many people do not understand that in domestic adoption today, a birthmother can choose the family she wants to adopt her child. She can choose a family most like hers, or most like the one she wishes were hers, in terms of religion, family structure, rural or urban location, beliefs about education and discipline, and more. Many people also do not understand that birthmothers in the U.S. seldom go through their lives wondering if … Continue reading →

Allow Students to Have Opinions

Posted on by

Among the reasons that students gave that they do not enjoy reading was that they feared that they would not have the right interpretation of the text. In some cases students get very intimidated during group book discusses with the teacher. A typical middle school or high school literature class is carried out by the students reading a select passage of a book and then openly discussing it in class with the teacher. The teacher often asks the students to give an interpretation and meaning of the text that was read. They are also often asked to analyze the characters … Continue reading →

Monitoring Student Reading

Posted on by

In my last article I discussed how teachers can give encouragement to struggling readers. When working with struggling readers, it is important to show them success in their reading. When students see that their work is paying off, they are much more likely to continue reading and working on reading strategies. They will also feel better about themselves and have more confidence when reading. One way to monitor and show improvement to students is to periodically carry out reading speed tests. Once a month (or whenever you feel it is appropriate) had out a passage of text to the students. … Continue reading →