Since my recent post about early reading strategies proved popular, I thought I’d throw out a few more ideas today.
1. Buy a pack of Sweethearts candy. The little messages on each heart are the perfect level and length for sounding-out success. Better yet, suggest your child share the candy with his friends. My son spent half an hour reading each heart, just to make sure he didn’t accidentally ask anyone to kiss him.
2. Personally, I find grocery shopping with my children to be a little slice of hell. If the Americans were serious about torture, they’d send their Guantanamo inmates to Safeway with a gaggle of whiny kids. However, when you are forced into the grocery store with a child in tow, give him a written list of three grocery items to find. Then do your own shopping as you follow him/lose him.
3. Get your children their own e-mail addresses and set them loose on Grandma. I realize that this strategy is a little more labor intensive. We also have a rule that no one’s allowed to use the computer without an adult in the room, so it requires some supervision. But, every long e-mail from Grandma is a half-hour of quiet reading and typing time…