The Mom I Want to Be

Teachers know that boys can be more reluctant to read than girls. But it has been shown that boys can be hooked when they feel that they can connect with the story and become completely immersed in the experience of reading. To win over even the most unenthusiastic boys in your classroom, we’ve chosen books with more action, humor, and real-life situations.

When picking books on your own, keep in mind that male readers tend to be less interested in features of the text itself and more engaged by the situation in the book and the presentation of the narrative

 

Henry and Mudge Series by Cynthia Rylant (PreK–3)
This popular series is comprised of warm picture books detailing the adventures of Henry and his larger than life dog, Mudge.

Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes (PreK–3)
This Newbery Honor winner is the story of young Alex and his love for his big strong stepfather, Jake. But Alex realizes that he’s just as strong when he notices that Jake fears something that he doesn’t.

 

Henry’s Baby by Mary Hoffman (PreK–3)
Henry wants his friends to see him as cool; he doesn’t want to have to hang around his uncool baby brother — until Henry finds out that his friends actually like babies.

 

The Pool Party by Gary Soto (1–4)
Rudy has just been invited to his first pool party and can’t think of a good gift to give his friend. Soto delivers a lot of humor during Rudy’s search for the perfect gift while showing us pieces of Hispanic life and how Rudy deals with an insecure teenage sister, wild grandfather, and many other interesting family members.

The Boys’ War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War by Jim Murphy (4–7)
Using old diaries, memoirs, and letters Murphy pieces together the emotions running through the young soldiers who fought on the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War.

 

Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury (4–7)
This is not only a story about deep-sea fishing, but also about the transition of a boy into a man. Mikey has great admiration for his stepfather, Bill, but after meeting two surly fishermen, Mikey’s trust in Bill is shaken.

 

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen (4–7)
Bully Cole Matthews finally realizes the error of his ways once he is banished to an Alaskan island. Here he begins to hunt a legendary white bear only to face the fact that he is not as tough as he thought he was.

Damage by A. M. Jenkins (7+)
Damage follows young football star Austin Reid and his battle with depression. Austin must go through rigorous training with his football coach, while dealing with the death of his father and the reality that he no longer wants to feel.

Use a flashlight to see shapes!

• provides practice in testing predictions
• develops problem-solving skills
• supports shape recognition
• encourages creativity

 

The physical sensation of this letter activity gives an added learning punch.

 

With your child, find different size and shaped letters in a magazine or catalog, or draw and color big letters on paper. Cut around them freely and place them in a tray or box. Help your child place a letter on the Styrofoam block.  Hold the point of a golf tee on the letter, and invite her to use the hammer to pound the golf tee through the paper and into the block. She can hammer and pound until the block is covered with letters.  When the letters are placed randomly, your child can play a find-a-word game, looking up, down, and diagonally for small words such as in and to. He can also move the letters around to spell out words. Encourage your child to color in some of the letters. Ask him to think about the colors he is choosing — the G might be green, and maybe the T is colored yellow and black like a tiger. He will be associating letter sounds with words.

• develops letter-recognition skills
• promotes motor development

Turn a tour of your home into an easy alphabet lesson.

• index cards
• markers or crayons
• tape
• paper (as large as possible)

Help your child write the letters of the alphabet (in upper- or lowercase) in index cards, putting one letter on each card. Pick a room in your home to start with — the living room, kitchen, or bedroom work well. Walk around the room, and name the starting letter for furniture and objects in the room: “‘Couch’ begins with the letter C. ‘Table’ begins with the letter T.”  Invite your child to find that letter and to place or tape the index card onto the item. If multiple objects begin with the same letter (such as couch and chair), create additional cards.  To extend the activity, create a large bar graph to show how many objects began with certain letters. At the bottom of the graph, write the relevant letters. Then, create a bar showing how many objects began with each letter. Which letters were used the most often?

• supports letter recognition and phonemic awareness
• provides practice writing letters
• introduces bar graphs
• practices counting skills

 

 

Make stamps perfect for little hands.

 

• potatoes (smaller white potatoes work best)
• knife (adults only!)
• tempera paint
• paper plates
• construction paper (different colors)
• aluminum foil (optional)

Prepare for this activity by cutting potatoes to a size small enough for your child to grasp. Next, cut away the outside of the potato so that a shape, such as a circle, remains in the middle. Repeat for different shapes. The shapes should be about ½ inch deep. Pour paint into paper plates for easy dipping.  Show your child how to dip the potato into the paint and use it to make prints on paper. As you make prints with your child, discuss the different shapes and colors.  For an added twist, use foil instead of construction paper for printing. Notice how shiny the foil looks!

• supports vocabulary development
• enhances small motor skills

Teamwork between parents and teachers is essential to get your child ready to read.

At home and in preschool, the best way to develop pre-reading skills is through fun and games. Here’s how to start your child off right.

 

Connect with the Teacher

Do you need an appointment or is there an open-door policy? “I’m always there to talk when parents drop off and pick up kids, and I encourage them to come into the classroom to look at projects,” says Marcia Levy, a teacher of 4 year olds at the Sarah Lawrence Early Childhood Center in Bronxville, New York.

Share any concerns you have with your child’s teacher. Keep in mind that speech and language delays can be a red flag for future reading problems.

Questions to ask:

• Is my child on track with speech, socialization, and fine and gross motor skills?
• Does he show precursors for reading problems, such as significant trouble pronouncing words, following directions, remembering nursery rhymes, or learning numbers, ABCs, or days of the week? If so, how can we help?

What to do if there’s a problem:

• First, have your pediatrician do a thorough medical checkup to rule out hearing or vision problems or other health-related issues that could be impacting learning.
• If you still sense something’s wrong, have your child tested for speech and language and learning delays. By Federal law, all 3- and 4-year-olds are entitled to a free educational evaluation to determine whether early-intervention services, such as speech and language therapy, are necessary. Contact your local school district’s committee on preschool special education for more information.

Get Involved in School
“I hope that parents will spend at least one day a year in the classroom,” says Levy. Volunteering to read a story or assist with a craft enables you to observe your child’s progress and the playful techniques the teacher uses.

“My daughter’s school has a program where parents volunteer to work with kids one-on-one on letter sounds,” says Liane Hetherington-Ward of Homer Glen, Illinois. “My daughter loves it when she gets to do sounds with somebody’s mommy or daddy, and I like that she gets the individual attention.”

Things to Do at Home

• Talk, talk, talk: “Have lots of conversations with kids,” says Levy. “Encourage and answer questions, and validate curiosity by saying, ‘That’s a good question!'” Tell about your day, and ask specific questions about his, such as, “What story did your teacher read today?” or “What colors did you paint with?”

 

• Tell stories as you play: When building with blocks, for example, ask your child to tell you a story about what he’s making. “This develops narrative skills and understanding of sequencing,” explains Julie Oudin, a former preschool teacher who is now a special-needs consultant for the Jewish Community Center Preschools of Houston.

 

• Take dictation. Type up and print your preschooler’s stories on the computer. Or make a photo album of a favorite event and let your child dictate the captions. “This teaches how oral and written words correspond,” says Oudin, who suggests kids share their creations with the class.

 

• Make time to rhyme. Read plenty of Dr. Seuss and Mother Goose (see our booklist for more ideas). Rhymes and repetitive refrains draw children’s attention to the consonant sounds at the beginnings and ends of words, making it easier for them to learn letter sounds and break down words phonetically later on in kindergarten and the early grades. “Singing is an important part of preschool literacy, too, emphasizes Levy, “because it builds memory, vocabulary, and the ability to follow directions and switch sounds around.” Clap and stomp to “Bingo,” “Willoughby Wallaby Woo,” and “Apples and Bananas,” and ask your child to teach you new songs she’s learned at school.

 

• Surround kids with books: Preschoolers are ready for longer picture books with detailed plots and illustrations. But your child will still want to hear books from babyhood, along with stories on real-life themes like starting school or welcoming a new sibling. Follow along with your finger as you read, to show how text moves from left to right. Stop and point out words and letters. Spark prediction skills and critical thinking by asking questions like, “What do you think will happen?” or “Why do you think he did that?” And “as soon as your preschooler can write his name, get him a library card,” advises Barbara Genco, President of the Association for Library Service for Children. “This helps children identify themselves as readers — even if they can’t yet read on their own.”

Parent’s Tip
“I buy a book for my daughter’s classroom every year,” says Liane Hetherington-Ward of Homer Glen, Illinois. “She gets so excited seeing the bookplate that says she donated it! I also call the teacher once a month and ask how my daughter is doing and whether there’s anything I can do to help.”

 

• family photos
• postcards, tickets, and greeting cards
• 8″ x 10″ piece of cardboard
• picture frame for an 8″ x 10″ photo, with mat
• crayons
• fabric, paper scraps, or other decorative items
• child safety scissors
• glue

Read a book about families, such as The Family Book, by Todd Parr. Talk about your own family. How is your family similar to or different from those depicted in the story? Use words to describe family relationships, such as mother-in-law, grandparents, cousins, aunts, or stepsister.  Tell your child you’d like to make a collage of family moments together. Offer materials, such as glue, glitter, drawings, family photos, and any meaningful scraps, such as plane tickets or cards.  Invite your child to arrange and glue the pictures — cut into different shapes and sizes — and other decorations onto the cardboard to create a collage. Let dry. Place the collage in the matted frame, and encourage your child to decorate the frame. Display!

• Builds vocabulary
• Encourages creativity
• Preserves family memories and stories

Write a story and make a moving picture book to display it.

• four paper-towel tubes
• one narrow cardboard box
• roll of brown paper
• washable paint, markers, glue, and masking tape
• adult-size scissors and utility knife
• child safety scissors
• ruler
• old magazines

First you and your child can create the “case” for his moving picture book. Make holes on each side of the cardboard box about 4 inches from the top and large enough for paper-towel tubes to fit through. Fit one tube through each hole. (If the box is wider than the tube is long, attach two tubes together with masking tape.) Leave about 1 1/2 inches of the tube protruding from either side of the box. Remove the bottom tube and help your child measure the brown paper so it fits the width of the tube. Cut a long strip of paper and fold it like an accordion. Make each fold large enough to be a story frame.  Encourage your child to illustrate a story using art materials or magazine cutouts. He can write captions at the bottom of each frame or dictate his words to you. Open up the accordion and tape the end of the story to the bottom paper tube. Ask your child to carefully turn the end of the tube and roll up the story. Tape the top of the story to the top tube. Now your child is ready to roll and read!

• provides practice with measuring
• encourages planning
• supports emergent writing