This month in my newsletter I referred to a recent study by Scholastic, Inc. that discovered a few interesting things about kids, reading, and their parents’ concerns about technology. The Scholastic Study found that from age 6 – 17, the time kids spend reading books for fun declines, while the time they spend going online [...]

I love puzzles almost as much as I love books. When I see crosswords, Sudoku grids and word search puzzles, my fingers start to itch and I scan the clues even if I don’t have a pencil in my hand and don’t intend to solve it. Solving puzzles is mostly a solitary activity, one I [...]

MakeBeliefsComix.com is a site created by author Bill Zimmerman that helps to engage reading learners in fun activities that lead to literacy. The site allows anyone to create their own comic strips. There are also resources for teachers and parents. Find out more about what this site has to offer from its author: “As an [...]

Yesterday I reviewed Missing, a memoir by author Cornelia Maude Spelman. In Missing, Spelman talks about her quest to know about her mother. Today, I’m happy to feature an essay from Spelman about discovering our emotional legacies. In particular, she focuses on the mother-daughter relationship. Discovering Your Emotional Legacy I invite you to embark on [...]

Book Bundlz, one of my favorite sites talking about books, book clubs and literacy, features an article this month from Dawn Little, who founded the website, Links to Literacy.com. The article includes tips on what you can do in your family to show how important you think literacy is. Little’s article includes ideas for things [...]

Today is National Literacy Day, and I want to highlight two articles featuring ideas for reading and family literacy. The first highlights Tips to Increase Family Literacy from the Links to Literacy newsletter. Here are a few highlights from the article: “What Can Families Do Together To Promote Literacy? The number one thing, in my [...]

Common wisdom says you can’t be your child’s best friend and her parent, too. Most of the advice I see on this issue comes from adults who are considered experts in raising children. It’s rare to see the issue addressed from the child’s perspective. That’s why this essay by Laura Szmak at Daughters.com is so [...]

While most of the reading we do in our family is the turning the page kind, we occasionally like to listen to stories as well. Sometimes we listen in our car while driving to a destination far away. Sometimes we gather in our family room. It’s fun to laugh together at funny lines and discuss [...]