A Gift From Music

Robert (Max Tell) Stelmach When I was young, I hated and feared books. I have a short term memory problem, perhaps as a result of falling out of a two-story window when a baby.

Politically Incorrect

Monkey See Monkey Do Because of a general feeling among many parents and teacher that some topics are politically incorrect for toddlers and young children, I have been thinking about re-writing a few nursery rhymes such as Three Blind Mice, perhaps as follows:

Reaching For Gold

Too often teachers, parents, and students focus only on grades. Grades are important, absolutely, but they should never be one's primary or single goal. In terms of writing, why do we write? Or why should we write? Before answering, let me ask another question: why do we talk to one another? To communicate.

So, what should be our goal in writing? 

The Gift of Reading

At a very early age, it was obvious; Robert Anderson wasn’t good school material. His grade one teacher used a ping-pong pallet to coax him to read. His first of two grade two teachers used a yardstick with the same intension. Neither worked. Robert failed grade two and three. His grade eight principal told him, “Don’t waste your time. Liberal Arts is not for you.  You’ll never graduate from high school, let alone university.” Robert proved him wrong, but not until he jumped a few difficult hurdles.

Tribute to Dr Seuss

And Early Childhood Literacy Dr. Seuss, Read Across America and 25 words your toddler should know is a short tribute to Dr. Seuss and his lifetime work to encourage literacy in young children in fun and imaginative ways. More

Highlights:

A third of all parents believe other people, such as teachers, are the ones who affect their children’s learning the most. Teachers are important, but they can’t do it all themselves. I would add that the contribution of parents during a child's early years is far more important than suggested here, and that parents reading to their young children are the actual key to literacy. Parents help built the foundation, while teachers help build the house.

The American Academy of Pediatricians suggests parents instill a love for books and language from the very beginning by reading, rhyming, singing and talking with babies from birth. Children learn best through repetition and interaction with their parents.