Why Does Summer Reading Matter?

YIKES!!! So, what can you do to help??

READ…READ…READ! Read to your child, read with your child, either way make books part of your everyday!

 

Here are some ways ACES can help your child avoid the dreaded Summer Slide:

OR

Take part in the summer reading bingo challenge:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10kdXqQ7jnxl5WFfespg6ZTmDJiJlgDhteSZDoc0tXUw/edit?usp=sharing

Feel free to have your child post on our Facebook page regarding things they are doing for summer reading, and be on the lookout for teachers sharing their favorite stories with you to cross off bingo squares. Of course, you can cross them off on your own as well!

OR

Take part in the Athol Public Library’s summer reading program:

http://athollibrary.org/files/FOR_WEB_3_PAGE.pdf

Here is a link to the summer calendar at the Athol Public Library for the month of July:

http://www.libraryinsight.net/calendarkids.asp?%20sm=1&jx=at

Here is the summer calendar for August:

http://www.libraryinsight.net/calendarkids.asp?sm=&jx=atp&nMonth=8&nYear=2017

The library is a wonderful and FREE place for kids to have access to lots of amazing books, activities and programs, all of which will help your child keep their skills sharp, as well as spreading the message that reading is fun and important all while creating special summer memories with you at the same time!

Happy Reading,

Happy Summer!

 

 

Empathy- The Ability To Put Yourself In Someone Else’s Shoes Can Be Taught Through The Way We Read Books To Kids!

There is new neuroscience research to support that reading with your child, as opposed to reading to your child, and the ways in which you interact with the text can actually help your child to learn about empathy. Instead of teaching children to take on someone else’s feelings, emotions, or understanding how or why someone might respond emotionally in certain situations, this new research actually suggests that by helping children to imagine being the character in a book and thinking about how they would deal with situations, other characters and the general problem[s] in the story can actually lead to children thinking emphatically. Who knew all this time that all we needed were some good books with strong characters and deep plots to help our children become more thoughtful, sensitive and kind people?

If you’re thinking about trying this by reading a book to your child at home, and engaging in conversations that lead you to stop, and question/wonder about the character, their situations, their interactions with other characters, and then stopping to talk with your child about how they would react, what they think about what the character is saying/doing, and imagining themselves in the story, the following is a great resource for books perfect for teaching empathy:

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/books-that-teach-empathy#

And, if you’re interested in reading the whole article where the above quote comes from, here it is…   https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/neuroscience-kids-success-parents-best-practices.html

Thanks for reading!

Is Your Child On The Best Path For Reading Instruction By The Time They Enroll At ACES?

Will your child one day be joining our ACES family? By simply reading to your child, talking, playing games, bringing your child places, and immersing your child in language, you can accelerate your child’s reading development by the time they reach us in pre-school or kindergarten. If you have a toddler or a child who is nearing school age and you’ve wondered how they will do in school, the following is a link to a pre-school reading readiness screener. While this screener in no way is an exact predictor of your child’s skills, nor will it diagnose your child with potential reading problems, it can give you a sense of where your child’s reading development is, what kinds of activities you can begin doing to enhance their skills, or even identifying starting points for conversations with your child’s pediatrician if you have concerns about their development.

This website is also full of wonderful resources for activities by age groups that will promote reading and language skills, recommended books by age group to read to your child, skills to look for by age group, as well as helpful articles and videos related to early reading development. You are the single most important advocate for your child; no one knows them better than you. I hope this website, if anything, gives you more ideas about ways to spend valuable time with your child and to prepare them to be self-confident learners by the time they step foot here at ACES. We believe in kids, we believe in their futures, and we work hard to make sure they are successful readers and writers who believe they can and WILL do great things!

Link to the screener:    http://www.readingbrightstart.org/

Link to at home activities by age group:   http://www.readingbrightstart.org/activities/

Link to recommended books:   http://www.readingbrightstart.org/recommended-books/

Thanks for reading…

Learning to Read Starts at Home

Even our very youngest children (infants to toddlers) benefit from hearing us read to them. Building strong readers and learners starts with exposure to being read to. Reading time should be fun, relaxing, and doesn’t need to be more than 20 minutes a day (even less time if you have very young children). Challenge yourself and see if you and your kiddos can complete a few of the activities listed below a few nights this week.

Happy reading!

Welcome

My name is Sarah Matias, and this is my first year at ACES! I am the Intervention Specialist and one of my roles is to coordinate a special time of the day called WINN. WINN stands for What I Need Now. It is a 30 minute block in grades K-4 where we take an “all hands on deck” approach to provide students who need further support in reading and math the targeted instruction they need, as well as extension projects and technology tasks for those students who exceed the curriculum benchmarks in reading and math. In my role, I also am able to support students during the WINN blocks, and this year I am supporting students in the ELA classrooms in grades 3 and 4. I have a passion for teaching reading and for helping students whom reading does not come easy to, both to believe in themselves as readers and to celebrate their successes every step of the way. All students deserve quality reading instruction and I strive to ensure this for all students here at ACES.