On Wednesday we had our first A.E.N. coffee morning in the Iona Centre. Ms. Carol Murphy O’Shea and Mr. Boyle were the speakers. It was a great morning really informative yet very relaxed atmosphere and the parents that attended were extremely positive with their feedback. The talk was about reading strategies and the following are some of the great tips shared.
- Talk to your kids, general chit-chat. The more you talk to them, the better it is. It predisposes them to reading. That applies to kids of every age.
- Read to your child as long as they let you. A good time to read to them is when they are going to bed. Make it relaxed reading, don’t ask them a load of questions about the book, if they want to talk about it great, otherwise just read to them.
- Join a library.
- Let them see you reading. For boys especially, let them see Dads reading (so Dads get your books out!!!!!) otherwise boys tend to think of reading as a woman’s activity.
- With regard to homework, leave reading last. Start reading on pages they read very well as this builds their confidence.
- Also with reading homework the child has normally read it in school first so you could talk with them about the general theme of the story before they start reading.
- Reading should sound like talking. If it doesn’t stop that habit fast.
- If kids can’t track words with their eyes then get them to track words with their finger. Keep in mind a finger under the word slows them down, which is perfectly ok.
- Most kids tend to look at the picture first.
- Reading homework, don’t let it be a chore!
There were some handouts at the end of the coffee morning and attached is some recommended reading material for the kids.
Our next coffee morning is on Wednesday 16th November, Mr Gabriel Cuddy will talk about Reading Recovery. A reminder will be posted on our website nearer the time.