Holly DiBella-McCarthy's Blog: Raising Kindergarten Ready Kids, page 4
December 16, 2023
Billy Beaver Talks to Kids: Use 5 Senses to Get Ready for School
Billy Beaver Says:
August 1, 2023
7 Fun Ways to Teach Colors!
Let's spice things up - fun ways to teach colors!
July 28, 2023
Sensing The World Around Us
Teaching young children about the five senses is an important part of their development and understanding of the world around them. By engaging children in sensory activities, you can help them explore and learn about ho...
July 10, 2023
Have a Blast Teaching Colors (Part 1)
Are you ready to have some colorful fun with your little ones? Teaching color recognition is an exciting and interactive way to stimulate their minds and enhance their learning abilities. Plus, it's an absolute blast for...
Have a Blast Teaching Colors (Part 1 of 7)
Are you ready to have some colorful fun with your little ones? Teaching color recognition is an exciting and interactive way to stimulate their minds and enhance their learning abilities. Plus, it's an absolute blast for...
July 8, 2023
Kindergarten Ready Kids: Preparing Children for Success
Preparing children for kindergarten is a crucial step in their educational journey. The early years of a child's life are the foundation for their future success and ensuring that they are ready to enter kindergarten is ...
October 21, 2022
Inspire Kids to Love Art With 12 Awareness Raising Activities
My daughter���s first teacher, Ms. Remington introduced a new artist each week to her 4- and 5-year-old students. What an incredible gift this teacher gave. Not only did she widen the children���s views of the world, but she...
July 8, 2022
How to Make a Chore List Your Child Will Love
Regular weekly chores teach kids important life skills and responsibility, but are often seen as drudgery by kids who would rather spend their time playing.
June 14, 2022
11 Word Games to Help Kids With Dyslexia Recognize Sight Words
Children with reading challenges require many extra repetitions of new information for mastery. When I remind parents to remember M & M���s while working on pre-reading skills at home, I am telling them to keep learning fu...
June 7, 2022
Why Read to the Dog?
While facilitating an IEP meeting for a student with a learning disability…Parent: She refuses to read to me, her dad, her brother, her Gram. She will not practice her reading with anyone at home.
Me: Will she read to her dog?
Everyone around the table: Hahahahahaha
Me: I’m serious.
At the next IEP meeting…
Parent: She still refuses to read to us, but she reads to her dog every day.
WHY did this child’s reading scores increase? In addition to a very talented special education and general education teacher, this child began to practice reading outside of school. It doesn’t matter who or what she read to, it mattered that she practiced at home.
WHY did reading to the dog work so well for her? Dogs, or any animal (cat, horse, hamster, bird, fish) do not correct mistakes, are non-judgmental, are consistent listeners, do not mind when the same story is read again and again, and give children a sense of purpose.
WHY do these things matter for a struggling reader? Reading to an animal will increase fluency, motivation, confidence, and self-esteem.
So, when your child brings home practice books from school, send her to the dog!
