Building Strong Readers
What is Your Best Relationship Advice?
​​There are few times that are sweeter than feeling a soft, warm baby snuggled up against you. The close tenderness of those moments can stay with you for a lifetime.
A baby comes attached to a parent's hopes and dreams of what they wish that baby's life could be. Whether the parent thinks about it, or not, the success of most of those dreams hinges on whether that little baby grows up to be an effective reader. What makes a baby love reading?
One lesson a parent figures out is that children learn to love reading by being read to. You need to read to them at a young age. Babies love the closeness of being held and hearing their parents' voices.
Reading should be pleasurable for all of the participants. Relax. Breathe. Read. Choose something that you want to read that is appropriate for the baby's mood.
Hold the baby closely in a comfortable position. Read with expression. Read for as long as the child is enjoying the experience. When the baby gets restless, bring the reading to a sweet ending. That's the beginning of building a strong reader!
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What are your favorite books to share with children? Tell us about them on the CONTACT page. Who knows? Your book information could be published on our website!
What is your best relationship advice?
Does 50 years of marriage to the same person constitute a relationship? Yes, it does! So, I must be doing something right because I don’t remember getting any advice before I started a relationship. I had no father figure to talk the “Birds and the Bees” to me, and I was pretty inept about things, especially girls, so I just winged it.
Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. But being as timid as I was with girls probably helped me because most of the girls weren’t shy at all. In fact, me being stupid in that department, the girls “drove the car”. Since they were doing the driving, I just hung on and let them control the gear shift and the brakes. I’m not sure that worked so well, but I did end up with a woman who tolerated my weirdness and moods, and we are still together after all this time.
I’m not sure if I could give anyone any advice on how to maintain a relationship. I am definitely not an easy man to understand, and that sometimes gets in the way. But even though I am “different” than the majority of the population, I am what I am, and I don’t try to be something I’m not.
That in itself is the biggest part of a successful relationship, being yourself. Now don’t get me wrong, being who you are can sometimes destroy a relationship or at least cloud it up, but in the long run it is the best way to be. I can be no other way.
As a young man, my stubbornness sometimes got in the way of “getting along with others”. There were many times in my young life that I felt like I belonged on the moon instead of the earth. Then I joined the Marines, where stubbornness was turned into confidence. I still carry that with me today.
Unfortunately, confidence is sometimes misinterpreted as “assholeness” but at times that is the price you pay.
So, the bottom line, at least in my learnings over life, treat others with respect, especially the ones you love, be there for them at all times, and don’t get hung up on being “right”.
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Brownie is the nom de plume of a Vietnam Era Veteran. He was blessed to meet and marry a wonderful woman. Brownie has lived a full life of adventure. He writes about the day-to-day experiences in his life.
Readers' Corner - exploring reading for pleasure.
Reading for Pleasure - a reading strategy that changes lives
When I was in my grad school program, I learned a reading strategy called "Reading for Pleasure." It is an amazing program that can improve the lives of struggling readers. It's easy! Have the reader select a book of their choice at their reading level. How can you tell if the book is appropriate? You don't need to be a reading teacher. If they can easily read a random passage of about 100 words from the book, it's a good choice for them. If they stumble over words and hesitate while reading, then it is too hard. They need to find another book.
Reading for Pleasure is done daily, at least five days per week. Once the reader has their book, they need to read it for at least 20 minutes per day. After the 20 minutes of reading, the reader writes in her journal. The journal can be a notebook or she can use a computer. She puts the name of the book (the first time she writes about the book), the date, and which pages were read. Then, the student paraphrases what they have read. They tell about the story in their own words. They do not copy any sentences from the book. In fact, it helps them learn to retain information when they seldom look at the book after they finish reading. I discourage, but do not forbid, looking back in the book. One thing that helps is if they can discuss what they read with somebody else. That helps them get their thoughts in order. Then, they write in the journal. Have the reader share with another person what they wrote in their reading journal . That's it!
I have known middle and high school students to increase their reading scores 2-3 grade levels in one semester, when they are doing this program daily. Their academic lives improved greatly!
Words Bring Wisdom!
"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop."~Confucius
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"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."~Michael Jordan
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"Believe that you can and you're halfway there."~Theodore Roosevelt