Review & Giveaway: Reading Readiness & More

It’s back to school time and even though my kids aren’t in school yet, I am well aware of how important reading is.  I myself love to read and hope that my kids will enjoy it too!  We wanted to pass along these tips to help prepare your child for reading:

Top 10 Things to Give a Child to Build Reading Readiness Skills

Simple activities and materials can help your child build reading readiness skills every day.  Here is a “Top 10” list of what you need at home, starting today, that will make all the difference in your child’s reading future:

• The attention of a loving adult
• Adults or older siblings who read in front of your child each day
• A quiet, comfortable spot for reading and writing
• A variety of age-appropriate books for young children
• Alphabet cards with pictures
• Alphabet letter magnets
• A variety of writing tools: crayons, washable markers, chalk, paints
• A variety of writing surfaces: unlined paper, construction paper, note pads, chalk boards, dry-erase boards, painting paper, and easel.
• Puppets, stuffed animals, dolls or other toys for story “props” and pretend play with books
• Library cards for yourself and your child

Written by the BrightStart! team at Nemours, one of the largest child health organizations in the United States, Nemours BrightStart! A Parent’s Guide to Reading Readiness gives parents of children ages 3-5 information on how to support their child on his or her reading journey.  Full of invaluable advice, this new book includes a checklist of reading readiness skills for pre-kindergartners, lists of children’s books to read aloud, and fun activities to do at home to prepare children to learn to read.

Some other great resources for pre-schoolers are:

• “What Does a Lion Say?”, a book by the staff of the PBS show Between the Lions, with playful language games for parents to play with children any time, anywhere. This book is really easy to use with side notes on what age group it’s appropriate for, how many players and the skill it focuses on.
• “Lion Letters” card games: Alphabet Card Game and a Rhyming Card Game– both games come with instructions to play Go Fish, Concentration and a matching game.
• Art with Anything: 52 weeks of Fun Using Everyday Stuff by MaryAnn Kohl which recently one the National Parenting Publications Award.

Before I was a mom myself, I was a nanny whose favorite part of the job was craft projects.  I had my own little box of goodies to work with but I always experimented with adding other supplies that could be found around the house.  The book Art with Anything: 52 Weeks of Fun Using Everyday Stuff by MaryAnn F. Kohl is based on using the same concept and the mantra “It’s the process, not the product”.  Children ages 4 to 10 will be delighted to create works of art using such materials as fabric scraps, hole punch dots, junk mail, leaves, rocks salt and more.

Organized alphabetically by material, each of the fifty-two weeks features five days of activities, increasing in complexity with each day: Day 1 is basic, Days 2 and 3 are more challenging, Day 4 is a craft project, and Day 5 is multi-faceted or fancy. From making Glitter Photo Jars to Family Finger Puppets, the projects in this book are sure to entertain the kids for hours while engaging their creativity and imagination.

All of these are great for helping teach at home and are filled with tons of teaching tools and games that make it fun for kids.

Enter to win a reading readiness package by filling out the form below. Also, be sure to check out all of our other giveaways here.

A complimentary product/service was provided for this review; however, all opinions expressed are our own. We were not compensated in any other way for this review. See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.