Mama, are you looking for a way to keep your child occupied at restaurants instead of putting a screen in front of them?
Put away your iPhone or tablet and pull out a drawing pad and markers…or how about good, old fashioned crayons?
I think it’s Macaroni Grill that has white paper tablecloths and crayons…? Brilliant!
So here’s the deal:
Pack a drawing pad. Of course you do NOT need to be fancy here. In this case, size really doesn’t have to matter, although I like keeping all the paper a uniform size so you can later put them all together to make a book.
(Your child will later learn to read using this book - but more on that later….we’re building the foundation here).
2. Pack markers or crayons - I like keeping my crayons in a jewel case, but of course you can use anything, even just a ziplock bag.
That’s it, Mama. Easy Peasy!
So while you’re working your hardest to have an enjoyable dinner out with family, pull out the paper and crayons for your child…you…your companions. EVERYBODY DRAWS!
When the drawing is done then help your child to write a sentence about their drawing.
If your children are very young, or older but insecure about their spelling and writing, let them dictate to you.
Depending on their age and ability level you can begin to ‘pull’ sounds and letter knowledge from them. For example, if your child’s sentence was:
“I will eat chicken fingers with Grandma.”
You can help pull the most salient and explicit sounds from your child.
You would lead your child by saying, “Wow, that’s a great sentence! Okay, you help me….what letter makes the /I/ sound?” If they know it, great! If not, you just write it yourself and speak out loud while doing it.
By “thinking out loud” you are modeling the spelling and writing process for your child.
Then you go on to the next word that isn’t too hard (if it’s a tricky world you just spell that out yourself. We only want to ask them for the sounds that we know that they know - this is VERY IMPORTANT) and ask them:
“What sounds do you hear in the word ‘eat’?”
They might say “e and t” and if they do, you say “YAHOO!” And write those letters down, adding the ‘a’ where it belongs. You don’t have to point out the other letters that they don’t hear in the words. That will come later.
Remember, I am ALL ABOUT the Science of Reading, but I’m not getting you there yet.
Yes, I could teach you how to incorporate SOR into every activity - but at this time I am giving you gentle + joyful tips to get your child reading and writing. - I don’t want to overwhelm YOU, or have you overwhelm them.
Just keep asking your child:
“What sounds do you hear in the word __________?”
That’s the magic question.👆
Won’t it be fun for everyone to show their drawings and sentences at the table?
I promise you, everyone will have fun, and before you know it your food will arrive!
If you’re antsy (like me!) and you want to know the next steps in
teaching your child to read through book-making
you can reach out to discuss working with me privately.
Ask about my Transformational Parent Literacy Coaching Workshop where I teach YOU how to gently and joyfully teach your child to read and spell while helping YOU stay sane doing so.
No more paying for tutors.
You’ve got this, Mama!
Follow along for more blog posts where I will slowly (and gently) take you through the process.
Happy Literacy!
xo
Steph
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