Start Young and Stay With It

At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating words with both pictures and real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.
Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.
Even after children learn to read by themselves, it’s still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers’ understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.
It’s Part of Life

Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don’t be discouraged if you skip a day or don’t always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they’re more than 2 years apart. However, it’s also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these “old friends” and may even help in the reading.
Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.
One More Time

You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite story may speak to your child’s interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.
Talking About Stories

It’s often a good idea to talk about a story you’re reading, but you needn’t feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they’ve read. A day or so later, don’t be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you’ve read together.
Remember When You Were Very Young

It will help to consider some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It’s easier to be patient with children when we remember how much they don’t know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well that we forget sometimes we ever had to learn them:

• There’s a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
• Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
• Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
• Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
• Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and and one for small letters.

Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That’s how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.

Advertise the Joy of Reading!

Our goal is to motivate children to read so they will practice reading independently and become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers … ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.
With your help, as your children begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, they can grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.

Have you noticed your child being upset, inconsolable or apathetic before tests?

They may be dealing with test anxiety, which is a common, yet treatable problem for many children. In this article, I will discuss what exactly is test anxiety, suggestions to help your child overcome their anxiety before test day, what you can do on exam day to help reduce your child’s anxiety and, lastly, what your child can do on exam day to help reduce his/her anxiety.
Test anxiety is the uneasiness and tension that a child feels before, during, or after a test due to uncertainty or fear of failure. Most children experience some level of anxiety during an exam. A little nervousness can actually motivate a child to study and perform well. However, when anxiety interferes with test taking, causing students to “blank out”, have trouble paying attention, and/or limit their ability to think clearly, absorb, retain or recall information, it has become an issue that requires attention.
Physical signs of test anxiety include “butterflies” in the stomach, pain or upset stomach, cold and clammy hands, feeling hot or cold, headaches, nausea, feeling faint, and sleepless nights. Emotional signs of test anxiety include frequent tears or excessive crying, feelings of anger and/or helplessness, irritability, and getting easily frustrated.
These are suggestions to help your child overcome test anxiety before the actual test-taking day:
• Make sure your child attends school regularly so that they are exposed to all the schoolwork that will be covered in the exam, and be part of the regular study review sessions provided by the teacher.

• Doing well on an exam is easier if a student is consistently completing school assignments, homework, assigned reading and participating in regular studying sessions.

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle – help your children get enough sleep, eat well, exercise, have some personal “down time” and a reasonable amount of social interaction.

• Create and maintain a routine at home that will help children to be well rested during regular school days as well as during the week of testing.

• Talk with your children and encourage them to do their best.

• Be well prepared for a test – avoid cramming – help your child develop good study habits and good test taking skills.

• Help your child develop a positive attitude towards test taking – help them develop a “can do” attitude.

• Teach your children to take deep breaths to calm themselves when anxiety levels are high, or utilize calming visualization techniques or meditation.
These are tips that you can do on exam day to help reduce your child’s anxiety:

• Help your child to prepare everything that they will need for the exam the night before – pen, pencil, eraser, etc.

• Do something fun on the night before the exam to distract them like playing a board game, watching a movie, or participating in a sporting activity.

• Set the alarm so your child can relax and get a good night sleep before the exam.

• Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast on the day of the exam, as the brain needs lots of energy to maintain focus. Foods such as eggs, cereal, fresh fruits and whole-wheat toast to help energize the brain. Avoid foods that contain lots of sugar and caffeine such as soda, cookies, as well as fatty junk foods.
Here are recommendations for what your child can do on exam day to help reduce anxiety:

• Wear comfortable clothing.

• Think positive thoughts – “I can do this”, “I am smart and I know this stuff.”

• As the papers are being distributed, calm yourself by taking some slow, deep, calming breaths.

• If you feel anxious at any time during the test, take a few minutes to calm yourself by deep breathing or stretching.

• If the test is difficult, don’t panic, just focus on completing what you know, putting in your best effort, and not giving up.

• When the test is over – reward yourself with something special, for example, going for ice cream, having a pizza dinner, listening to your favorite compact disc.

Most importantly for you, as your child’s parent, is to model a calm and relaxed attitude and demeanor to your son or daughter. Beyond the testing period, if the problems persist or the symptoms interfere with school performance, as well as general day-to-day functioning, it may be time to seek help and support from a licensed child psychotherapist. The therapist will work with you and your child to explore triggers to test anxiety and ways to better manage anxiety, so that your son or daughter can once again enjoy school and be a happy child.