Tip #116 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley, Trombly) - Emphasize Quality over Quantitty

 


Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.

                                                                #116

Emphasize Quality over Quantity

 

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
~Michelangelo

 

Kids are notorious for “just wanting to be done” and rushing through certain tasks. Truthfully, though, we have been known to do that, too. As parents, we can feel so bogged down with evening tasks like driving kids to soccer and ballet, making dinner, and helping with homework, that it is tempting to cut corners.

            Today, though, take a moment to think about quality over quantity, especially when it comes to your child’s reading. In other words, don’t focus on how many things you are doing with your child, think about how well you are doing them. Don’t count up all of the things you haven’t been doing. Think about the things you are doing. Now consider the things you think are the most helpful to your child. Is sitting with him and reading one of them? (Let me tell you it is even if you aren’t aware of it!) So, make the times you do read together count. Most teachers would agree that there are a few Do’s and Don’ts to focus on while reading with your child:

 

●      Do read together as often as you comfortably can. Make sure you do some reading out loud to him even as he grows older. Even when he begins to read on his own, there may be books he is interested in that he can’t yet read by himself. He also really benefits when he hears a good reader read. Plus, it’s cozy!

●      Don’t focus on time, when you do sit together to read. Concentrate more on the quality of what you are doing. It is far better to spend 15 minutes with him going over steps to SQ3R (Idea #95) than it is to spend 30 minutes half-heartedly listening to him read aloud, missing words, stumbling over comprehension, while you mentally prepare your grocery list. Of course, you probably still do have to make that grocery list, but spend a few minutes only on that and the rest completely on him.

●      Do know that even ten minutes away from the video games or TV, reading with you, is infinitely better than taking no time for reading at all. Chances are, even if he complains, he will go to bed that night remembering more about you reading with him than those games, anyway.

●      Don’t rush through a book just to get done. If your child seems to be asking a million questions as he reads, or as you read to him, it is tempting to just skip over them and turn the page. But you want the questions, the commentary, the connections! So, resist the urge to plow through the book, and slow down. Let your child dictate the pace at which you go through the book. Know that every question or comment means that your child is comprehending!

●      Do occasionally read above your child's level and challenge his mind.

 

Remember: when it comes to helping your child with tough reading, what you do together is often much more important than how long you spend doing it.

   


     Cindy McKinley Alder                                            Patti Trombly

 

For more posts about the authors and their books (this is not the only one), click HERE.

For excerpts from more books, click HERE. 

For more excerpts from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents, click HERE.

          For more posts about books about parenting, click HERE. 



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