Best Reading Practices for Parents

Quick Literacy Tip: Printing Your Photos to Tell Stories

7/13/2016

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This post is part of a series on organizing your physical space to encourage literacy.

Liliana and Noodles photographed by Shaina Fishman

Awesome photography and memory captured by Shaina Fishman. Thank you!

A couple weeks ago, Liliana and her new puppy, Noodles, went to a photo shoot. We'd only had Noodles for two days and Liliana knew Noodles was going to be her buddy. But, she wasn't sure how predictable that buddy was yet. He nipped, he barked, he peed wherever he wanted to (still does...).

And this photo captures her trepidation perfectly. She's willing, but unsure.

It's also a perfect prompt for me to tell the story of Liliana and Noodles' budding friendship. How she enjoyed bringing him to puppy playtime, how she taught him how to sit, how he was nervous on his first subway ride and how he peed in his carrier in my lap which made me look like I peed in my own pants - and how she bellowed in laughter and asked incredulously, "Mommy, did you have an accident?!"

I will print this photo (and others from the shoot) and put them on our walls. It won't live on my phone, in my email or on my desktop.

This awesome photo and story will live on my wall.

We all want our kids to read. And, we want our kids to understand what they're reading.

And! The real kicker - we want them to enjoy reading.

This seems obvious, but sometimes getting there is not obvious and it takes some quirky roundabout turns to get there. Enter, printed photos on your walls.

Motivation and feeling successful are integral to a child's desire to read. Photos are a part of that. Specifically, printing them and putting them on your walls.

Building on the work of child psychologists from the 1970s, it is common practice to use printed photos to build a child's self-esteem. When children have a positive self-image, they are willing to trust the world a little, explore and learn. Inevitably, they will learn to read and then read to learn.

"There is something very powerful in touching your fingers to an actual print,” says Craig Steinberg, a licensed psychologist who works with children ages five through 13. He goes on.

Touching the photograph where a face is smiling or the shoulders, it is the same thing as touching a book when you read it.

There’s a lot of stimulation of the brain when you have that sensory experience. That is a bit lost in the move to digital. You are touching a keyboard, mouse or a touchscreen but you are not touching the image.”

So, please print your photos and talk about them.

Tell your kids about your favorite memories, your life experiences, your stories. When you do, you will be writing out loud for them. Showing them how to put together a good story, a bad story, one that someone wants to listen to. You'll be showing them how to use the picture to start a story or how a picture better explains a story. You will build their self-esteem and their confidence.

You will also be storytelling them your life. And their very important place in your life.

Enjoy!

P.S. I will also share some of my favorite, easy and creative ways to put photos on your walls in the next few days.

These two photos were the ones Joe and I loved the most from the photo shoot.

Again, photography done by the amazing Shaina Fishman!

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Quick Literacy Tip: Getting Mail

6/29/2016

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Liliana in front of her wall of mail.

One of my past tips involved sending mail, but this one is all about getting mail.

I was going through our firesafe box the other day. Among our passports, birth certificates and social security cards, I found two handwritten letters.

One is from my cousins who live in Pakistan. They wrote to me after I visited. Even then, reading was important to me - I left them my copies of Harry Potter books that I read on the flights over to Pakistan. They loved them and were getting the next book. Yay!

Another, is from my grandfather who passed away in 1994. He worked hard to learn English and he used some of his English to write me letters. He wrote about missing his homeland and wanting the area to be peaceful.

I cherish these letters.

And, the whole point of getting mail is to read it. It's one other meaningful way to read.

Getting Mail

1. The number one way to get mail...is to send mail.

People will answer you. Usually in the same format. If you send a postcard, you might get a postcard back. If you send an email, you will likely get an email in return. Since we've started sending postcards, we've been getting lots of postcards too! It's so much fun.

2. Ask other people to send mail to your kid.

If your kids are young, encourage others to send your kids mail. Grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles and teachers are all great candidates. You can read the mail with your child and they will feel special that they got their own mail.

3. Join a penpal club.

Here is an awesome website to join - and they welcome kids. It's called Postcrossing.
The goal of Postcrossing is to allow anyone to receive postcards from all over the world. The main idea is: if you send a postcard, you will receive at least one back from a random person somewhere in the world.

4. Write letters now to be delivered later.

Sometimes, the best letters for your kid are the ones that are delivered later. Tell your story. Have grandparents tell theirs. And, don't forget to have your kids write their stories. Here are a few good options to prompt.