What Four Year Olds should really know (the ACT, finalist, public schools)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
What parents should know
That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but Mom or Dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,732 posts, read 58,079,686 times
Reputation: 46205
When we volunteered at Public schools (as a home school family), many of the students were amazed our kids could read to them 'in-character" ( animated / dramatic / interpretive).
Most kids said their parents / grandparent or siblings would (could) not read to them.
Another reason we had no TV... but used radio / radio drama as a training tool. (Stimulates the imagination & creative thought).
Sad... is our current public library hours are significantly reduced (when they SHOULD be significantly expanded during Covid)
Sad II... seldom are families / kids found in our library (TX at the moment), mostly homeless people looking for air con and a free toilet.
She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
What parents should know
That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but Mom or Dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
The rest of the article is great too.
I agree with the article even as a parent of kids that went to what some may consider fancy pre-schools.
At the risk of of being argumentative however, I think the reading to a child = high achievement correllation is a bit overblown. Its seems more like a cultural fact vs a scientific one. There are entire continents of kids that are raised listening to stories told by elders that often can’t read. Many of these kids crack open a book for the first time at school age.Those same kids immigrate here and a disproportionate number become high achievers.
It could be argued that the correlation between “reading” to kids and those kids doing well is due to the fact that smarter/ well off people are more likely to have books at home ergo their kids are more likely to do well. However, hearing adults tell stories, in spite of how those stories are delivered, enriches children’s imaginations and vocabulary to a measurable extent.
I think the advice should be tell children tall tales. Those with books should read, those without should orate. The benefit of their vocabulary and the spark of imagination is what matters.
There are different formulas for "success". I never took the ACT but was a National Merit Semi-Finalist. I actually wasn't really read to, but I was brought up in a very pro-education environment. I literally spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year as a kid on books (my dad would just give me money if I said I was going to use it for books).
My mother taught me to read when I was 3 years old. When you're a kid whatever is going on you think is normal. In retrospect it seems odd that there was no recommended reading list for K-12.
But school was a bore. David & Ann books were ridiculous.
There should be plenty of reading programs for Android tablets by now.
My mother taught me to read when I was 3 years old. When you're a kid whatever is going on you think is normal. In retrospect it seems odd that there was no recommended reading list for K-12.
But school was a bore. David & Ann books were ridiculous.
There should be plenty of reading programs for Android tablets by now.
David and Ann books? Is that the Catholic equivalent of Dick and Jane books?
Above all, I would say a healthy environment in which to raise a kid.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
