How to Improve Reading and Memory Skills and Still Have Fun
January 7th, 2010What can you do during the winter weather to help your kids improve their skills? This question is a frequent one for me. Parents are always interested in helping their kids, but it is sometimes hard to stay motivated, especially during the winter months.
The following activities work well with all kids, whether they have dyslexia, LD, ADHD, are falling through the cracks, or are gifted. I have done the activities successfully with all of them!
I have two favorite things to do to not only help my kids, but to stay motivated doing it too. The first thing is to have more frequent game nights, playing educational games – learning games like The Sentence Zone, The Comprehension Zone, or The Math Zone. When you play games with your kids, they build skills while having fun and get a lot of modeling from you too. At the same time you get to have quality family time, so it is a double win situation.
The other activity I like to do is to have an evening where I might turn the heat up a degree or two, and everyone gets dressed in ‘summer’ clothes, and we have a ‘picnic’ on the floor of the living room. Afterwards, we might tell stories to each other – what I call ‘add-on stories.’ In these stories one person starts off and then the next person adds on to the story. We keep going round and round and the story gets longer and longer. The only thing is, the kids have to pay attention and so do you, so what you add on makes sense to the story. This builds listening comprehension and memory as well as a really good time.
Hope this is helpful!
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET
Hi how are you ? my name is vena i have a 1 greader 2 greader they are falling be hide so i asking for you help i had a hister of me is i was haveing the some promle so can you frist help me and my kids to read i am trying to help them but i need help my self can you help us ?
Hi Vena,
I actually have a program now where I help parents to help their kids gain a 2 to 4 year advantage in 20 minutes a day. The program would also help you so that you can help them. Please email me your phone number – I’d be happy to tell you more about the program. My email is: newsletter@bonnieterrylearning.com
Use your eyes efficiently. If words are blurry, get your eyes checked by a professional. Don’t “say” what you read, and don’t re-read unnecessarily. Read phrases, not every single word.
I agree that educational games really help children. I think it’s nice to make it fun.
Check out my website above.
Miriam Vidas
Thanks for your comment. Yes, research actually shows that kids gain in their skills when they are learning in a relaxed state, which is one thing that happens when they are learning through game playing.
Hi, My tip is to encourage the kid to do a little show about the story he read. For example, if your daughter read a story about fairies, she can dress like fairies and then you can ask her questions that she need to seek the book in order to find the answers. like what is the color of the fairy wings? when the kid “forget” that he is reading, it can motivate him to read more comprehensive.
Great tip – thanks! That is exactly the thing to do to bring your child’s reading to life. They will be also learn to make pictures in their minds with greater ease from doing this – dressing up or acting out part of the story they have read.
family activities are very nice to have, it also strengthens the bond among family members :’`