Today's Web-Based Radio Show

Today I was privileged to visit with TalkShoe host, Kaye Fontana, on her Grandcoach Radio show.  The topics certainly relate to grandparents raising their grandchildren but the concepts are applicable for parents as well.  I even found myself saying "parents" instead of "grandparents" a few times in the show.

If you missed us live, you can visit The Grandcoach and hear the podcast.  You'll need to scroll down to episode 14.   If you joined us, listening live, you can skip right to reading this blog.  Otherwise, click on the link, listen in and then come back here to learn more, and add comments and questions (which you can post to this blog and we'll all learn together).  I always welcome questions as a way to start a dialogue in the virtual world.

Grandparents Stepping Into A "Familiar" Role

I am thrilled to be talking with people who have taken on what is perhaps the challenge of their life in raising children, long after their original "duty" was finished.  It can be a time of anxiety or of joy and reading certainly has a place in crafting a positive, nurturing growing up time for grandchildren being raised by their grandparents.

First, let me suggest a few books to read with young children that are perfect for encouraging word play:

Big and Little by Margaret Miller
Max's Dragon by Kate Banks
One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root
Tanka, Tanka, Skunk by Steve Webb

These are excerpted from my book Anytime Reading Readiness, a perfect guide not only for parents raising 3-6 year olds but grandparents who find themselves in that same role with their grandchildren. You can find recommended books for others ages at a previous blog on this blogspot. 

There's Help Out There For You

If you have a limited budget (and who doesn't these days), revive what might seem like an old fashioned idea: head for the public library.  It will look quite different than it did in "your day".  Now, in addition to books, most libraries have cool teen activities, storytimes for younger children, movies and DVDs for rental, book clubs, game nights and more.   Here are examples from Fairhope Public Library in Fairhope, AL and Witchita Public Library.  Check out what your local library has to offer to support you!

Helping Young Children Get Ready for School (it's bigger than literacy)

If you are one of those grandparents (or parents) that is confused by a lot of the "educationese" used by educators today, all the unfamiliar language can be intimidating.  One of the issues, as we gain more information about the research behind children learning to read, is that the "internal language" educators use can inadvertently turn "lay people"off (grandparents, parents, community helpers, etc.).

To help you understand some of these terms, check out Where The Radio Show Left Off. 

Also, if you are confused by information about DIBELS, a major assessment used in K-3rd grade, you can find a family-friendly pamphlet from my alma