Empowering Parents To Teach- Seek and Find Books

Encouraging Literacy Through Seek and Find Books

One of the best things about seek and find books is their ability to promote conversation between the parent and child as they read together.  Let’s explore how seek and find books along with your guidance can enhance your child’s literacy development!

 

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

 

Vocabulary Growth

A strong vocabulary increases your child’s reading comprehension and improves your child’s writing, speaking, and listening.

 

Seek and find books are often saturated with objects in a picture, which means they are also saturated with words. Everything in the picture can be verbally labeled. Chances are there is something in the overall scene that is new to your child. There might be a small thimble, Uncle Sam, or a portrait. If you see an object in the scene that you think your child may not know, point it out and label it. Have your child repeat the word and talk about it a little bit to help cement the new word into his or her vocabulary.

 

 

Understanding Prepositional Words and Phrases

Prepositions and prepositional phrases are an important part of grammar. Understanding what they are and how they are used will help your child’s writing and editing.

 

When my child is having trouble finding an object in a seek and find book, I like to give him hints.  I purposefully use prepositional words or phrases to help guide him. For example, I may say that I see the object next to a dog, or behind the rubber ducky, or above the tree. Through this exposure he is hearing how prepositions are used in a sentence. Essentially, this is a grammar lesson. As he internalizes what he hears, he is beginning to understand the concept even if he doesn’t know the term, “preposition”. Once he does learn grammar in a more structured way, he has a foundation to build from. And yes, I just ended that sentence with a preposition.

 

 

Creativity

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have” — Maya Angelou

 

 

Creativity is the fuel that will help your child generate new ideas, write stories, and become thoughtful thinkers. In seek and find books, you often see things that are not true to reality. For example, in Look! A Book! by Bob Staake (shown below), there is a picture of a cat wearing clown garments. This could be a great starting point for creativity. You could ask your child, “Why do you think the cat is dressed like a clown?” Your child will likely have a creative answer. You can continue the idea by asking more questions about the cat or thinking up a story using the cat as a character. With so many pictures in a scene and imaginative settings, there is an innumerable amount of opportunities for creative thought. Your child will be practicing his or her speaking skills and use of language as they convey these ideas to you!

 

Need some book suggestions? I got you covered! I found four books created by well-respected authors and illustrators.

 

Click on the book covers to see them on Amazon.

Yoo-Hoo Ladybug! by Mem Fox

 

The Find it Book by Margaret Wise Brown

 

Look! A Book! by Bob Staake

 

Look! Another Book! by Bob Staake

 


 

 

 

Empowering Parents To Teach- Ninja math

Calling All Ninjas! Nine Ninja Books and Fun Math (and Motor) Activity

Do you have a child that loves ninjas or martial arts?  This is the place for you. I have nine awesome books to delight your little one and a fun way to incorporate math into martial arts. Get ready to turn your child into a math ninja!

 

*Note: This post contains affiliate links.

 

First, get your little ninja inspired by reading one of these stories:

Ninja! by Arree Chung

Ninja Bunny by Jennifer Gray Olson

 

Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents the Way of the Ninja by David Bruins

 

Dojo Daycare by Chris Tougas

Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta

 

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed by J.C. Philipps

 

Ninja Boy Goes to School by N.D. Wilson

 

Little Kunoichi, The Ninja Girl by Sanae Ishida

My Grandma’s A Ninja by Todd Tarpley

Activity:

Since ninjas must be agile, strong, and mentally sharp they must train their bodies and minds. This activity will have your child feeling like a ninja in training.

 

Materials:

There are two options for materials. You can easily use stuff around your home or you can use martial arts gear.  To illustrate the activity, I used store bought gear. We had the items at home already!

 

Option 1- Store bought gear:

Option 2- Things around your home:

  • Small square pillows to punch
  • Bare hands
  • Post-it notes (for the older kid version of this activity)

 

This activity is so simple! Give your child a math fact that he or she can do in his or her head. It may be simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.; It all depends on your child’s math level. When your child provides the answer he or she must punch the bags in an alternating fashion the same number of times as their answer. If the answer was seven, your child would punch the bags seven times.

 

Another option for older kids who may get very large answers, is to assign one bag as the tens and one bag as the ones. You can even label the bags. So, if your child gets an answer of 95, s/he would punch the “tens” bag nine times and the “ones” bag five times. For children learning base ten concepts, this option may be useful.

 

Empowering Parents To Teach- Ninja math

 

You can make this activity even simpler for toddlers by just giving your child a number and punching the bags in that same quantity. If your child tries to punch too fast and thus punches too many times, slow your child down and show him or her how to accurately punch while saying each number (1, 2, 3…). It’s about having one punch for each number stated. Your child will be practicing one to one correspondence by doing this.

 

Keep giving your ninja math facts until you sense they are losing interest or breath. :)

 

Empowering Parents To Teach: Non-fiction baseball books

Non-Fiction Books For Baseball Lovers

This book collection is designed for a baseball loving kid!  These non-fiction books will give your child the chance to learn more about the sport, the players, and the science behind the game.

 

*Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. You can click on the book covers to purchase these on Amazon.

 

The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams 

Suited for older elementary age and above, this book offers an abundance of information about hitting.

 

Sports Science: The Physics of Balls In Motion by Madeline Goodstein

This book includes fun physics lessons using all kinds of balls used in sports.

 

Baseball: How It Works by David Dreier

From how a baseball is made to the rules of the game, this book supplies a ton of information!

 

The Best of Everything: Baseball Book by Nate LeBoutillier

This book really does have a little of everything. Plus, the vast amount of pictures adds to its appeal.

 

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

Rich with detail, this book takes you on a journey from the beginning of Negro League baseball to its end. The artwork in this is fantastic! For teachers, this would be a great addition to a classroom library.

 

Play Ball Like the Pros by Steven Krasner

This book has a question and answer section, glossary of terms, and memory page for each of the players interviewed. Kids will find this book helpful and entertaining.

 

The Closer by Mariano Rivera

This autobiography is written for older elementary and middle school students.

 

Jackie Robinson: Strong Inside and Out by Editors of Time for Kids

This biography gives children insight into how Robinson’s emotional strength helped him become the first African American Major League player in a time of extreme racism.

 

Pitchers: Twenty-Seven Of Baseball’s Greatest by George Sullivan

The book will introduce your child to the careers of some of baseball’s best pitchers!

 

Happy reading :)

Empowering Parents To Teach- Five Books to Build Your Child's Character

Five Books to Build Your Child’s Character

Stories are a wonderful to way to transmit ideas to our children. With thoughtful selection, a good story can help parents build their child’s character in a positive way. Also, inspiring quotes and poems that make kids think about their own emotions and actions help children contemplate how their behavior makes others and themselves feel. To help nurture the good in our children, I found five books that parents can read and discuss with their kids.

 

To learn more about the books click on the pictures below. These are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you purchase the book on Amazon I receive a very small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. My purpose is not to sell these books, but to let you know what is out there to help you. Hopefully, you can find these at your local library!

 

Wisdom

Wise at Heart: Children and Adults Share Words of Wisdom by Brody Hartman

 

You don’t have to be old to be wise. In fact, through their innocent voices, children often provide profound wisdom that makes us remember what is important in life. Both children and adults share what they have learned about life in this clever compilation of quotes.

 

Friendship

The Blessings of Friendship Treasury by Mary Engelbreit

Friendship is one of the most important relationships a child can have. This book gives a voice to the powerful emotions friendship elicits, reminding children how special friendship really is.

 

Kindness

Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud

This book is a staple in most classrooms as it gives kids a visual reference and understanding of what kindness does for ourselves and others.

 

Virtue

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Kids explore what it means to be compassionate, modest, optimistic, and polite along with many more character traits in this book.

 

Responsibilty

Three Cups by Tony Townsley


Responsibility comes from having real responsibility. In this story, we see how a young boy learns to be responsible with his allowance under the guidance of his parents who teach him to spend, save, and give. He internalizes this idea as he grows until he becomes the responsible adult teaching his son the same lesson he learned.

I Can Read 100 Words

I Can Read 100 Words (with free printable chart and word cards)

I recently came across this article from the Guardian stating that there are 100 crucial words for kids to know when they are learning to read. Learning to read requires a knowledge of phonics not just sight word recognition, but this article focused on the optimal number of words that kids should learn to read by sight. The author includes a list of these 100 words, although I only counted 99 words! I included one more word in this activity to make it an even 100.

 

Whether you agree with the research or not, many of the words listed here also appear on lists that teachers already employ when teaching reading to students. Common lists used in classrooms include the Fry’s list or Dolch list. So the list in the article can be helpful as it aligns with these already accepted lists. If a child can read these 100 words, there are many easy reader books that a child can read. Once children begin reading books, they open the doorway to learning even more words. In all, I believe learning these 100 words are beneficial for beginning readers. With that in mind, I created a chart to track the words they have learned and word cards to help with daily practice.

 

Important note: This activity is for kids who are beginning to recognize words and are learning to read in a comprehensive reading program. It is not meant to be the primary way that your child learns how to read.  It is meant to bolster your child’s sight word recognition.  Suggested ages for this activity is kindergarten or above. Of course, some kids may be able to do this at a younger age, but it’s not intended for kids under five unless your child is showing signs of being an early reader. You know your child best!

 

Materials:

  • 100 Word Chart (feel free to decorate it)
  • Word cards- print on cardstock if available
  • Click here to print I Can Read 100 Words chart and word cards
  • Construction paper if you want to create pockets to store the word cards
  • Pencil or pen for tally marks

 

Activity:

This activity is very straight forward. It’s just good old fashion practice. Show your child the chart. Let your child know that if s/he can read 100 words than s/he can become a stronger reader. Every day your child will practice reading these words until he or she meets the goal of reading 100 words easily by sight. Not only are you helping your child with reading, you are showing your child how to set goals and work to achieve them. Here are the steps:

 

I Can Read 100 Words

Display the chart

 

 

 

I Can Read 100 Words

Cut out the words

 

1. Depending on your child’s age or ability choose a reasonable amount of words to practice every day.  My five year old and I practice about twenty a day.  I chose this amount because he already knows most of the words on the list, therefore practice goes quickly.  If your child does not know a lot of the words, choose a smaller amount so your child is not overwhelmed.

 

2. If you choose 10 words to start, show your child one word at a time. Have your child read the word out loud. If s/he gets it right, make a tally mark on the back of the card. If it was incorrect, do not. This is for you to keep track of how many times your child identifies the word.

 

I Can Read 100 Words

 

I Can Read 100 Words

 

 

3. Take the cards that your child got wrong and tell your child what the word is. Have your child repeat the word a couple of times while looking at it. When I work with my son I call these the “learning words”.  I get excited and say, “Yay, we have a word we can practice!” For additional practice, I share some suggestions of how to reinforce these words at the end of this article.

 

4. The next day you can test the same words or a mixture of previously used words and new ones (until all words are seen). This will depend on your child. If s/he got a lot right, you may want to add a couple of new ones. Once again, add a tally mark to the back of the card if your child got the word right.

 

5. Once your child has identified a word five separate times (as noted by the tally marks) write the word on the 100 chart. You’ll need to write small! It’s important that your child can recognize the words multiple times so that you know s/he knows that word and isn’t just guessing. This is another reason why changing the order of word presentation is important. And, you don’t have to show the same words every time. The more your word order or word presentation becomes the same, the less your child has to work to identify the word. You can even throw words that your child already mastered in the mix. You don’t want to make things too predictable. The whole point of this exercise is to make sure that your child can identify these words in a book within varied contexts, not just on a word card.

 

I Can Read 100 Words

 

6. Keep the process going every day of showing your child ten words (or the quantity you decided) until s/he has mastered them all. This may take some time. Acting as a teacher or coach, you can remind your child that they can accomplish this, it just takes time and effort. As a parent you know your child best, if this activity is really too hard for him or her then it may be best to wait and try again later. Some children love this kind of activity and some don’t, this isn’t for every child. Follow your instinct on if this is a reasonable goal for your child.

 

7. You do not need to incentivize this activity. Meaning, you do not have to offer a reward when your child learns all 100 words. Part of this activity is learning the value of reaching a goal. Hopefully, your child will feel intrinsically rewarded by his or her achievement. If you do feel the need to reward your child’s work, I strongly suggest making a natural reward such as letting your child choose a book at a book store. His or her “reward” is the ability to read that book! Your child is learning that reading can be rewarding in itself :)

 

Ways to practice sight words:

1. Read easy books.

Empowering Parents to Teach- 15 Really Easy To Read Books See our list of really easy to read books (click here). Read them to your child or have your child read them to you. Draw attention to any of the sight words your child is learning.

 

 

 

2. Color or decorate the word.

DIYGcolor Make your own printables (click here to see how). For example, is your child practicing the word, “away”? Create a printable with the word, “away”. Your child can color it in, put stickers on it, use do a dot paint, or any artsy thing s/he can imagine.

 

 

 

3. Play sight word hide and seek.

IMG_0767 Play this easy game (click here) using the words included in this post.

 

 

 

 

4. Make sentences.

Empowering Parents to Teach- Sentence Making Find sentences containing words that your child needs to practice and try this activity (click here to see the full activity).

 

 

 

 

5. Display the words

Empowering Parents to Teach- Sight Word TreeSo that your child can see the words on a daily basis, make a word display. This can be simple or you get creative. Our sight word tree is one example of a word display (click here to see). Think of fun ways for your child to interact with the word display. For example, since we used a tree I can make leaves fall from the tree and have my child collect the leaves and state the words on the leaves as he does it.

 

 

6. Sight Word Memory

Print two copies of the words and make a sight word memory game using the words that your child is working on!

 

7. Meet the Sight Words books

My son liked reading these books.  They helped build his confidence and sight word recognition. If you click on the picture, you can purchase them on Amazon. This is an affiliate link, which means I make a very small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your support :)