Tag: reading

2012 The National Year of Reading

The National Year of Reading 2012 is about children learning to read and keen readers finding new sources of inspiration. It’s about supporting reading initiatives while respecting the oral tradition of storytelling. It’s about helping people discover and rediscover the magic of books. And most of all, it’s about Australians becoming a nation of readers. Nearly half the population can’t read with any fluency. It’s a shameful and worrying statistic. TNYR has identified three goals which will help turn Australia into a nation of readers and encourage a reading culture in every home:   For all Australians to understand...

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Laid-back Learning for Non-Readers (3)

Most of the learning my children have acquired over the years has come from their own self-initiated, independent reading. But what do you do while you're waiting for that magic moment of independence to arrive? You plot. Set up an environment that invites inquiry and discovery — even if a child can't read the fine print. I think the Montessori model comes closest to what I imagine, but her theory incorporates neatly organized stations for exploration strategically located about the room. It's at the "neatly organized" level that my model falls apart. I'm more of a "randomly scattered" kind of mom. "Yes, that science microscope you just tripped over in the center of the living room could very well have been intentionally placed there for your discovery, but I doubt it." Anyway, do fill up the environment wherever possible with interesting bits and pieces for discovery: National Geographic maps taped to the walls; aquariums, terrariums, cocoons; seedbeds for the spring garden; postcard art prints; lots of music; lots of paints; clay; beads and buttons for counting and sorting; puppets; a makeshift theater from a refrigerator box found in an alley way, etc. All these were part of the daily environment my children explored freely when young. The Purpose of Structured Learning The first goal of structured learning should be to teach a child to read. But the purpose of...

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