The Magic of Fountains

Suzie and Michelle’s most recent picture of their travels is of the fountain in Central Park in New York City. There are two things I thought about when I saw this picture. One is water. Have you ever thought about how free water is and how much children love water? They love just putting their hands in water – running in water – stamping in water – getting wet in water. The best kind of water is water they are not supposed to be in as opposed to a bath. The amazing thing about water is how natural, easy and free it is. It isn’t hard. In it’s softness, it can wear down anything. It can wear down rocks and mountains. In that way, it is incredibly strong. You would never expect that it could be that strong.

The other thing I thought about this square is that if you’ve ever been to New York, or the center of most big cities, there seems to be an area where no matter when you go, there are people around it. The water seems to draw them there. There are jugglers and dancers and singers and people just sitting on the fountain, looking and watching and being with other people.

Children seem to know innately that they learn better when they are interacting with other people, especially with people they love. When it’s natural and easy, they learn easier and faster. This art of learning in a natural, easy way is what Michelle’s new book is about. “What Children Need to Learn to READ” is full of ideas and activities that make learning a part of our everyday lives. It is full of dancing, singing, playing, rhyming games that make learning to read as easy as flowing water. These are the types of activities that children are naturally drawn to and love. They do these games easily and in the process, become strong readers.

As parents, we try many different things to help our children learn. We buy videos to make our kids smarter. We purchase piles of workbooks with sticker activities that sit unused in our cupboards. Many times, we come back to those things which are simple and easy and that our kids ask for, because they fit in our lives. These are the things our children are drawn to the most. We encourage you to check out the activities in “What Children Need to Learn to Read”. Go to our website and look for our free downloads at LearnersLane.com. Let us know what you think.

In the meantime, go play in a fountain!

NYC and Collaboration

Michelle and Suzie continue their adventure in New York City at the National Publicity Summit. Suzie's second picture was of Ground Zero.

When I first saw the title in my e-mail, I wasn't sure I wanted to look at the picture. My memory of Ground Zero is full of images of flames, smoke, loss and sadness. The picture I opened from Suzie was a surprise. It is a building-to-be, surrounded by familiar buildings and landmarks. With a lot of collaborative effort, stone by stone, Ground Zero will become a new landmark.

Helping our children learn to read is like building a landmark. Successful readers have collaborative help from parents, grandparents, teachers and friends. My younger daughter needed her 2nd grade teacher to help her find books that met her unique sense of humor and sense of curiosity. Without her, a lover of books might never have been born.

As we build Learners Lane, we want to be a collaborator in helping parents and caregivers help their children love reading. In order to love reading, children need to love letters. They need to realize that with two and three letters, they can make an endless amount of words. Suddenly, the child is the creator, the reader, the writer. What was once a jumble of letters:

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H

becomes

BAD, HAD, FAD, DAD, ADD

Oh, wow, a game!! How many letters can I make?

My friend's father just turned 92. He was born blind. Everyday he gets the word of the day out of the newspaper. He sits down at the kitchen table with his Braille tablet and types out as many new words as he can make from the word of the day. I think his current best total is 95 words. He definitely had some collaborators in childhood who helped him love letters, words and reading.

Be a collaborator with your child today. Find a word. Sit down with your child. See how many new words you can make together. Know that you are helping to build a child who loves reading.

Learners Lane Team

Learners Lane Hits NYC

Michelle and Suzie are busy in New York City at the National Publicity Summit. It is a crash course in learning the best way to tell parents and caregivers about Michelle's new book, "What Children Need to Learn to Read."

While there, Suzie sent me pictures from sights they had time to visit. As always, Lady Liberty stands tall and proud.

This picture seems to represent Learners Lane's mission -- empower children to reach their full potential by learning how to read. The Status of Liberty's spirit has empowered, motivated and encouraged people from all over the world to try new things and enter new lands.

More than almost anything, the ability to read well opens new doors for children. A child who has mastered the ability to read can teach themselves anything they want to know. The sky really is the limit. Surround a creative preschooler with letters, phonetics and pictures. As these items become more and more familiar, they become keys that open future doors for that child.

Michelle's book and our website, Learnerslane.com, give parents tools they need to help their children learn to read in a fun, light-hearted way. The reading activities can be done while at the grocery store and while driving around with your child. They fit into your life, instead of you trying to fit them into yours.

Join us on this new adventure of empowering ourselves to help our children reach new lands.

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