WOW!!! Where does the time go? It seems like the year is flying by us and we are already done with the first Quarter. I would like to thank the students, parents, and grandparents who have made this school year so much fun and so successful. We had 65% of our 4th, 5th, and 6th grades make the honor roll this first quarter. We have done and accomplished so much with more to come. I want to personally thank all of you who came to grandparents day and spent time(and money) in our book fair. It makes such a big impact on a child to develop a love of reading.
What a great segue into my next paragraph ha, ha. I want to talk about what we can do to help our children love to read. First, READ REGULARLY. Try to read to your child every day. You might set a goal to read 20 minutes a day before bedtime. Bring a book to an older sibling(s) sporting event/practice and read to you child there. Or my favorite, curl up together with a book when you get home from work and turn off all electronics.
Next, TAKE TURNS CHOOSING BOOKS. Your youngsters might actually like to hear the old favorites like: Hardy Boys, Berenstain Bears, Adventures of Tintin, Babar, Louis Lamour, Judy Blume, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew… and I could go on and on. Add variety to your reading, such as: Non-Fiction, Biography, Fantasy, Fiction, and Poetry.
Finally, BE PLAYFUL. You can use different voices for different characters. Or substitute your child’s name for the main character’s name. You can also use family members names for the other characters. Most importantly, you don’t have to be an expert reader-your child will love it when you read aloud because it was with YOU!
In conclusion, we are so excited about our school wide goal to read 500,000 minutes by the end of the year(that’s half a million minutes!!). Please, spend time with your children, build up his/her reading skills and make a stronger bond between you. Make a positive impact in his/her life.
Brian Hollingshead -Principal