Friday, March 14, 2014

Read Aloud America



Kim’s Usborne Book Shelf is working with the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES National Campaign in developing a Parent and Community Awareness grassroots effort in Tacoma, WA.  Read Aloud 15 MINUTES’ goal is to have every child being read aloud to by a parent or loved one for 15 minutes every day starting at birth.  The decade-long 15 MINUTES Movement will be a massive public awareness effort, spearheaded by partners in cities throughout the nation that will rally grassroots support through local awareness efforts and community outreach.

As an organization that reaches parents with young children, we are asking you to join us in our local campaign efforts.  We are asking every day care center, pediatrician’s office, preschool, literacy group, library, family service organization, and business to unite with us behind the idea that 15 minutes of daily reading aloud from birth to age 8 can change the face of education.

Please contact Kim White, Independent Consultant for Usborne Books & More or, if you wish to become a Read Aloud 15 MINUTES National Campaign Partner, please go directly to http://www2.readaloud.org/l/23722/2013-06-14/3wz3.

According to Read Aloud:

  • Reading aloud is the single most important thing a parent or caregiver can do to help a child prepare for reading and learning.
  • Nationally, 37% of children arrive in kindergarten without the skills necessary to begin their learning journey.
  • If a child is not reading at grade level by the end of the first grade, then there is an 88% probability the child will not be reading at grade level by the end of the fourth grade.
  • Even in higher-income households, nearly 40% of families do not read aloud every day.
  • More than half the children in this country - 13 million children - will not hear a bedtime story tonight.
  •  If nothing changes, over the coming decade 15 million children will begin kindergarten ill prepared for their learning journey setting off a cascade of failure.

About Read Aloud
Read Aloud 15 MINUTES is a non-profit organization that is working to make reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care. When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, more children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will be prepared for a productive and meaningful life after school. For more information, visit: http://www.readaloud.org/.

About Kim’s Usborne Book Shelf
Kim is an Independent Consultant for Usborne Books & More, a leader in children’s books.
For more information, visit: www.kimsusbornebookshelf.com




Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Learning Palette

I'm not joking when I say that this has to be one of the MOST AMAZING early and elementary education products I have used.  Being a homeschool mom I have tried a myriad of products during our learning journey. 

The Learning Palette (affiliate link)

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend who was hearing of my struggles to engage my active child who has some kinesthetic learning traits (for more information on this learning style see here).  This "toy/game" is wonderful.  It challenges her mind while taking care of the need to make movement.  Its not so long winded that it takes hours to complete either, which can spell disaster!  You can complete as much as you want, or as much as the child is able, and not feel like you didn't do as you should.  Each card is a skill and they build upon each other.

If you purchase the large kit it's based on a whole year long curriculum.  I have found that a good pace for us is one of the math cards a day while covering a difficult subject, and two to three of the reading cards.  I also repeat the cards which is easy to do if the concept has not been mastered.  Whats really cool for those with multiple learners in their home is that this could easily be used as a reinforcing of already learned concepts for review practice.  What do I mean... well you can sit your child down with a Learning Palette and pull out the cards you want them to review.  These cards can easily be done without assistance if you have already worked on the concepts.  They are self correcting so that when the child has completed their work they can flip it over and see what they matched correctly and which ones they didn't.  At this point you could discuss it with them and mark it for further review.  They can then go on to the next card.  This has freed up some time for you to get the other children going in a topic.  Score for everyone! 



Here is a link to a video of my daughter using a math card on her Learning Palette.  She is working on counting by 5's.  The Learning Palette video.

Each pack includes curriculum that is designed for the listed grade  and it provides enough material to engage a child throughout the school year.    The Learning Palette has been designed to meet state and national educational standards.

I highly recommend this product to everyone with children 5-8, or any child that is having some difficulty grasping some core basics.  I could also see some benefits for ESL learners and even adults struggling with a literacy difficulty.  

Happy Reading!