Farewell

Bad news bears, everyone:  our blog has reached a stopping point.  I've had a great time sharing and blogging, but I don't have the commitment to keep it up like I once did.  I'm still going to be blogging, but not here on The Case of the Missing Cheerios.  If you'd like to check out my new blog, which is up and running, scope it out at http://reasonsforwaking.blogspot.com/

I'm also going to be spending a lot more time on my novel.  Hopefully you can look forward to that getting published eventually, but I have to finish it first!

Again, thanks for your support and thanks for reading!  Keep on being rocking parents and people, and I hope to hear from you all on my new blog.  Toodles! 

Teaching your children to read... ~Tori~

Sorry for the long absence. You guys are probably wondering what happened to me on here, and whether or not I ditched the blog! Just to clarify, I didn't. There's been a lot going on lately, not just for me, but for all of us on The Case of The Missing Cheerios.
My own personal thing has been I recently found out I'm pregnant! Hubby and I have also had side business things going on, and we've been crazy busy with getting back into the school routine (and all that comes with it). But hopefully I'm back for good now.
Anyway, now it's on to the actual post for this week. LOL

First on to reading success is of course learning letters.

The alphabet is important and you can start working with your children on the alphabet early on. For my kids they both started learning at the age of two. With books, flash cards, games, etc. My oldest son learned all his capital letters with ease. The lowercase were a bit more difficult for him as he did (and sometimes still does) gets his b's and d's mixed up. But we've been told that's pretty normal. For him reading doesn't come as naturally. He has speech trouble and so pronunciation of words comes pretty hard. For this reason we got him a reading tutor, his school works on reading, and we work on reading at LEAST 30 minutes a night at home. I can't even tell you how greatly he has improved in just a year's time by doing this. And he's only been in tutoring for a few months. But working closely and constantly with your children is the key to success. Read them a book and give them the option to read it for you. Don't always expect your children to pick up a chapter book and read it to you right away. Every child is different and it's important to pick what level your child is at and not try to go way over-board. That will lead often to frustration and hate for reading. Lucky both my children love to read, and look forward to it.

My youngest son can already read some of the more basic words. He is 3 and knows words like: it, and, the, he, she, is, etc. He also knows all his capital letters, and most of his lowercase. He also needs some help with speech but mostly it hasn't affected his reading in a bad way. He just has trouble with his lower i's and l's getting them confused sometimes. But we are working on it, and just like his older brother he loves reading regardless.
We all spend about 20 minutes a day as a family taking quiet time to read also. It's not always easy to fit that in to our schedules. Sometimes we don't get around to all of us getting to read, but for the most of the week we try to fit that time in daily. We believe it's important for the kids to see us turn off the televisions, radios, computers, etc, and sit down with a book. In a technology filled world books can often go unseen these days. It's pretty shocking if you ask me but sadly true.
So after all my prattling my best advice is to work with your children daily on reading. After all we are our child's most important teacher. Start with the alphabet, go to sight words, beginner books, progress from those to your child's level as you go. Have your children help you read the books, let them read to you, have them express their thoughts on books. Let them identify with characters, explain the setting, tell their favorite parts, etc. Play word, letter, and even book games. (Pinterest is filled with ideas for these if you need some).
And eventually it will come. Be patient, make it fun, and your children will learn to love books. Even though my boys have some trouble they LOVE books. They love reading time, and they get really into it. It's wonderful.

Socializing Your Child~priddymomma

Every parent has to make decisions eventually about socializing their children.  Play dates, slumber parties, volunteering, birthday parties, schooling, church, holidays, hobbies, and sports can all play a role in socializing.  My children are home schooled, so I get a lot of questions about socializing my children.  The truth is that I don’t do anything out of the ordinary.  Here are some tips to bring out your social butterfly.  Keep in mind that all kids follow their own rates of development, and some kids are naturally introverted.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  They will have friends, just like the next kid.  They likely just enjoy one-on-one play over group play.

• Talk to your child.  Having conversations with your kids (and talking at them before they can talk) teaches them how to have conversations with other people.
• Read to your child.  Reading increases vocabulary and having them read aloud allows them to practice pronunciation.
• Set up play dates for your child with kids around the same age.  They don’t have to be elaborate, catered events.  Just get together with a mom you know (and like) who has a kid roundabout the same age as yours.  Call it quits after an hour.  The kids will be worn out by then, and they’ll be eager to have another play date soon.
• Go to the park.  There are usually other children and moms at the playground.  Your kids will have a good time, and you might just make a friend while you’re at it.
• Take advantage of playgroups.  Many churches and libraries offer playgroups, usually arranged by age.  Many offer learning activities.  There are also classes available at other locale for a fee.  Taking these classes for fun and socialization is a great idea. 
• Sign up for sports.  Obviously, I’m talking at least four years old.  If your kid is interested in a sport, signing up will keep them active, introduce them to other kids their age, and keep them out of your hair for a bit.  Whoop!  Don’t force sports on your kid if he or she isn’t interested, however.
• Role play with your child.  Use dolls or stuffed animals to teach your kid how to interact with other people in different scenarios.
• Teach manners.  This is important, so I’m going to say it again.  TEACH MANNERS!  There are so many rude people out there.  Your child need not grow up to become one.  My 17 month old daughter occasionally says “Thank you” or “You’re Welcome” unprompted.  It’s never too early.  Teaching kids manners means that they are better prepared to work with other people and to settle any differences diplomatically.  Manners also start a nice discussion about empathy.
• Let your child be a part of your every day life.  Sounds simple enough.  Let your child participate in a conversation with the cashier, mail carrier, or relative on the telephone. 

All in all, I wouldn’t get too hung up on socializing unless your child is clearly struggling with it.  You’re likely doing a fantastic job, momma!  Keep it up.  :)