Have You Talked To Your Child Today?

Inevitably when conferencing with parents about their child's academic progress, one of the first questions I am asked is, “What can I do to help my child?” I could go through a list of data proven strategies creating massive confusion by the end of our conference, but over the years I've come to the realization that one of the best resources available is conversation. That's right! Talk to your child. Judging by the lack of verbal skills in many kindergärtners that enter my class each year, I've become increasingly convinced and concerned that many children have grown up with “technology” babysitters and have had little to no significant communication with parents and other adults in their lives. What a travesty to our children.
As a mother of two, now grown sons that I singlehandedly raised for many years, held a full time job and juggled the finances alone, I do understand the difficulty in finding time to have engaging conversations daily with the children. Making use of “dead” time is one way to make this happen without having to rearrange schedules. Dead time refers to the countless minutes spent standing in line at stores driving in the car and yes, even dinner time. Be creative with your conversations. When standing in line ask your child, “How many people are in front of us? Let's count.” Look at the shape of items or discuss the color of things. In the car look for letters on signs, pictures for sounds, watch for different animals and discuss their habitats-where they live, or count things you see. Use vocabulary words appropriate for the conversation and explain what they mean. Vocabulary is one of the five essential components in developing proficient readers and you will be amazed at how quickly they begin to transfer knowledge gained from these conversations into other appropriate settings. Our children are precious gifts, not to be ignored, but nurtured into thriving adults. Even with our busy schedules it is imperative we take the time to interact with them in positive ways; times other than when they are in trouble