At two years of age, children do not have the muscle control or coordination to hold their crayons using the correct, “three-finger” grip. Instead, you will find that your son using either a “fisted grasp” (when the crayon is held in a closed fist and the whole arm moves from the shoulder) or a “palmar grasp” (when the crayon is held i...
Just as children develop at different rates, so does their handwriting. Between the ages of 5-6 years of age, children are just beginning to have the muscle strength and coordination to use a proper 3-finger pencil grip. Some children struggle because they are simply trying to write too quickly. Encourage your child to slow down and ta...
Parents can help their children become better spellers by providing them with lots of opportunities to practice their spelling in fun and relaxed ways. For example, have your child practice spelling words in unexpected materials (such as shaving cream, finger paint, sand, or magnetic letters) rather than using a piece of paper and a pe...
It’s normal for children to mix up letters when they are first learning about the alphabet. Children are introduced to letters in multiple contexts, and oftentimes, these letters are presented in different styles, shapes and sizes. Although the typeface used in the Letter Factory may be most familiar to your son, he is also seeing lett...
One way to help children fix grammatical mistakes is to model the proper way to say what they have just said. For example, if your child says “I goed to school yesterday,” you can respond by saying “I went to school yesterday”. You can do this by simply repeating what your child has just said using the correct grammar and pronunciation...
After filling out all the paperwork and finding a specialist to help your child with a challenge, it can be very frustrating when you do not see progress. Keep in mind that there may be small steps, rather than big, noticeable breakthroughs. Speak with your child's speech therapist to express your concerns. Find out what reasonable goa...
To get your daughter excited about writing her Valentines, let her choose cards that she really likes. You can also let her pick out fun stickers to put on the cards and a special pen to sign them with. Because your daughter struggles with writing, you want to start with something you know she will be successful at, so begin by having ...
There are so many wonderful books to introduce your child to the joy of reading. One of my personal favorites is “Not a Box” by Antoinette Portis, which tells a story of a very imaginative bunny and his box, a box that can be become anything that he wants it to be! Young children also love “The Very Busy Spider” and “Head to Toe” by Er...
One way to encourage your son’s love of reading is to offer him a wide-variety of books that reflect his interests. Because 2-year-olds like to be independent, you might find it helpful to let your son choose what he would like to read. You can even take him to the bookstore or library and let him choose a few books on his own. Allow h...
While your child is reading earlier than most children her age, it is difficult to determine whether your daughter is gifted because development unfolds unevenly at this age. In other words, it is not uncommon for a child to be advanced in one area of development (e.g., language), but slower in another area of development (e.g., physic...
While reading to children is one of the best ways to encourage an interest in reading, there are many fun ways to encourage reading beyond books. One of my favorite ways is through storytelling. Eeboo’s “Write Me a Story” helps children create their own stories by providing them with beautifully illustrated stickers that can be placed ...
A fun way to create a family story with younger children is to make a family tree. You can add photos or ask your child to draw a picture of each family member. Talk about each family member and share special memories you have shared together. Another fun way to create your family story is to make a scrapbook that highlights some of th...