* Free online games help reinforce math and language skills.

* Make reading fun with the free Cultivating Readers magazine.  

* Check out this blog about reading just for parents. 

* Try the featured activity for preschoolers from Reading Is Fundamental

Getting ready for summer vacation?

Reading is a skill for life, and as with any skill, practice is key. Studies have shown that children who read more become better readers. Children who read over the summer months often gain important skills.

In "Keeping Literacy Alive over the Summer," you can learn more about the importance of summer learning and get ideas and fun activities to keep your child reading over the summer.

Doing lots of reading over the summer is a great way to help your child get ready for kindergarten, especially if you read books about going to kindergarten! 

The Getting Ready for Kindergarten booklist from the Skokie Public Library and these reading tips for parents from Reading Rockets will help you get started on a summer of reading fun!

Recognition & Response is a Response to Intervention (RTI) model for young children designed to help early childhood teachers and parents recognize children who show signs of learning difficulty and respond in ways that help them experience early school success.  "Words Can Shape the Destiny of Children in the RTI Process," by Mary Ruth Coleman explains how the language we use to describe children who struggle can send negative messages.

* The Doing What Works site will help you bring research-based practice to your classroom.

* Submit an application to participate in a project that will provide parent workshops at your site.

* Help young children get ready for reading with the Get Ready to Read! skill-building early literacy activities and classroom checklist. 

What can we do to help young children who struggle with early math concepts?  Will they go on to develop problems in math throughout school?  What do we know about the early identification of learning disabilities in math?

Dr. Sheldon Horowitz discusses some of these issues and more in "Math & LD: Support for Early Identification." 

"The Economics of Early Childhood Policy" is a new study  from the RAND Corporation that could prompt a reorganization of child and human services away from the current system that "treats" problems after the fact in favor of investment and prevention. This study is a primer for policy-makers in the use of cost/benefits- rate-of-return analysis in making early childhood policy.

What do you think 
of our newsletter? 

Please 
with your comments.