Part of reading is understanding the words...

As adults and excellent readers, we sometimes forget about the complexities of understanding a sentence. For example, you must know the definition of every word, understand what part of speech it is, grasp what tense it is in, etc. When children lack knowledge in any of these areas, their reading ability suffers. Below are some exciting games that will help your child build their vocabulary and improve both their grammar and spelling.

Grammar

• Grammar Gorillas will help your child better understand nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, interjections, prepositions, conjunctions and pronouns by asking them to find them in different sentences.
• The classic game of MadLibs allows your children to make funny stories by inserting different parts of speech. It will ask your child to choose a random noun, adjective, etc. from a group and then will put it in an entertaining story they can share with the whole family!

Vocabulary/Spelling

• Scramble Saurus will not only test your child's vocabulary but also their spelling skills. The game gives your child a word (with the letters scrambled) and its definition (with the words scrambled). The object of the game is to decode the clue and then eventually the word- spelling it correctly in order to move on.
• Spell Check challenges your child to find the misspelled word out of a group of four and then spell it correctly in the provided box.
• The game of Hang Mouse (a kid-friendly Hangman) first asks your child to pick a category (anywhere from animals to US States) and then produces a hangman game for them. This will allow them to practice their spelling while learning new vocabulary from the different categories all while not trying not to wake the cat! *this game has GREAT categories to choose from!

Technology taking over? I don't mind...

It sometimes feels as though everything is becoming electronic now-a-days. We can read books via our tablets, buy anything we desire in less than 5 minutes on the web- and now, teach our kids to read via an iPhone application? Apple has already developed hundreds of educational phone applications specifically for children. For example, the new "See Read Say" application for the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad allows your children to practice their reading while you run your errands!

Don't have an Apple product? No worries! All smart phones have an Application store (for Droid's its called the Marketplace) where you can purchase similar educational software. With an average cost of less than $2.00, start downloading applications today and your child will never be bored during your daily errand running again!

Great eBook Website!

Reading isn't always the most exciting past time for our children but Silly Books makes it fun! From music, animated stories that your child can read along to, puzzles, games and contests, prepare for your child to never want to leave the site.

One thing we thought was particularly unique about this website is that they have hand drawn illustrations for many of the books. After your child reads one of Silly Book's stories, encourage them to create and illustrate a story of their own!

Helping Struggling Readers

Did you know that learning to read is a challenge for almost 40 percent of kids? The good news is that with early help, most reading problems can be prevented. The bad news is that 44 percent of parents who notice their child having trouble wait a year or more before getting help. Unfortunately, the older a child is, the more difficult it is to teach him or her to read. The window of opportunity closes early for most kids. If a child can't read well by the end of third grade, odds are that he or she will never catch up. And the effects of falling behind and feeling like a failure can be devastating.

Visit Reading Rockets to browse FAQs, explore resources that will help you understand what to do if your child is struggling reading, and to read related articles to this topic.

Time to launch off to Reading Planet?

This morning we stumbled across a great website called "Reading Planet" (http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet.htm). The creators of the website strive to motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. On the site you will find a "Game Station" as well as "Book Center" where kids can watch and listen to animated stories! With their plethora of reading activities, Reading Planet will hopefully spark the imagination of your child and encourage them to read daily.