Teacher Workshop

Right after open house, we got to spend the next 2 days in teacher workshops. It is not that we don't appreciated learning new things and going over the things we need to know for the new school year but did you know that most teachers have a really hard time sitting still and sitting in meetings when there is so much that can still be done in our classrooms? We are not always the happiest of campers but we do take one for the team!

In our Thursday afternoon workshop, we had 2 lovely instructors from the Annandale school district who discussed reading interventions. One fact that was shared with us is this..."by kindergarten, a gap of 32 million words already separates some children in linguistically impoverished homes from their more stimulated peers. By the 3rd grade students who suffer from "word poverty" are at a million word reading deficit; by 6th grade, they are already 3 grades below their average-performing peers."

It's something to think about. So, what can you do? Talk to you child. Sing with your child. Read with your child. Read books, read signs, read comic books, read magazines, read food labels, read road signs, read anything! Also, talk to you child about what you are doing. Have conversations. Use big words and explain them. Discuss different words that mean the same thing...happy, glad, joyful. Talk to your child at home, in the car, while shopping, before going to bed, at meal time...make the most of your precious time with your child. You will definitely not regret it!