Kindergarten Archives

Listening To Your Children Read Aloud

November 6, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

In the midst of our busy lives, we sometimes find it so challenging to take time to sit down and really listen to our children read aloud. Instead, we often find ourselves telling our children to read to themselves while we are busy cooking dinner, doing laundry, or writing a brief. However, this time with your child can actually be more valuable than you think.

Oral reading is a skill in itself because it provides the opportunity for you as the parent to monitor and correct errors when your child is reading at home. While some parents may believe that correcting their child during reading interrupts their fluency and hampers their self-esteem, it actually stands to support and improve their reading skills. This is the very reason you should prioritize taking time to carefully listen to your child read aloud.

In order to ensure your child’s accuracy and efficiency when they read aloud, it is important to keep the following in mind. If your child misreads a phonetic word, a word that can be read by sounding it out, you should point to the word and ask your child to reread it and sound it out. If your child misreads a non-phonetic word, or a word that cannot be read by sounding it out, then you should ask your child to write the word down because writing the word helps you read the word better. In this case, you can also ask your child to skywrite the word, which is writing the word in the air using your finger. This technique is especially helpful during oral reading, so as not to overwhelm the child with writing. If you notice that your child skips words or often loses their place, it is important to teach your child how to “finger glide.” This involves placing your pointer finger under each word as you read it. If your child is uncomfortable with using a finger, you can suggest using a pen to substitute. If you notice that your child is reading in a labored manner, it is important for you as the parent to reread that paragraph or page, so that the meaning of the text does not get lost.

It is important to recognize that your child is probably still learning to read, and has not mastered all the skills necessary thus far. Setting individual goals with your child to work at one sitting period can help smooth the process and make it more enjoyable. For instance, one day you can work on “finger gliding” and another day you can work on intonation. When correcting your child, it is most helpful to model for them. Then your child can have a turn in order to practice reading aloud.

Happy Reading!

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

What is Reading?

November 5, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

For fluent readers, reading seems almost instinctual. Words are instantly recognized, stories come alive easily. However, for those just learning how to read it is a complex process that is anything but automatic. So what is reading?

The process of reading involves many visual and mental processes. It is defined as the act of looking at printed words and making meaning. It is a multifaceted process involving a variety of different skills, including decoding, word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. These skills begin at the most basic level with associating letter symbols with sounds.

Next, readers must recognize or decode whole words and understand the meaning of the words within a sentence. Readers must then string words together to understand a complete sentence within the larger context of a paragraph. Additionally, readers use their background knowledge to help build, create, and construct meaning. All of these processes occur at the same time and understanding can break down at any point in the process.

Since learning to read does not happen all at once, it is critical that exposure to printed material occurs in a variety of settings: 1) at home by presenting and using printed materials along with related activities, 2) in the community by reading signs and environmental print, for example, or visiting a library or bookstore, and 3) at school.

Many factors can contribute to decoding and comprehension challenges, including lack of background knowledge, phonics issues, trouble with comprehension, vision problems, processing delays, lack of vocabulary, limited sight word vocabulary, among others. The more parents and educators understand the complexity of reading, the more adept we are at targeting our support to teach children to read.

By Joanna Brown, Reading Specialist

Making Reading at Home Fun and Successful

November 4, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Very often your child is required to read and log as part of nightly homework. Often parents suggest their child read independently for the allotted amount of time and then they’ll sign the reading journal or reading log afterwards. When your child struggles with reading and is reluctant or resistant to engage, a parent may find themself prompting their child repeatedly to do this work and just get it over with. But your child may strongly dislike this ritual, thus isn’t benefitting from it or developing enhanced reading skills. And perhaps it’s making reading a dreadful or punitive experience.

Parents have the power to create an enriching reading experience for their child at home by incorporating some very simple strategies and routines, thus making the reading experience at home more fun!

First, don’t fret when your child asks you to read the same book night after night. Repeated readings actually improve fluency. Even if a you realize that your child is relying on memory to read the same book over and over, they are actually practicing their reading voice. You can model your reading voice, so that your child can learn to read with better expression and practice fluency at the very same time.

Another strategy for making reading at home fun and exciting is to use audio books, especially if you’re challenged to find the time to read with your child. You can easily purchase audio books or find them through your local library. While your child is listening to the story, they should follow along in the printed book. The audio book strategy helps your child to learn new words and hear fluent reading.

Quite often your child finds reading frustrating because they have difficulty reading many words on the page. Page previews help your child by browsing through the pictures in the book to identify unfamiliar words before they begin reading it from start to finish.

Making a private and comfortable space for your child to read, such as a reader’s den, will encourage your child to enjoy reading, too. A good idea is to put a nice and comfy beanbag chair, small lamp, and bookshelf in this den so that reading is considered a satisfying and relaxing experience. Perhaps, you can also paint or purchase a sticker decal that labels the area, such as “Sarah’s or Joe’s Reading Den.”

These simple strategies should definitely help with making reading at home more fun and successful!

By Brittany Cogan, Learning Specialist

Admissions Consulting and School Planning

October 11, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

At My Learning Springboard, we believe that admissions consulting and school planning is a complex and highly reflective practice designed to help children and families find schools and learning communities in which they’ll thrive as well as optimize their experience within any school or program. To this end, we help families navigate myriad school-related decisions each school year.

Varying Reasons For School Planning

When it comes to making school transitions, families pursue our support with admissions consulting for many different reasons — voluntary and involuntary. Common reasons include:

Their child is ready to start preschool or kindergarten.
Their child is at the edge of a birthday cutoff that creates some decision-making.
Their child attends a school that ends after 5th, 8th, or 9th grade.
Their child has simply outgrown a school setting and prefers to pursue other options.
Their child needs a school placement due to the family’s relocation or the family’s interest in pursuing a US boarding school or college.
Their child’s school has initiated a counseling out process.
Their child needs a specialized school program to address learning challenges.
Their child needs a therapeutic school program to address emotional challenges and, possibly, learning challenges, too.
Their child is ready for college planning, or alternative programming, such as a gap year or post-graduate high school experience.
Their young adult needs supportive programming, such as a therapeutic wilderness program or a therapeutic college program.

Our ultimate goal with admissions consulting and school planning is to help identify and facilitate excellent and appropriate opportunities for each child or young adult by closely partnering with and advocating for our families. Together we put on our “future glasses” and imagine the feelings, accomplishments, and community that will be experienced at each of the schools or programs we explore.

Deep Knowledge of Schools and Programs

The best educational consultants and school planners have deep knowledge of schools and programs, which extends far beyond the facilities, statistics, and exmissions detail. It means having a deep understanding of the curriculum and programmatic choices; being informed about the level of academic rigor relative to other schools and programs; knowing the communication and planning approaches; being familiar with the available support and advisory services; and appreciating the unique community and vibe of each school. This deep knowledge is achieved by repeatedly visiting and observing classes at a wide range of schools and colleges, developing relationships with faculty and school leadership, and regularly reviewing class work, teacher feedback, and school documentation across grade levels, school divisions, and over time. Successful admissions consulting also requires a flexible yet streamlined process, managed by educational experts with outstanding project management skills, integrity and efficacy. For all of these reasons, we’ve found that we are best able to serve families with our team approach, which includes two Board Certified Educational Planners and Learning Specialists as well as a retired School Principal and Reading Specialist.

Open and Honest Communication

A huge part of our successful team effort is having open and honest communication with our families. In order to select a school environment in which a student will ultimately thrive, we need to talk openly and honestly with parents and students about their desires and needs. For example, if specialized instruction or accommodations are needed, we need to be able to discuss this up front, and consequently, we advise openly sharing this information with schools at the appropriate time. Schools want to be successful, which means accepting the students they know they can serve well. We must be able to talk honestly about the academic rigor and expectations of each school as well as the available supports. Though a student may have the transcript, test scores, and application package to “get in,” that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best long-term fit for that student. Through ongoing discussion and debriefing after school tours and interviews, we arrive at an informed, prioritized list of schools or programs that reflect both the student’s and parents’ feedback as well as other key stakeholders who may be involved, such as a psychologist.

Strategic Planning For A Future School Move

When planning for a transition of any kind, it’s preferable to start early. Ideally planning should start well in advance, so that a 4th grade family is planning for a 6th grade transition; a 7th grade family is planning for a 9th grade transition; and a 10th grade family is planning for the transition to college. We typically start Kindergarten Readiness the spring before the application season. Whether the student is applying to kindergarten or college, we begin with a family meeting to discuss hopes, expectations, questions, and timing. This approach allows for a slow and steady preparation process, which is the best way to create the most options. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae, frustration, or anxiety surrounding admissions. At My Learning Springboard, we choose to reframe the “task” as an opportunity, one that has the potential to provide invaluable growth for the student, as well as for the family as a whole.

Please contact us to discuss admissions consulting and school planning for your family in more detail. We provide hourly or comprehensive consultation for families applying to preschool through high school as well as college and graduate school counseling, gap year planning, and supportive pathways for young adults. Our expertise spans day schools and boarding schools, including mainstream, specialized, and therapeutic school settings. We look forward to partnering with you and your family as you navigate an upcoming school transition or seek to optimize your child’s experience within a school or program.

By Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed.
Board Certified Educational Planner and Learning Specialist
My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Kindergarten Transition Planning in New York City

October 11, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Is your child in preschool? Is your child turning 5 by September 1, 2022? Do you live in New York City? If so, then you’re probably thinking about kindergarten transition planning.

It’s a topic that often leads to panic for parents and cringing for early childhood educators. Interviews, group play dates, and application essays (times 8-10 private schools [plus any planning for public schools]) can seem daunting for children and parents. However, the experience can, in fact, be re-framed, and there can be real educational value in the journey. Because of the nature of schooling in NYC, the kindergarten transition is unique, so it’s important to be well informed and to leave enough time for reasonable preparedness without panic or overdoing it!

For private schools, in particular, we prefer to pursue school exploration as an opportunity rather than a chore. Keeping an open mind leads to the greatest success in our experience, and there is no single path to a particular university or career. Focus on the lower school experience based on your child’s needs at this age rather than getting caught up in high school curricula and the college emissions list. Sure, those are important factors to consider, too, but they shouldn’t drive the lower school decision. Moreover, cast a wide net and imagine your child in a variety of school environments so that you have options to choose from when decisions are announced in February.

Whether you just want to get the lay of the land, learn more about your child’s academic readiness, or have total support through the application process, we’re here to help.

Are you ready to start planning?

Contact Brad Hoffman and Faya Hoffman for admissions consulting and educational planning.

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