One of Australia’s most respected and successful actors, Sigrid Thornton knows the value of a story.
A lover of literature herself she is now contributing towards vision impaired children also getting the story-book experience. Sigrid is a volunteer with Vision Australia’s Feelix Library.
“Reading is fundamental,” she says, ” This is enabling vision-impaired kids to come into contact with what it is to experience literature and giving their families a unique shared experience as well. Stories always have a shared message and a bringing together of people. They have since the beginning of time. It’s very valuable in a family that can be isolated by their experience and it’s a very challenging thing.”
Volunteers with Vision Australia contribute to volunteer made kits that are distributed to families. The kits contain recordings, props and interactive braille books. The kits provide vision impaired with the reading experiences they would otherwise miss out on. To find out more about the Feelix Library go to www.visionaustralia.org
Listening to skilled actors reading children’s books is a reading strategy and reading activity I am sure your child will enjoy. It will help develop your child’s listening skills as well. There are many audio books available for children. A good place to check what is available is at your public library.
Up to half of five-year-olds are not ready for school as working parents increasingly abandon traditional games, nursery rhymes, bedtime stories and lullabies, according to research.
Check this disturbing headline out at the following link. There are also related links to other articles of interest for parents. It was never more difficult to be a parent! However research findings can be useful and often we need to find only ten minutes in our busy lives to spend reading with a child. You will never regret doing that.
This example comes from: The ADELAIDE PRIMER-Part 2. p31.
A Wet Af-ter-noon
It was a ve-ry wet af-ter-noon and the chil-dren had to stay in-side by the fire.
“Let us make a k-ite,” said Tom.
Mo-ther gave them sticks, pa-per and gum and fa-ther lent them a ball of string for the line.
When the clock be-gan to strike five the kite was made.
They put it be-side the fire to dry.
It was soon time for din-ner and mo-ther call-ed, “Pack up the things. You may like to fly the kite on the next fine day.”
We shall need a ve-ry wind-y day to send it up,” said Tom.
When it was time for bed, the kite was dry and the chil-dren put it a-way.
If you would like to learn more about teaching your child to read and the role of phonics download the free ebook from
THE STONE IN THE ROAD: This story was part of a collection of stories I read in grades one and two. It was one of twenty one stories and poems in an Introductory Reader. I found this book recently and was amazed at how I remembered most of them. These stories were meaningful and subtly told some of life’s most important lessons.
THE STONE IN THE ROAD
There was once a town where the men were too lazy to work.
One day, a rich man put a large stone in the middle of the road.
Each day, the lazy men went along the road.
They saw the stone in the road, but they were too lazy to move it.
At last a boy came along.
He said to himself, “Someone will trip over that stone. I must move it.”
It was very heavy, but he worked hard. After sometime he was able to move it to one side.
Then he saw a big bag of money in the middle of the road.
It had been under the stone all the time.
Just then the rich man came along and said:
“That money is for the one who was not too lazy to move the stone. Take it, it is yours.”
Most of us love to hear stories and children are no different. A collection of stories I highly recommend are:
Inspirational Kids’ Stories
When I learned to read I was taught using a comprehensive reading series that included systematic phonics teaching and texts that were graded. Reading for meaning and fluent reading was developed systematically as well. Children worked through this series over three years. Each child was considered in this approach.
A person I know, who is an expert in his field, talks about the blinding flash of the obvious. Has it ever happened to you? You had not been aware of the obvious in a situation and as a result were totally stuck? It wasn’t until someone pointed out the obvious to you that you could move on.
I simply can’t understand why the education system continues to ignore the following blinding flash of the obvious.
Phonics for kids
The importance of decoding skills being taught systematically in the early years of schooling and that many students lack these skills.
I know they do. I have been told there is more to reading than decoding and my protests were discounted. I know that and it isn’t the point. Meanwhile many children lack the reading skill of decoding because it is not regarded as a fundamental skill. Many are then labelled as learning disabled!!!!!!!!!
Many children leave the early years of primary school unable to decode the words written on paper. I beg parents to make sure their child can do this.
Children do not learn to read overnight. The truth is, it is probably the most complex intellectual challenge a young child will face. The child who has a parent who supports and encourages them is lucky. So many children do not receive this support. Parents often think it is the school’s job to teach their child to read not theirs.
I remember giving a short speech at my Toastmasters Club about the importance of reading to children. I realized I had the audience in the palm of my hand and I also saw the guilty looks on many faces.
The following few guidelines may help you support your child’s first steps into reading.
An expert teacher shows how to read aloud to your child
Dyslexia is a term used to explain a brain that is neurologically wired to learn differently.
It may affect one in five people. That means one in 5 children and one in five adults. It is possible that 80% of school children who are diagnosed with learning difficulties may actually have brains that are wired to learn differently. read more…
If you or somebody you know cannot read, you should know that you are not alone. Many people fail to learn to read. In English speaking countries we are talking about millions of people. This has to change.
The first thing a non reader must do is admit it and stop being ashamed and believing there is something wrong with them. Often admitting that we can’t do something is very difficult to do. Stating the facts means something can be done.
I am working with a wonderful young woman who failed to learn to read at school despite really wanting to. No one could help her. I could and within a few hours she was reading simple text. The first thing to do is work on written texts that are not difficult. read more…
When I was young I did not do the necessary practise to learn how to play the piano.
I was expected to do the practise without supervision or support. I also did not respond to the teacher who was impatient and to me did not seem very interested in my progress.
Learning the piano is not easy and takes effort. I regret that no one supported me and not developing my musical skills.
However not being able to play the piano did not prevent me from taking advantage of the opportunities education had to offer because I have the necessary reading skills and strategies. I was really supported when I learned to read.
Reading and writing are complex processes but can be learned systematically. It really concerns me that many people do not learn them. Especially as I know how to teach reading and writing skills systematically. Non readers and writers are really disadvantaged.
