Read, Read, and Read some more!

Our little friend from Church brought out her well used pocket notebook. She shared her list of prayers for the evening - people she wanted to pray for. After her Mom and Dad and Grandma, and brothers she happily told us she had prayed for her teacher. It seems her teacher had recently told her students she was planning to get married!

So many teachers earn the love and admiration of so many beautiful young children? Those few hours they share in the classroom each day are spent planting important seeds in the highly impressionable young minds of the students they lead. I can't help but admire those loving ladies and gentlemen who so unselfishly share the gift of learning with our youth.

They sure don't do it for the money. Many people make far more than any teacher I know. Teachers get something in addition to the money. They get perhaps the best fringe benefit of all - the love of so many children. Of all the gifts we enjoy throughout our lives - surely few can compare to the love we share with our children!

When I recently asked a teacher what might help my youngster do well in school this year she responded without hesitation - read with him. And then read some more! Help him learn to read. In these early years of school reading is an essential piece of his education. Learning to read - and read well will benefit him throughout his life. Maybe if we plant the seeds of learning to read, of loving to read at an early age, our children will enjoy greater success in school and in life!

Straight from the teacher's mouth - one of the best ways to better grades is reading, reading and more reading!

Learning to read

In the United States, the school year averages 180 days; in other nations, the school year can last up to 240 days and students are often in school more hours per day than American students. Clearly, the hours and days that a child is not in school are important for learning.

What we, as parents and mentors, do in those hours each day when our beloved children are not is school is critical to their success in the classroom - and in life! I recently asked my son's teacher ( 3rd grade ) what I might do in the evening to help improve his education. Her answer was simple and firm - "read, read, and read some more" she replied.

Helping your child become a reader is the single most important thing that you can do to help the child to succeed in school—and in life.

The importance of reading simply can't be overstated. Reading helps children in all school subjects. More important, it is the key to lifelong learning. Helping our children learn to read is one way to better grades!

Help your child learn to read!