Fostering a love of reading in children: Ages 6 to 8 years
Fostering a love of reading in children: Ages 6 to 8 years At this age, your little baby has grown and changed in leaps and bounds and her appetite for knowledge is almost insatiable. She is able to understand feelings and relate them to other people (no longer being as self-centred as she was before […]
Tips on how to develop a love of reading in children: Ages 3 to 5 years
Developing a love of reading in children: Ages 3 to 5 years At this age, children are beginning to develop an appreciation of different letters, numbers, symbols and what they represent. They have also nearly mastered an understanding of different seasons, colours and shapes, as well as the basic concept of time, in terms of […]
More strategies to use when reading with your child at home
Here are some other strategies that you can make use of when reading with your child at home: Pre-reading strategies – look at the title and available pictures with your child and discuss what you think the story may be about. Question, question, question: Stop reading at regular intervals and ask your child questions about […]
Strategies to use when reading with your child at home
There are several useful strategies that parents can make use of when reading with their children at home, as we need to bear in mind that children are individuals and one method is not necessarily going to work for every child. Paired reading becomes useful, as instead of listening to the child read, the parent […]
Reading methods taught at school
Schools use different methods to teach reading. For example: The phonics method; this is the term used for teaching reading wherein individual letters of the alphabet are matched with the specific sounds of the languages pronunciation. So ‘cat’ is read as ‘c-a-t’ and the child then runs the sounds together to say ‘cat’. This method […]
Kids learing – What children need in order to thrive at school
To thrive means to prosper, flourish and grow vigorously, in other words, it means to develop and grow appropriately, which is necessary in order for a child to succeed at school. Isn’t this what most parents want? But how come we don’t all get this? Basically, schools are set up to get information across in a […]
Tips for developing your child’s emotional intelligence
Tips for developing your child’s emotional intelligence (and developing these characteristics yourself); ☺ Raise your children understanding that while all emotions are acceptable, not all behaviours are. ☺ Help your children to find appropriate and healthy ways of dealing with all of their emotions, especially the negative ones (this does not allow for them to […]
Do you want to become an Educational psychologist?
I often receive inquiries from aspiring students about what they need to study to become an Educational psychologist. Due to time constraints I cannot answer these inquiries individually so thought to post this article with answers to the questions most frequently asked: Keep in mind that these are general answers and prospective students are encouraged […]
Should you be getting rid of the TV for the kids’ sake?
I grew up in a house where we spent about 90% of our free time watching Television. We watched the 7 am cartoon while we were having breakfast and tuned in to K-TV when we got back from school in the afternoons. My mother had the good sense to deny us access to the TV […]
A call to South African Educators
My experience in working both as a teacher and later as an Educational psychologist in school settings has helped me appreciate exactly how crucial a role educators play in the lives of our children. It is a thankless, never-ending job. A teacher’s day typically starts just after 7 am (if it’s not staff meetings, it’s […]
