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Is your child in the process of learning how to read? Are you looking for some activities that you can use to help him with this learning process? Then here are some ideas to help you get started:

1.Make your child a set of flash cards with the family words. These words should include flat, chat, brat, spat, splat, drat, bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat and sat all on separate index cards. This exercise is meant to help increase your child’s reading speed by using words that he already knows. Once you have made all of these flashcards, you will want to spread them out, face down, on the table. Turn them over one at a time and ask your child to read each word to you. Then turn them back over and mix them up before having your child read them to you again.

2. Purchase a set of reading flashcards for your child. You will want to select some words from the pack that your child has already had some practice with. Your child can then read the word before turning the flashcard over in order to see that he is reading the word correctly as the word’s picture will be on the back of the card.

3. Encourage your child to take the various flashcards that he has (both the ones that you have made for him as well as the ones that you have bought for him) and read these cards to other friends and family members. You can also encourage your child to make his own flashcards. However, you should know that most children will prefer to have an adult write the flashcards for them since adults are able to do a neater job. If your child wants to make his own flashcards though you should not discourage him as this will help him to have a sense of pride in them.

4. Create a variety of flashcard games and drills to augment, not replace, the one on one work that you do with your child.

5.Once your child seems to have a firm grasp upon the words, help him to make bigger “at” words. This simply means adding more letters to “at,” including blends such as “fl” and “ch.” You can make this by presenting this exercise to your child as a challenge that you know that he can accomplish. Before doing this though, make sure that you have “at” written on one whole index card. You will then want to cut 3 other index cards in half so that you have 6 halves. On each of these halves you will want to write 1 of these 6 pairs of letters: fl, ch, br, sp, spl and dr. This will allow your child to make the words: flat, chat, brat, spat, splat and drat. Once this is done and you are ready to work with your child, put “at” down in front of you and spread the other cards around “at.” Your child can then choose 1 card, slide it over to the front of “at” and tell you what the new word is.

It is never too early to start teaching your children about money. However, you may be wondering how to go about doing so. This can then become overwhelming, especially when you look at everything that there is to teach them: earning, saving and spending money; paying taxes; and retirement. You may even wonder whether or not your children will even be able to learn all of this.

As you start to think about this you will certainly begin to find the answers that you need. One such idea is to give 3 different mason jars to each of your children. These mason jars are used to represent the different things about money. The first jar should be labeled “spend” as this is jar of money that your children will get to spend on anything that they want. The second jar should be labeled charity and will not be used by everyone. However, as parents it is still our duty to teach our children about giving money to those who are less fortunate than them so that they can make a difference. You will not want to tell them right away about the small tax write-off that you can get from charitable contributions on tax returns. The third jar should be labeled “savings” and should receive 25% (25 cents of every dollar) of the money. This is a great jar because whenever it is combined with the “spend” jar your children will have the opportunity to purchase the bigger ticket items that you may refuse to purchase for them. The fourth, and final, jar should be labeled “taxes” and receive the remaining 15% of the money. You can then put this money into the bank for your children to get back whenever they turn 18 and they are heading out into life. Your children can consider this as their reward for “retiring” from childhood into adulthood.

If you want to teach your children about credit, then you can act as their creditor. This is for those times when your children want something but do not have enough money between their “spend” and “savings” jars to purchase the item themselves. You can then purchase the item for them but charge them 1.5% interest. It is wise to write this down on a note that is attached to your child’s “spend” jar so that they will not forget to pay you back. Of course, an added benefit to doing this is that your children will not like owing you money and thus they will stop begging for things.

This system will give your children a head start on the notion of living within their means. You may be surprised to find yourself watching your own spending habits a little closer as well. If you still do not believe that this method could possibly work for teaching your children the hard facts of life, then give it a try and see for yourself. In the end, you may just wind up surprising yourself.

Most adults have some part of history, or even several defining events or times in history, that played an important part in their childhood. These times could include John F. Kennedy funeral, man first step on the moon, the first episode you saw of Saturday Night Live or even hearing Ronald Reagan’s famous Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall speech. Regardless of what it is, these parts of history will remain forever fixed in both your brain and your heart. Remembering these defining points is the best place to start whenever you are teaching your children about history or social studies.

Children love hearing stories about when they were born. They will even come right out and ask where they came from. This is something that is important to them. It is something that is meaningful to them. It is also something that they can relate to since it is their history.

Another idea is to share those parts of your lives, events and times that are of historical significance with your children as they grow up. This will teach them how the historical events and times have shaped the world in which they live in today. After all, your children really are interested in you because you mean a lot to them. They see you standing right there in front of them, which is able to make the events that you talk about a little more realistic and believable to them. So, by sharing the excitement that you naturally have about those events that you have experienced and have feelings about can help bring those events and historical situations to life in the eyes of your children.

It is also a good idea to take some time to visit the history museum in your area with your child. Herein not only are you spending quality time with your child but you are also teaching them about history. By looking at the various displays that are available at the museum, you may even find yourself with more stories to tell. As aforementioned this is very beneficial because children get to see and hear history through your eyes. Furthermore, with the items that you are talking about being located right there in front of them, history will come alive for them in ways that it never has before. Of course, all of this can also create a great bond between you and your child for the 2 of you to enjoy for the remainder of your lifetime together.

So, regardless as to whether your child’s teacher is having them study history by making All About Me books out of construction paper or by reading textbooks, sharing a part of yourself and how you have related to some of the special times and events in history that occurred during your own lifetime will help your children to develop an excitement, awareness and appreciation of times that lie beyond their own understanding. Plus, you will be surprised at just how much fun this can be to do together.