The Parent Effect

DSC_0099, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Sometimes I love my job. (Well most the time, I really love my job.) But the times I really, really love my job (and am very thankful for all the professors who trained me and who researched the theoretical underpinnings and the thought processes I use in diagnosing and making [...]

Rural Roads

DSC_0002, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Is this not beautiful? Western Washington along a country road.
My yesterday’s attempt at being professorial fell on deaf ears. (The response was kind of like – who cares.) So, I’m going to restate the point in a simpler manner. I am going to do this because I think it is [...]

I Like the Frog

DSC_0183, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
A bigger part of presenting at a conference is not the presenting, it’s the listening. We’re a community of colleagues who are researching and learning, almost on a daily basis. We learn from the studies we have undertaken, from our communities we have worked in, from the parents of children who [...]

Her Book Her Purse and Her Bible

DSC_0091, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
We met this little 4-year-old outside a bookstore in Seattle. Her grandmother told us she does not leave home without her book, her purse, and her Bible. Grandma, now that’s the way to encourage a young reader. (And we should all be so put together when we leave the house. [...]

Reading Begins Long Before School #1

Self Portrait 1, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Once a child has beginning language, we, as parents and educators, want to ensure that children have the building blocks for later decoding and comprehension. One of the first, and most important, things we can do is to expose our young children to numerous healthy, appropriate experiences. The [...]

Isaac Said ‘Bird’

Isaac Said Bird, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
I’m not a speech pathologist nor an expert on early childhood. But one of the wonderful things about teaching in higher education is that the experts, who do know, often work right across the hall. I asked my colleague to give one or two suggestions that parents could [...]

Beginning Readers – A Little Book for My Nieces and Nephews and Grandchildren

 
Francis Frog’s Busy Day
Written By Auntie

My name is Francis Frog.  I met my mom in a toy shop.  
Now, I live with my mom and dad in a house.

I like to read a book about frogs or about dogs.
I like to swing when I play in the park. 

I have a pot for tea and [...]

Sounds in Words (This is for David – a picture of a baby bunny. He’s three.)

Bunny Sentry, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Ok, I can just hear it, “If that is phonological awareness what then is phonemic awareness or is it the same thing?” Well, if you are a parent, you should be fascinated by this topic because we are talking about the very building blocks that can help your young [...]

Down by the Bay

Sound between 2 Trees, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Down by the Bay – where the watermelon grows – back to my home – I dare not go – For if I do, my mother would say, “Did you ever see a ______”
Fox kissing his socks, down by the bay
Cat with a rainbow mat, down by [...]

Reading in the Tree

Reading in the Tree, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.
Most questions I address concern children who have difficulty in learning to read. But this time a teacher called and asked about a little boy in 3rd grade reading fiction at the 6th grade level. He had already been skipped a grade in school. Parents and administators thought it [...]