10 Ways to Encourage the Love of Reading in Your Child

10 Ways to Encourage the Love of Reading in Your Child
Reading is the gateway to different worlds and allows you to seek knowledge about any topic imaginable. Parents must encourage the love of reading in their children purposefully. We want our children to LOVE reading rather than forcing themselves to do so. Reading is the backbone of education.

Our 10 Top Picks for the Best Picture Books for Preschoolers

Our 10 Top Picks for the Best Picture Books for Preschoolers
Picture books ignite a child’s interest in reading books. The stories and illustrations must draw children into the story, sparking their imagination. A good picture book causes kids to recreate the story in their everyday life, and parents typically must read the story a thousand times.

9 Educational and Fun Activities for the Fourth of July

9 Educational and Fun Activities for the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is an exciting, fun-filled holiday for children. Among the festivities, try a few educational activities to learn about our nation.

Don’t Forget to Visit the Library This Summer

Don’t Forget to Visit the Library This Summer
The library is a fantastic source for learning and entertainment this summer. It is never too early to foster the love of reading in your children. Reading is the gateway for all learning. Your library is one of the best resources for your children, and it is free!

8 Tips for Learning While on Vacation

8 Tips for Learning While on Vacation
Your summer vacation is the perfect time for kids to keep learning. Learning and discovering new things doesn’t have to be boring. Here are 8 tips for learning while on vacation. 

Avoid a Summer Reading Setback

Avoid a Summer Reading Setback
Your child spent the school year developing their expanding reading skills. Summer may be full of fun memories and activities, but you don’t want to face a summer reading setback. Try these tips to avoid a summer reading setback. 

6 Nature Activities Your Child Will Love This Summer

6 Nature Activities Your Child Will Love This Summer
The world is alive during the summer, and it is the perfect time for some fun nature activities. Kids love spending time outside, and they need to learn more about the world around them. You should encourage your child to spend as much time outside as possible. Have picnics, swing, read outside, and garden, and try a few of these nature activities.

Teaching Your Reading/Writing Learner

Teaching Your Reading/Writing Learner

Here at merka, we’ve discussed the theory of various learning styles, one or more of which may apply to your child or student. Thinking in terms of learning styles can help us as parents or teachers to work with our kids in the most helpful way for them. Check out the other posts in our series here: Teaching Your Kinesthetic Learner, Teaching Your Auditory Learner, and Teaching Your Visual-Spatial Learner. So, what’s a reading/writing learner? Well, it’s pretty self-explanatory, but it’s good to flesh out the details, because with all of our creative teaching approaches, sometimes we can actually overlook...

What Should Your Child Know Before Kindergarten?

What Should Your Child Know Before Kindergarten?

If you have a child who will be attending kindergarten this fall, you’ve probably already gone through kindergarten registration and started thinking about other preparations you’ll need to make. I’ve been there twice, and it’s so surreal to think about your child being old enough to go to “real school”! Of course, your child doesn’t need to be an academic genius before starting kindergarten, but here are 10 skills that are good to have before the first day: How to write their first name: Knowing how to write both first and last names would be a plus, but if your...

10 Fun Ways to Learn About Transportation

10 Fun Ways to Learn About Transportation

Cars, trucks, and trains… oh my! Whether you’re: Teaching a transportation unit at preschool, or Looking for ideas to keep your little one engaged at home… Transportation crafts are a perfect way to teach preschoolers about the world, since they are usually associated with fun and excitement. Today we’re sharing 5 creative projects and 5 picture books that will help your preschooler learn through the vehicles we see around us.   Transportation Activities for Preschoolers Dump Truck Sound Sort (and other creative games!) at Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten Practice telling the difference between similar-looking letters and sounds by matching letters to the correctly...

How to End the School Year Well

How to End the School Year Well

May is here again, and the school year is wrapping up! The end of the school year is usually a combination of last-minute activities, warm spring weather, and pushing through the same school-day routine… which is probably feeling a little stale by now. (See the viral post Worst End of School Year Mom Ever if you relate!) Okay, so how can we as parents help our kids (and ourselves) end the school year on a good note? Here a few ways to finish well and get ready to transition into a summer routine. Stay consistent with homework, morning and evening...

How to Help Your Child Stick to a Routine

How to Help Your Child Stick to a Routine

Most of us are aware that having some sort of routine is necessary to have a functional family life. Kids need routines throughout their growing-up years, not just when they’re infants or toddlers. Keeping activities in a consistent sequence helps both parents and kids manage their daily needs, including food, hygiene, sleep, and homework. Kids may fight routine, but it helps them have a sense of consistency and security. Here are some tips for helping your child stick to a routine: Use pictures. Connecting visuals with a listed routine can help kids remember it better, especially if they’re visual-spatial learners....