This blog post is sponsored by ABC Reading Eggs.
A few years ago, I attended a talk by Dr Elanna Yalow, a world-renowned expert in early education and the CEO of Early Learning Programs at KinderCare Education in the United States. Dr Yalow has several qualifications under her belt including a Ph. D in Educational Psychology, an M.B.A., and a B.A. in Psychology.
Dr Yalow talked about how crucial the first five years are for our children, and that 70% of brain development occurs in the first three years of life.
She also spoke about how a child’s language ability at age three is highly related to their reading ability in third grade. Not only that but the number of words they are exposed to is correlated to their language ability in third grade.
She also mentioned that in third grade there is a 30 million (!!!!) word gap between more affluent families and working-class families. Some stats she gave us, which I found quite alarming, are that in the United States an average child from a:
- professional family hears 215,000 words a week;
- working-class family hears 125,000 words a week; and
- family receiving welfare benefits hears 62,000 words a week.
However, socio-economic status is not destiny and there are things that can be done to ensure that kids are getting exposure to enough vocabulary.
One of them is using more descriptive language and asking our kids open-ended questions that encourage them to stretch their vocabulary. Because it’s not necessarily about using “bigger” words, but about the amount of language that exists.
Another one is using ABC Reading Eggs. ABC Reading Eggs is a comprehensive learn to read program that has been created by highly experienced school teachers, writers, and developers to help children aged 2 – 13 become fluent and proficient readers. It is a self-paced online program that you can work through (either with your kids or they can even do it on their own). And it’s full of games and activities that are easy to follow and really engaging for kids, which helps expose them to vocabulary.
I trust ABC Reading Eggs, as it’s based on solid scientific research and proven learning principles and has been created by highly experienced school teachers, writers, and developers to help children become fluent and proficient readers. It’s also used at my daughter’s school. In fact, it’s used by over 20 million children worldwide. Plus, it’s aligned with the Australian curriculum.
Throughout my years being a single parent, I have always felt a bit of added pressure to give my daughter the best start in life, and evidence tells us that reading is the #1 skill required for future academic success.
Reading and talking is something my daughter and I do together daily now, and I am proud to have instilled a love of reading in my daughter. I strongly believe that is due to the vocabulary she has picked up through our conversations and through using ABC Reading Eggs since she was three years old. It has helped develop the essential early literacy skills needed for a lifetime of reading success. Plus, it pretty much saved my sanity throughout home-schooling … twice! Through using ABC Reading Eggs, they are learning to read and they don’t even realise they’re learning – because it’s a game! Hello, positive screen time!
The best part of all of this? If you want to give ABC Reading Eggs a try, they are offering 30 days of FREE access to the program. You can get started right HERE. Don’t miss out on this limited time offer!
P.S DID YOU KNOW?
Thrive Tribe – the global membership experience for single mothers – will be opening again for enrolment soon. Join the waitlist here.
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