The Babsy B Blog

How to handle little ones who interrupt

by Babs Hadjusiewicz November 27, 2013

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The key to literate kids? A healthy dose of oral language.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz October 12, 2013

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One word that proves kids love language as much as they love dessert.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz September 30, 2009

No matter the age, serve 'em language desserts, and kids always want more!

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How I got kids to take up reading in a home with no print in sight.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz September 12, 2009

I left that first family literacy home visit filled with questions. Had I sown any seeds there? Would that book-sharing prompt more reading and interacting with print in Suzanna’s home? Would Suzanna and her family ask to adopt another lonely book from our classroom?

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Why a little conversationalist is bound to be a leader.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz August 25, 2009

So what do you do to help your child be the powerful talker who’s leading the pack in a positive direction? It’s really quite simple.

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How I helped a 7-year-old find dessert in an eat-your-spinach world.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 18, 2009

Long ago, I found that serving desserts to kids works every time. Even when those desserts are of the word and poem and story and book ilk. Those desserts quickly move kids into an “I wanna read!” mode.

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How I explain to kids that I'm a stripper: With a poem, of course.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 13, 2009

Why I tell kids about my work as a stripper to teach a bit of phonics and a prefix...and to share all my ins and outs of writing.

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The story behind my Kids' Café™: It all started with a little pat on the back.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 08, 2009

She did it. She did it, I think, because I’d asked. And I think she did it because she recognized that she had, in fact, been doing something really important for her child now and for his future.

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One word that proves your child is listening to you, loud and clear.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 07, 2009

What kind of shy is it when a child acts on a stated expectation of the parent or caregiver? If one throws out the label, shy, does it then become a habit for the adult...and child? Ah! Awareness...and a tip to build child's self-confidence!

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How to put kids' natural love of word play to work for phonics.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 03, 2009

Learning to hear word parts, separate those parts, and then put them back together is an all-important reading-readiness skill. Yep, it’s one of the skills that helps children make sense of phonics in order to learn to read.

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How I used a song to turn a toddler's slouch into a stride.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz July 01, 2009

When your child decides it's time to slouch, just stand tall and Someone will follow suit. Here's how to make that happen!

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What to do when your child drops the F-bomb in mixed company.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 29, 2009

Here's what to do when your child seems to utter the F word in mixed company!

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A really important literacy exercise for parents. (It's so not what you think.)

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 19, 2009

WOW! It's time to stop and recognize YOU for all that you do for your child!

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What's old is new again. Even when it comes to garbage.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 18, 2009

WOW! Here are ways to think about recycling of all sorts of things!

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Why standing tall is plenty tall enough -- at any height.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 17, 2009

WOW! Here are literacy tips that not only help you and your child square up those shoulders; they also help out when behaviors are in need of a little fine-tuning.

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How to have grace when your child says "gwace". (Hint: Poetry comes to the rescue.)

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 16, 2009

WOW! Here's how to immerse your child's ears to listen and tongue to speak a sound of language...in preparation for inviting the eyes to read and hands to write the letter(s) that correspond to that sound.

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How to put the environment to work for literacy. And build a home library on a budget.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 15, 2009

WOW! Look what you and your child are viewing all around you! Let's put to use some environmental print to help build your child's thinking skills and your home library!

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A peaceful way to encourage literacy = a literate way to encourage peace.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 12, 2009

Here's a Babs Tip for an easy way to have a powerfully-productive conversation with your child of any age...and practice awareness of peaceful words!

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How to teach your child who's boss. (Warning: It may not be who you think.)

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 11, 2009

THINKing aloud gives your child one more tool to call upon when writing!

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To connect literacy to alliteration, disconnect it from reading.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 10, 2009

WOW! Here's how to have parent-child conversations that focus on language sounds! Such sound awareness prepares your child for success in reading and writing!

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Making sense of sentences, at any age -- and with nary a book in sight.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 09, 2009

Playing the Sentence Sense Game™ give you yet another way to help your child (of any age) get ready-ready-really-ready for those reading comprehension tests! And this game also helps your young child toward becoming a good writer!

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Using kids' love of rhyme to calm even the fussiest fusser.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 08, 2009

WOW! Let's have fun! Here's a tip to help you make the most of any and every opportunity to have fun with your child and language.

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Add modeling to your parenting roles. It's great for building young vocabularies.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 05, 2009

WOW! Lotsa ways to get more out of every read-aloud!

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What hogs can teach kids about intellectual property.

by Babs Hadjusiewicz June 04, 2009

It's a hog's life, it is! THINKing and TALKing with your child about all sorts of things, all prompted by a short poem that'll activate the THINKing caps of kids of all ages.

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