English Comprehension: How to develop comprehension skill?

 

What is the purpose of reading comprehension?

Understanding of a topic remains thicker than the rote-learning, it makes a proper base and ultimately helps a child grow into a well-read human being. Let’s understand it with some other example, we read a beautiful paragraph about the geography of a wonderful place, we have got a wonderful voice and people enjoy listening to us, but what is the purpose of such reading when reader does not understand the meaning of geography, if a person is telling about the geographical features just by reading then how could it be possible for that person to imagine such place or its physical features. Let’s take another example, you are going with your kids to a market to buy daily stuff, but you do not know the units in which that stuff will be available and money to be used in exchange. These simple and daily skills are improved by comprehension. It is an essential part of study when it comes to reading content and understanding it. It is an important tool of reading which helps children recalling things which they have just studied. Our purpose of being read just winds up when we could not understand the study material that we have in our hands, however, we could just read it. That is completely useless.

How do we know that the Earth is oval-shaped? This is because we have learnt about the physical features of Earth through modern-day satellites. Well-learned and reputable people of society wrote down a wonderful history of theory and practices for us, that still inspires us and leads us to live a better and wonderful life. They compiled their experiences in the form of books and we just sit on our study table and read what they achieved in their lives and we continue from where they stopped their research. But how could you understand these wonderful theories, this needs skills and that skill is fostered by comprehension. You cannot imagine that a child could understand anything that he or she has just read; lack of comprehension skills would not let them understand these things. The main purpose of comprehension remains the same; it is developed in order to sharpen the understanding of children through stories, researches, discoveries and arguments. Thus comprehension plays a vital role on two fronts, first, it improves language and grammar skills as children spend a lot of time thinking on topics of their study – how to start and where to start. Second, it enriches children with loads of information that will help them in their lives. For example, what is the distance of our Moon from our planet Earth, this is a tricky one and you need to rote down the facts. But it is, though, not so important. However, if you start understanding that Moon does not have its own light and it just reflects the light of the Sun, this information is crucial and one should keep it mind. Because that is the difference between an animal and a human being – a human could reason, be logical to things and could be rational. Now we can say the importance of comprehension cannot be overlooked.  

 

How to develop comprehension skills?

Comprehension is equally important for every child whether he or she is interested in science or arts. However, it automatically improves the language skills of children, but its main purpose is to make a great balance between reading and understanding of a particular topic. Comprehension is everywhere, whether we are at home or outside. It plays a vital role in building our sense at every stage of life. Parents just need to spend thirty to forty minutes out of their busy schedules and help children understand things they see in their immediate surroundings. Daily reading and observation of things are very crucial and important. That can only solve the purpose of things a child should understand. 

Everything which is read should be followed with some logical questions so that a proper understanding of things could be developed. Parents should ask questions on the topic which is just read, it will not only help your child, but also help you enhance your knowledge. You need to make visuals of things related to the topic, which you both are reading. Share your childhood experiences and ask things happening in your surroundings. Always keep one of Albert Einstein’s quotations in your mind, “Imagination fosters your intelligence”. What does it mean? It means when you start visualizing things your strength to imagine things improves, and every brilliant task of this world that was once executed, first was imagined by a brilliant mind.

How could imagination be fostered? It could be fostered only when you start asking questions about topics that you are reading and start putting things in order and start visualizing what would happen next. This theory of next, if taken in a positive way, could lead to a wonderful life.

Phonics or Phonics Sounds: Fundamentals of Language

Almost all the alphabetic languages are taught through phonics. Phonics is a method that is used to teach reading and writing of the alphabet of a particular language. No language can stand alone without phonics that is why it is also referred to as decoding words. It reflects a very strong bonding between the sound of a certain language that one utters and alphabet one writes. It focuses on the sound of a word and the composition of letters within that word. In other words, it is a teaching program for students that helps them learning-to-read.

It is a matter of debate that if a teacher starts teaching reading, without a good introduction of phonics for kindergarten as a proper subject is very harmful to children. That is the reason once a child starts reading without the knowledge of phonics the much-awaited results cannot be achieved. Awaited results can only be achieved when there is synchronization between a program and its implementation. Further, that can be strengthened through techniques of instruction, management of classroom according to curriculum and grouping of students. 

Phonics can be taught in different ways. There are a variety of approaches that could be followed in order to teach phonics. These approaches can be categorized as learning individual sounds – M-A-T (three-letter word), OW-N-ER (five-letter word, but sounds like a three-letter word), rhyming words – CAT, RAT, HAT, etc., and consonant blends – BL – in BLOG, BLACK, BLOOD, etc. These approaches blend together and make a strong methodology for reading and writing an alphabetic language.  

From the point of view of improvisation in language, English adopted a large number of words from various other languages that exist in different parts of the world. This approach not only enriched its vocabulary but also diversified its culture. Their approach of absorbing words into their vocabulary gave them global exposure and English became the most popular language in the world, however, this is not the most spoken language. That is the reason we see different pronunciation of a word. For example, if a word from any language of India is included in English, then an English person will pronounce it in a different way in comparison to the person, who knows this word since its childhood.

Here we will discuss the patterns of English language that keep continuously changing and enhancing with different things that are found in its global surroundings. Look at these two letters – ee – sometimes, or most of the time, they stand for the sound – i, ie, ei or ea.  The words in which these letters are used are spoken with various sounds across the world. That variation in pronunciation takes the English language into the group of rules that are set to understand it.

Phonics Patterns of Vowels

Short Vowels: We all know that there are five vowels – a, e, i, o, and u. These vowels are pronounced for a very short period of time in a particular word. Look at the following words:

·        C-A-T (A – short vowel sound)

·        B-E-T (E – short vowel sound)

·        S-I-T (I – short vowel sound)

Long Vowels: We can understand the meaning of these vowels by their names. It is just opposite to short vowels where the pronunciation takes a very short space of time, whereas, in long vowels, it takes a bit longer space of time while pronouncing a particular word. Look at the following words:

·        SEE (S-E-E  – EE – long vowel sound)

·        MINE (M-I-N-E  – I – long vowel sound)

·        NO (N-O  – O – long vowel sound)

One thing that should be kept in mind that long vowels have the same sounds as the names of the letters. To be more elaborative, if you say the name of that letter, you will get a long vowel.

• Alphabet Phonics is the bases of language that help children understand the association between writing letters and the sounds they produce. Its instructions are taught in such a way that children start recognizing words and sounds, for example, letter – n will produce the sound – n as in the case of words like the nose, new, etc.
• The purpose of each subject should be to help and understand students its fundamentals. Phonics plays a very important role when it is implemented in a very comprehensive way at the level of kindergarten so that a proper letter-sound relationship could be understood by a child. Its implementation makes sure that a child starts recognizing a word then its spelling and further starts working on comprehension, regardless the grade in which he/she is studying.
  
• When we utter something, we produce a sound and when we produce a sound it takes the form of a language in which we converse with other people, whether they are living around us or living across the globe. It becomes the bases of our mutual understanding through which we share our feelings. This entire process is known as Phonological Awareness. It is referred to as an oral language, whereas phonics is referred to as a printed form of sounds. Phonological awareness and phonics awareness both are completely different skills. It is seen that a few children have some weaknesses in phonological awareness and some have problems with phonics awareness. But the possibility of having problems at both ends, whether it is phonological awareness or phonics awareness is very little. A child cannot have problems with both things at the same point in time.  Let’s understand this issue with an example, a child knows the sound produced by a letter, but he/she is not able to form a word, this is phonological awareness. But when a child orally mixes sounds and starts reading sit for set, lit for let, pit for pet, etc., then he/she is having phonetics problem.
  

Mandala Drawing and Colouring - Heal your Mind and Body

In India’s one of the most reputed and ancient languages – ‘Sanskrit’, there is a word called – Mandala. Mandala stands for the circles. Now, if you are fond of spirituality, you will find out that there are a few circles in our body. Each circle has its unique identity and that identity defines how profound you have become in your spiritual process.

 

Yoga unites all of us with universe and at the end peace, harmony and a feeling of fullness grow within. But not all of us can achieve this unification with universe, as it requires a certain amount of Yogic practices, but its essence can be felt through some low-order meditative practices.  However, there are no low-order spiritual practices, but from the Yogic point of view, such practices do not require certain qualifications for being a beginner.

Here is another formula developed by some great artists to gain the meditative mind. This is Mandala colouring. It relaxes us, calms us and finds a perfect balance between body and mind. The complexity and beauty of Mandala designs make us curious at the one end and continuous observation of things keeps us focused on a particular object on the other. It ultimately leads to meditation, which is the source of all happiness. Yes, it is the source of happiness. I am not saying, to be happy in life, you start with Mandala coloring books, but it is one of the processes that brings smile on one’s face without being involved in deep spiritual practices. However, if you do so, then there is nothing good like it.

Let’s have a look at the benefits of the Mandala colouring :

1. It relieves stress. Mandala drawings for adult are known for relieving stress of the human body and mind. There are a large number of worries in this world, whether they are related to jobs, businesses, finances, or relations. Whenever we fall ill, we take pills to recover, but when it comes to a disturbing mindset, a special prescription is required to get relieved from such a traumatic condition. In such a case Mandala coloring for meditation plays a very important role. When you colour the circular patterns it draws your deep attention. This deep attention is your concentrated mind. A concentrated mind is a meditative mind and a meditative mind is a source of all happiness, and no anxiety or stress can sustain in such a state of mind.
   Nature in Mandala Art
   
   
2. Mandala refreshes us. Attention brings concentration. A concentrated mind always takes holy dips in meditation and meditation is a source of happiness that we have discussed in our previous point. At this point we are going to discuss, whether Mandala coloring can refresh our brain. The simple answer is “Yes”. Happiness, yoga, meditation, concentration, etc., are related to a spiritual mindset, and mind is not a physical part of the human body. However, the brain is a well-known internal organ of the human body. We know about the two hemispheres of the human brain. Coloring, drawing, and paintings are known as brain refreshers because they require both hemispheres of the human brain to stay focused. These colouring activities create a balance between both the halves. Such intricate designs of a refreshing mandala – coloring book for adults – challenge the human brainial capacity. Human imagination improves when one chooses colors and fills up the spaces. A brilliant problem-solving skill develops when a person spends time in colouring Mandala’s intricate designs.
   
3. It redefines creativity. Mandala coloring books improve creative edge of a person. It is for everyone, however, adults enjoy it a lot. As of now, most of the people have gained so much momentum in their lives and there is very little scope to discover oneself from the scratch. This sort of coloring helps adult to rediscover their creative strength and a colourful restart comes in their lives.  
   The Nature Mandala Colouring Book
4. Mandala works as a healing tool. We all know that it helps in developing concentration and brings happiness. When you are happy from within, your immunity starts boosting. A healthy body and peaceful mind are parallel to each other. So this coloring improves the immune system of a person and helps in gaining more control of one’s body. Mandala colouring helps in treating various diseases through nature mandala coloring book for adults. They are known to have treated people suffering from various diseases. Such designs help in epilepsy, low-blood pressure, uncontrolled limb muscles, and many more.
   
   
   
   
   

A large number of individuals are using these designs to find out a perfect balance between their brain and body. Their significance cannot be ignored and these designs will remain with humanity forever as their role in finding peace and happiness is under scrutiny, yet unprecedented.

Word Search Puzzles for Kids

Word Search Books

The importance of word search puzzles for 3 to 12-year-old kids cannot be overlooked. However, a large number of games are available on your smartphones, but still, the significance of paper and pencil cannot be left unnoticed. Solving word search puzzles entertains children for a perfect time and its effect on their learning process has always been a matter of great appreciation from the point of view of teachers, mentors, and parents. 

Let’s have a look at how such puzzles help your ward in learning things better and in the most effective way.

1. Spellings learn made easy: Children are very fond of writing incorrect spellings. They do not want to commit mistakes, but it happens, unfortunately. Word search puzzles can help in resolving this issue. Looking for a particular word for a long time makes an image of the word along with letters in the brain of a child. Seeing letters scattered all over the page of an activity, make child curious about it, during this course its meaning and usage can be discussed with the child.   
2. Responding fast made easy: How would you expect your child to respond to various situations in life? Word search puzzles help your child become a responsive one at the perfect time. There are certain situations in life when you expect to respond much faster than you used to be. How this skill could be developed? It can only be possible through certain brain developing-challenging activities that are designed for a specific age group of children. The responsive nature of a person is very important in life. It defines how much we could succeed and what could be the pace of our success. This is an art of tackling problems of life and resolving them on time. It can ensure how much you are going to get in your life. Unfortunately, you can see around, people, with better life skills than those who have better academics, succeed exponentially in life.
3. Sharpening memory made easy: Spending a great amount of time with words and somehow with their meaning and usage develops memory. A child starts recalling things in a much better way. A great memory is a key to success in life. Don’t you appreciate a person with a good memory in life? You do of course. Think about it twice. Storing a great amount of information in memory and accessing it on time to time is a process that we do every day in our lives, but doing it in a systematic and much-organized way is an art. An art that cannot be compared with.
4. Vocabulary learns made easy: Every activity a child comes across gives him/her the confidence to live a meaningful and much productive life. Learning a new word on a daily basis, finding its usage ultimately adds to the beauty of life through which a person understands and expresses his/her own calculations of things scattered around the society and nature.
5. Problem-solving made easy: Word search puzzles develop logical skills that help in solving problems. Let me show you a graphical presentation of a terrorist attack meant to kill innocent people. The expertise of the pilot and the decision he took within a fraction of a second saved 380 passengers on  board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                How could we develop such great skills? It is a million-dollar question? It is somehow or other called a miracle. Finding a word horizontally, vertically, one way or another, etc., develop such skills that help in solving and tackling situations in all possible ways. Children with much better life skills live a wonderful life than those who do not focus on them.
6. Cracking competition made easy: Solving a word search puzzle faster on paper or online develops a sense of competition in a child. He/she tries to solve it properly and faster than his/her friends. The only thing which we need to focus on that this competition remains healthy as it is a matter of manners and values of respecting each other. Struggle to do things faster motivates children, though it also fosters sportsmanship in them.

Despite the above-mentioned benefits of word search puzzles, a few prominent things cannot be ignored here. Any kind of physical or mental activity brings the members of a family closer. Prominently, a social skill of togetherness and sharing also develop through such word search or crossword puzzle games. Children start learning about the resources that we have in nature are meant for every one of us, not only for an individual being. So, educational materials, which have been developed for children by various experts, are very important for the multiple benefits of them, especially when it is low-priced and portable.

WHY DO PARENTS FAIL TO CHOOSE GOOD THINGS FOR THEIR KIDS?

Games and Books for Kids

Blue Whale Game

Recently, we all heard about the deaths caused by the Blue Whale Game. Why did it happen? How did a live game able to play with the mind of children. Today’s children are very focused and able to sort out their problems. They are doing well in their studies and cracking their examinations with ease and confidence. But why some of them are not able to control their emotions in this artificial world of virtual reality. Here things seem real, but they are not. They are just to play with the mind and fulfill their own agenda. We can’t even imagine the agenda of such game developers behind developing such games.

Why do children go for such games?

Nowadays, most of the children are not participating in outdoor games that require lots of physical activities. This is the main problem in metropolitan cities. However, the situation is very different when we look into towns and other rural places. It does not mean that metros do not have enough space for outdoor sports, but the willingness to join them is not up to the mark. 

A large number of parents are working and spending lots of time at their workplaces or traveling to it. This causes harm to kids when they do not spend quality time with their growing buddies. They do not let their kids play outdoors due to security reasons, though we all know that it is a great concern as we hear such social problems now and then.

This leads to the consensus that children stay at home and do their homework, studies and spend time watching television and computer games. The problem starts from here. Television and computers cannot be the replacement for physical activities that develop their muscles and brain cells.

This is not a big problem as it seems. It can be easily sorted out. Take at least 4 days a week. Make a schedule for a morning walk or any outdoor sport in the morning or in the evening. It will make you and your family fit. Choose a good sports academy near your home, where your kids go and participate. You can also look for open gyms in your nearby parks, as there you will find a number of simple exercising machines that can work wonders for you and your child. If you are going to an academy then ask the child which sport he/she likes. Try all the sports. It will hardly take 2-3 days to find it out. You can do it at your weekends when you are not going to the office or take rest from it for this crucial task. That is an important task in order to wish a good and healthy life for your kids both mentally and physically.

More they participate in the physical activities; more you will notice that they have become stronger mentally. While participating in various sports they will learn to share things with other kids, and compete with them in a healthy environment. A sense of participation and engagement will gradually take the form of responsibility. Thus, they will be more responsible for things and duties.

After involving them into the physical participation in the form of sports, you will win half the battle. The remaining half can be easily won. Now choose some self-help books for your kids that include activities and tasks to perform. Please do not bring home, reading material full of text, guiding a child what to do and not to do. This sort of reading material is easily available and cannot of any use to engage your child for a good time.

Again you will have to spend 7 to 8 hours in a week to choose good reading and practicing material for your child. The only thing which should be kept in mind that whatever is found should be engaging for kids. Now the question arises on how to choose such material. Such material should focus on Social Skills, IQ, EQ, Reasoning Skills, Daily-use Practical Mathematics Skills, Saving and Spending Habits, Language, Current Trends in Environment, Digital Knowledge, and other topics covering General Awareness.

All the skills and topics mentioned above should be different from the things a child studies in his/her classroom. Spending 30 to 40 minutes in performing such activities will help your child to grow into a much aware and confident child.

A physically strong and mentally tough child is an asset to the nation. Then in order to keep him/her updated with the latest technology and innovations, let him/her play the games on the computer. Try to find out which game he/she likes and the reason behind it. Discuss the negative effects of games that are harming kids throughout the world. You will be surprised to see he/she starts understanding what you are concerned for because you have given him/her a solid base for it.

Appreciate yourself for your necessary efforts and live a happy and productive life with your family.

5 Books that can work wonders for 3 years old kids

Books that engage children and enhance their reading experience are need of hours for all the parents. Such books help children learn various things easily and add a fun element in the learning process. These books instill a love for reading among children and help each of them grow into a delighted and more aware child.

Here is a list of 5 books that apply a scientific methodology while teaching for a better understanding of different topics. These wonderful books are Alphabet books – Capital Letters and Small Letters, Number Book, Colouring Book, and Puzzle Book.

1. My Practice Book Series (Alphabet Books – Capital Letters and Small Letters) builds literacy skills and records the progress of each child. It helps teacher and parents to look back and see how far the child has come in his or her studies. 

• This series develops a habit of writing and helps children improve their handwriting in a proper and well-graded way.

• Each book in the series helps children understand the formation of alphabet and numbers, which are made up of straight lines, slanting lines, semi-circles, circles and curved lines.

2. My Practice Book Series (Number Book) is the third book in this series. It covers number writing from 1 to 20. Its multiple exercises of continuous writing help children master numbering exercises. It is developed with the aim to provide children with an appropriate practice of numbers. 

3. Spring - My First Colouring Book makes children curious about things they see in their immediate surroundings. It helps them raise questions about them. With this core aim to let children understand their world this wonderful book has come into being.

• This book helps children make choices between the things they like or dislike by colouring and later drawing them.

• Its large and beautiful pictures draw the attention of children and encourage them to colour the pictures naturally.

• It helps children know how to make comparison between different shapes, sizes and patterns, thus it encourages their logical and analytical bent of mind.

• It encourages children possess good colouring and drawing skills, because if they draw a perfect square or circle or any other shape, their ability to identify the numbers, letters and words increases.

4. Puzzles for 3+ Kids is an important book in the Think & Grow Series. This book works wonders in developing the problem solving and reasoning skills of children. It is seen that children who regularly solve puzzles grow with much better life skills than those who do not.

• This book brings such activities that are based on objects which children see in their immediate surroundings.

• It provides such puzzles that are a constant source of mental stimulation for children.                                           
• It boosts the confidence of children that helps them solve puzzles much faster and prepares them for some complex reasoning-based exercises.

Can colouring and drawing improve the overall academic performance of a child?

Drawing is an important intellectual activity for children. It is a way to express and understand the world for them. The steps to draw various objects teach them how to give shape to their ideas because mind is always thinking during the process of drawing.

Children grow with much better life skills when they participate in drawing, colouring and physical activities. Such participation encourages children for healthy competition; and develops problem solving skills among them. It relaxes their mind and limbs when they are exhausted.

Drawing fosters the imagination of children which helps them understand geography, science and maths later in their lives, because the skills they acquire through drawing improve their academic performance. It builds focus and hand-eye coordination of children that develop their confidence and self-esteem. When drawing expands their creativity and imagination, it also facilitates the habit of self-regulation.

Being a very important subject like science, maths, social science and language, it is essential to find good art books for kids. A good art book proceeds from simple to little complex drawings and later introduces advance level of drawing techniques. Best art books take inspiration from the immediate surroundings of a child. Such books cover cartoon drawings, semi-realistic drawings and at the advanced stage they cover realistic drawings. However, cartoon and semi-realistic formats of drawings are very popular among children and these formats add a fun element in the learning process.

Books for kids as a set can’t be completed without including kids drawing books. Drawing allows them to express themselves, especially when they can’t express their feeling through words. Whatever they make has a meaning from their perspective, though your own perspective may be different. At the beginning, partially formed ideas take shape and develop through the drawing.

Pattern books and shape books with lots of tracing activities are very important for children. When they go through these books, they follow a monotonous and repetitive approach of learning. It may not sound good, but it is true. However, such monotonous and repetitive approach improves their pincer grip and helps them hold the pencil independently. As their hand-eye coordination improves, they start making their own sketches. They try to improvise the adult drawn images provided in the books. Their improvisation is natural, because each newly developed piece of art is inspired by its previous version.

A good art book teaches simple drawings to children through a number of techniques. Such techniques can be mastered by children if they practice them regularly. It helps children learn how to draw and make them comfortable with the objects to be drawn.

10 Things to keep in mind while buying kids drawing book.

1. It should be a well-graded book that proceeds from simple to little complex children drawings keeping in mind the age of children.
2. There should be a proper space on each practice page so that children could draw and colour the pictures easily.
3. The book should be decorated with soft colours that can give relaxation to the eyes of little children.
4. It should develop the mental abilities of children, as while drawing new discoveries are made that are very important at this stage for children.
5. It should work as a bridge between the inner world of a child’s imagination and outer world of sharing ideas.
6. A good art book uses simple language for the statements so that parents and sometimes even children could understand them easily.
7. Thickness of paper lets children use any kind of colour whether it is crayons, oil pastels, sketch pens or water colours. So paper should be of rich quality that has adequate thickness.
8. A good art book should work as a vocabulary booster. Different objects decorating the book has a specific name. While drawing or colouring children spend time with these objects and it indirectly improves their language competence.
9. A good drawing book encourages children to raise environmental issues through banners, posters and leaflets on water saving, tree planting and animal care.
10. A good drawing book should encourage a healthy discussion among children. While drawing or colouring they will ask questions and these questions must be answered in a way that each child becomes a constant little thinker.