Getting Learning Started

       Many schools, when admitting children for their first year, ask questions about the child's background in order to have a better understanding of him. This is not done so that the teacher may restrict the child to his preschool learning, but rather to help her provide materials which meet the needs of the child at his particular stage of growth. For some children, large and small picture books may be the first books which they will have a chance to handle. For others, books with simple stories printed in large type may be more satisfying. Some youngsters will scribble with crayons, fascinated by the idea of using a variety of colors. Others who have passed this phase will settle down and write, even announcing, “I am going to write my name." Each child within this wide range of growth should be an acceptable entrant to school if he is in good health and of the designated age for admission. 

       The responsibility primary teachers have is a large one. It is up to them to guide large groups of children in such a manner that those who are normal retain their eager attitude toward exploring new fields of learning. For those who have already been pushed too hard, or who are overly shy, or fearful of doing the wrong thing, the task is a more difficult one. They will have to be carefully helped in order to recapture the fun of again trying their wings. 

       The classrooms which we see today have toys and games, paints, plenty of pictures, books, posters, and nooks or corners for individuals to work on building, playing, or writing. These classrooms are designed to inspire the children who come to them, to stimulate and to warm them with the sheer delight of living and learning. In them, children will be busy doing worth-while things; they won't be bored by patiently sitting at their desks, with folded hands, waiting for their teacher's next direction.

• The Kindergarten Smorgasboard by Greg Smedley-Warren
• Brittany Olga's Homeschool Curriculum Resources and Ideas
• The Believe Project inspires young students to fall in love with reading!
• Promise Center of Homewood returns to the basics to help students...
• Welcome Parents! by Enterprise Elementary School District for children starting kindergarten

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Help When Help Is Sought

The show-off parent.

       Marked beginnings are made toward reading by some children even before entering kindergarten, usually by those who learn to talk early, and who have had an opportunity to enjoy stories in books. At the age of four, they may recognize letters, want to write O's or A's, copy their older brothers' and sisters' names, and learn to write their own names. Parents may wonder if it is right to help them when they ask, "How do you make a T?" A sensible plan is to offer the child help when he asks for it, and show him how to get fun out of his exploration. Give him a crayon rather than a hard pencil, and provide a large sheet of paper and a good surface on which to write. 

       It is very important that the observing parent doesn't become too proud over early signs of literacy. It is the parent, hoping he is guiding a budding genius, the one aiming to have his child read at four, who constitutes a threat to a child's security. The show-off parent is not only a bore to all of us, but is endangering his own child. Children must be accepted by their contemporaries, enjoying work and play with them, and they will not be accepted if they are forced by their parents to stand apart and think themselves smarter than their playmates.

       A child who is tutored by an overambitious parent may grow up thinking it is smart to be different, to be superior to his neighborhood and school fellows. Grave emotional problems too often result from his attitude-an attitude which so frequently begins with the child's perfectly normal urge to imitate those with whom he lives, who read and write. So the counsel is: help when help is sought, but don't exert pressure. Another suggestion: these interests with young children are sporadic; they wax and wane quickly. When a child loses interest in writing and looking at books, the best course is to accept it as normal behavior. Later on, he will come back with renewed eagerness to these experiences; he will want to read and write. We will find that although he may have forgotten some previously learned skills, he will soon, and happily, acquire others.

Create organic pre-reading activities by

Teaching Little Learners.

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In The Pioneer's Cabin Home

From a story of the making of Kansas
by McKeever.

And now as the seasons passed on, the cabin

 alone on the prairie,

 Enlarged and partly rebuilt and with out-

buildings clustered about it, 

Became the inspiring scene of many of life's

 young endeavors. 

Conveniently near the place had Archibald

 planted an orchard 

Of apples and peaches and plums, and small

 fruit of every description. 

Adorning the dooryard and walks were elm 

trees and maples and cedars. 

Underneath whose cooling shade the children

 could play in contentment. 

And oh! the many young souls to be 

clothed and nourished and cared for! 

With not a device or convenience and very 

scant means for buying 

At shop or store or from peddler the plainest 

of things for the household. 

But some there be always among us who 

seem to be marked for hardship, 

For peril or sword or privation or other dire 

earthly oppression, 

And yet whose spirit undaunted seems destined 

forever to triumph. 

Such was the spirit of Archibald, such was 

the strength of Elvira, 

And so by the light of the fireplace or homemade 

candle dim burning, 

Elvira would sit with her sewing at night, 

while nimble her fingers 

Would fly through the stitches of garments 

new, or at mending the old ones. 

And though a fierce storm might be raging 

without, and hungry coyotes 

Mingling their blood-curdling cries with the

 moan and the sigh of the north-wind,

And Archibald off at the village a two-days

trip for provisions. 

Yet was she not afraid. Fondly in thought

would she picture the future 

Of the little ones lying asleep on cots or on

pallets about her. 

Seeing for each one a career of success, of

fame and of honor. 

And firm indeed was her faith in the love 

of the Heavenly Father, 

To whom she resigned all her cares, receiving

new strength for the morrow.

How to make a dollhouse floor lamp that really lights up!

A floor lamp battery operated tea light.

        Don't throw away any old doll stands folks! Because these may be easily transformed into floor lamps for a dollhouse and you can make them actually light up by including battery operated tea lights. These stands are best used when they are "weighted" at the bottom, so that they will stand upright properly. 

Supply List: 

• recycled doll stand
• a straw that fits over the pole of the doll stand 
• paper condiment cup or a Dixie brand drinking cup
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• sandpaper
• rubbing alcohol
• acrylic paint
• stickers or watercolor paints (optional) to decorate the shade
• scrap cardboard
• battery operated tea light
• Mod Podge

Left, Ask an adult to cut a small hole the size of the top tip of the doll stand in the center of your
 lamp shade's bottom cardboard piece so that the shade has a place to attach to the narrow pole
 of the stand. Center, Draw around the battery operated tea light on top of a thick cardboard to
cut the correct size of shade base for the lamp. Right, See what cardboard layers look like from 
the side view.

Left, I want to cut-away the bottom of the paper condiment cup so that I may attach the nicer 
edge of the rolled cup opening to my shade. Right, So you can see that I needed two condiment
cups to make this shade larger than the tea light's circumference. So, I just over lapped the small
opening with a second cup to make the shade's pleated paper continuous looking. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Wipe down the recycled doll stand using rubbing alcohol; this removes oil from your skin that repels paint applications. 
2. You may need to further sand the stand to rough it up for painting.
3. Paint the recycled stand to match the furnishings of your doll's home.
4. Mod Podge these parts to help prevent scratching on the metal surfaces.
5. Draw around the battery operated tea light on top of a thick cardboard to cut the correct size of shade base for the lamp approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch larger.
6. Carefully cut the bottom of a condiment cup off. This will become your floor lamp's shade.
7. Hold the cup upside down with the cut-open bottom facing up and glue the edges at the original bottom directly onto the cut cardboard round. 
8. Finish the cardboard round with a trim or ribbon. Glue this carefully to the outside edging to cover the cardboard nicely. I just used a plain white paper ribbon for this lamp.
9. You may also choose to paint the cardboard on the bottom of the shade the same color as the stand parts as well.
10. Ask an adult to cut a small hole the size of the top tip of the doll stand in the center of your lamp shade's bottom cardboard piece so that the shade has a place to attach to the narrow pole of the stand.
11. I also glued a straw to the bottom of the shade piece to further secure the shade to the stand. The shade fits snugly over the pole during play but when in storage I detach the shade from the pole to keep the fragile shade from rough handling. 
12. Insert the tea light through to top of the shade to light up the floor lamp. Turn it on and off as desired.
13. You can also make a floor lamp using paper Dixie cups instead of condiment cups for shades.
14. Decorate the lamp shades if you wish with any kind of paints, stickers or markers as well or leave these unadorned if you prefer.

See More Doll Lamp Crafts: 

• Doll lamps made from recycled parts and decorative papers 
• An authentic tiny kerosene lamp for our Pioneer, 18 inch dolls here. 
• How to make a camp lantern that really lights up for your American Girl Doll! 

Authentic shade designs from the Deco period for students to copy
if they wish for their own dollhouse lamps.

A Friendly Lift

"Listen, Mom!"

       There is no one best way to teach children to read. A friendly, personal lift over a rough spot is a safe, general rule for parent and teacher to follow. 

       As methods of teaching reading have changed, parents yes, and teachers, have become cautious, even afraid, lest they do the wrong thing. Especially with reference to beginning reading has this wave of doubt as to procedure and hesitancy in helping children prevailed. It is essential that children are not confused by two sets of instructions, one from school, the other from home, especially if the instructions are contradictory. For example, at school a teacher suggested to her children, "If you come to a word you don't know, ask me." She had not taught her pupils letters but had helped them listen to stories, look at stories in books, recognize some of the words, and try to read a passage by themselves or with her assistance if needed.

       One of these youngsters went home with a pre-primer and fairly burst into the house to demonstrate his new-found success in reading. He had scarcely spoken before he came to a halt. "What is this word?" he asked, holding the book for his mother to see, as he was accustomed to do in school. "Spell it out," his mother answered. The child didn't know what she meant, and the mother wondered how a teacher expected a child to read when he wasn't even able to spell the words. Obviously, home and school need to come together sufficiently to understand basic ways in which both work with a given child. In this case, a simple note to parents might have sufficed: "When your child begins to read and asks you what a word is, tell him. If he forgets it and asks again, tell him again. Eventually, he will learn." 

Reading WARS! Phonics vs. Whole Word?

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Wanted: "A Helpful Adult"

       "EATING it up," was how a boy described his young brother's reaction to learning to read in the first grade. That's what all of us wish for beginning readers, the avid, eat-it-up appetite for reading as a highly pleasurable experience. Teachers and parents alike feel it their compelling duty, a very important role, to help children experience this enjoyment of reading books. 

       Reading skill doesn't just spring from a child's great desire or his parent's family background. There is specific learning which must be mastered in the process. But the job of helping children is not so mysterious or so technical as some teachers and parents have been led us to believe. A mother reported she never really taught her twins how to read. "I just read to them with one sitting on either side of me. They began to choose the book and the story that they wanted to hear, find the page, say a word here and there, and all at once they started to say, 'This is sheep.' 'This is lamb.' 'This is where it says tiny kitten.'" 

       Or, take the case of a father who was asked by his ten year old son about plant parasites. The subject of parasites had been discussed in school; the boy was fascinated, and wanted to learn more. The father suggested that they see what they could learn  about parasites in their encyclopedia. He showed his son how to locate the correct volume, and said, "Now, you see if you can find parasite, and we'll talk about it after you read what it says." Later, in reporting the incident, the father said, "I hope I'm not out of step with school methods in showing my young fellow how to use an encyclopedia." Most teachers would be overjoyed to have such excellent help from parents.

Finding the volume together.

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Transportation Rebus

        Teachers and parents can help encourage reading by using a rebus to inspire young students. Early readers can track your reading aloud. Point to the words as you speak to show how these look and also sound them out. When you cross in front of the picture in the place of a word, ask the child to "say" what he sees and then proceed to read aloud the words along with him or her. They will love to learn and play this simple game along with you. There is a translation below, but do not be surprised if your little one may mislabels the pictures just have fun and giggle together making it a positive experience.

Transportation by Maude M. Grant. Illustrated by Doris Howard

For folks to travel far and near,
There must be vehicles, that's clear.

Now in the days of long ago,
They had the cart and ox slow.

The ships and the flat boat too,
And then the sailboats came to view.

Upon the roads in days of yore.
Folks traveled with the carriage and horses.

Now we have trains traveling fast,
And trolleys go darting past.

The highways are full of motor cars,
At night their headlights gleam like stars.

Who'd ever think that we could fly?
Yet many planes dot the sky.

And in the depths of ocean blue,
The submarines are sailing too.

How to Paint a Friendly Ghost Gourd!

This little spooky ghost couldn't harm a fly, much less the creepy jack-o-lantern it has decided
to make a home with...

       Gourds come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and if you are fortunate enough to find a pumpkin patch during the month of October that sells dried gourds, you can make a fun painted Halloween character on one of these that won't collapse and rot at the end of the season like a pumpkin! 

       Certainly ghosts are popular characters around the Autumn holidays... I painted this friendly ghost as a simple gourd ghost type that any small child might like to paint. The upper half is painted white and the lower orange, if it is not already that color to begin with. This particular gourd was russety orange in the beginning so I had even less work to do in order to turn him into a grinning jack-o-lantern.

       Not all gourds are sold as dried gourds for display. Children may use gourds to paint even when these have not been dried and properly polished for crafts. They will have just as much fun painting them for a Halloween party. However, these may not last till next year. 

       Set them aside in a dry, cool, dark room to see if these will survive without mold. Normally, it takes many months to cure gourds. To know if your gourd is properly dry it should be very light weight and it should make a rattling noise when you shake it. This is because the seeds inside have dried out as well and are hitting the inner walls of the gourd as you disturb them with a shake.

See how I used a white colored 
pencil to mark where I would
paint on the dried gourd.

Supply List:

• a dried gourd with a long narrow extended top half and a low bulbous bottom half
• acrylic paints
• one permanent ink marker
• one white waxy pencil
• Mod Podge

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. First, select a gourd you think will make a proper ghost seated on top or standing above or ascending out from a jack-o-lantern beneath it. This shape as is shown on this post is perhaps one of the most common ones people will discover on a table near a pumpkin patch. 
2. It may help greatly to draw a face on the surface of your gourd using something like a white wax colored pencil. The mistakes may be easily rubbed off if needed and the marks left can be painted over with acrylics. If you decide that you enjoy this craft; your ability to paint without pencil marks will improve over time and you will be able to make decisions without hesitation with the use of a paint brush only.
3. It helps to turn the gourd around, over and upside down to get a feel of how to paint it. The example give here, however, is one that young students will have immediate success with and may be used as a prototype for their first painting experience. It is important to build confidence in little artists by giving them playful opportunities in painting that they can admire small accomplishments as they progress over time.
4. Halfway down the gourd at the midpoint where the bulbous part of the gourd begins to expand, mark the flowing hem of the ghost's gown with a wavy line all around the circumference of the outside surface.
5. Paint the lower half of the gourd orange if needed.
6. Then turn the gourd around to find the largest wide bulge of the gourd to draw on a spooky, happy or sad jack-o-lantern expression. I then colored in the shapes of the jack-o-lantern using a permanent black ink marker. But, you can use paint just as easily for this step if you don't want your little ones running around with black marks on furniture and permanent damage to clothing!
7. Next paint the ghost shape white and the holes in his or her eye sockets black and add even more facial details if your wish.
8. Once the surface decorations have dried, brush on a layer or two of Mod Podge to protect the surface paint.

Make More Spooky Halloween Crafts:

• Make and play Halloween match-ups game - "Feelings Faces"
• Learn to count with pumpkin seed books - two sample books: one for fall and the other for Halloween

Readers On The Hunt

Becoming sign-conscious.

       Some of these episodes may seem far removed from children's reading. They really are not. A life full of the fun of doing things and the satisfaction of sharing experience with an interested family and school group is bound to develop many powers. One of these powers is sure to be reading. Let us look at some simple happenings to see how they expand into significant learning. A girl, a little over six years of age, takes a walk regularly with her father, older brother, and sister on Sundays. She is becoming sign-conscious. She notices names on store windows and mail boxes, numbers above doors, and street signs. The other members of her family join her by chanting in unison, "546," "Fourth Street Bakery,"

       Let us look at some simple happenings to see how they expand into significant learning. A girl, a little over six years of age, takes a walk regularly with her father, older brother, and sister on Sundays. She is becoming sign-conscious. She notices names on store windows and mail boxes, numbers above doors, and street signs. The other members of her family join her by chanting in unison, "546," "Fourth Street Bakery," Becoming sign-conscious "Dr. Blake," "Ninth Avenue North." Reaching home, she then writes down some of the signs that she recalls. She dis- plays her work to her family, who are pleased, help her correct her writing, and answer her questions on what she wishes to write next. From this free and easy family fun the child soon learns to read, write, and spell. 

       Older children apply their skills differently. Three neighborhood boys, their ages ranging from ten to eleven, organized a Brooklyn Dodger Fan Club. They read the sports pages of the Sunday paper, and from it clipped pictures and stories about the Dodgers. They solicited the help of older sports fans in collecting information about the team. They wrote the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for pictures and souvenirs to put in their trophy room, located in a club member's garage. The city librarian was approached to see what materials she could offer. So was the school principal. The project received community support from adults who recognized the importance such interest had for the wholesome growth of children. Reading magazines, newspapers, and books grew to be more fun for them. Typing, printing, and writing labels became a necessary project. And filing and cataloging eventually had to be learned as their collection of materials grew. 

       A similar example of learning growth occurred in a rural community. Two youngsters, a brother and sister of about twelve and fourteen years of age, had been drawing, painting, and collecting flags. They became interested in gathering information about flags, their origin, and use. Their study led them to history books and encyclopedias in the school library, and to the historical society of the county. During their summer vacation, they developed a quiz program for a fall school assembly in which appeared such questions as "Where did the flag fly which inspired the writing of the 'Star Spangled Banner'?" "What was the largest number of stripes our flag ever had?" and "What is the Union Jack?" 

       Such pursuits as ship and airplane building, dollhouse furnishing, stamp collecting, code deciphering, radio quiz programs, and experimental cookery, when made into family interests, help promote a truly ideal atmosphere for proper learning. From such interests, children not only acquire personal satisfaction, they also come to realize the value of reading and other essential skills. The amount of knowledge they acquire is astonishing to adults, and their resourcefulness and imagination in turning up new avenues of help often put to shame more prosaic elders reared in a one book kind of learning. 

"Street signs for kids" the practical application 

of early reading by Little Wriggler

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Find Out Together

It bothers the operator.

      Another enjoyable way to encourage reading is to find things out together. Children, if encouraged and treated understandingly, will bombard adults with questions. At two, these questions, "Why, Mommy?" "Why, Daddy?" may not mean more than, "Here I am. Talk to me." But let's be aware of the moments when a child's questions are real questions. "What makes that noise in the cleaner?" "Why don't you want any. It bothers the operator bread today?" and "Where did Aunt Sally go?" may take time and thought, but answers are essential to keep this important asking-to-learn activity growing. We can often discover how important the answer is if we have an opportunity to listen to the child's subsequent conversation. A little girl of three, when told not to play with the telephone, asked, "Why?" and her mother explained. Later that afternoon she approached a neighbor and offered this, "When you come to our house you can't use our telephone-it bothers the operator." Children ask questions seriously, and they accept sincere answers with equal seriousness. 

       Children's questions can get adults into some hot pursuits of information. When Jean, aged nine, asked, "How big is the largest whale alive in the sea today?" her father at first replied, "I don't know." Her brother, aged thirteen, said, "I didn't see the size mentioned anywhere." Now the subject could have been dropped at that point, but the father, who truly enjoyed finding answers for such questions, suggested a careful search be made in magazines and newspapers to see if this bit of information could be found. The hunt, which became a family project, began with scanning the tables of contents of magazines, reading headlines of newspapers, and all references to whales that live in the ocean. The answer was not immediately found, so the family agreed to keep on the lookout in future reading. This is an excellent example of an attitude toward the use of reading in living which adds so much to the zest and fun of life. As long as there is enthusiasm in finding out, life has sparkle and learning takes place. Sharing children's interests.

Young artist.

      Another prerequisite for establishing a suitable atmosphere in the home is nurturing worth-while interests. Children are always interested in doing things. Very often, we adults, tired after our daily duties, are faced with youngsters who are filled with vitality and eager for new fields to conquer. "Dad, you ought to go over to Corey's with me and see the cool toboggan slide they have built there," said Rick to his father who, having trudged homeward through heavy snow, hated the idea of even walking from his comfortable chair to the supper table. But, when the father realized how important this was to his son, and remembered that he hadn't responded to any of his young son's invitations for a whole week, he said thoughtfully, "Right after supper I'll go with you and take a look." Going exploring together and sharing in fun and discovery with youngsters of all ages are excellent ways to develop worthy interests and keep within the "interest-range" of children. Those of us who are considered "old fogies" by children may not be old, but somewhere along the line we lost contact with their budding interests, and we seem out of touch with things important, their live interests. 

       This wholesome interest given to children's activities not only will be an important incentive to children, but also will help in understanding in a concrete way their tremendous capacity for learning. For example, a teacher listening to a boy describe a picture he had drawn of a sailboat discovered the youngster had sketched a sloop with correct rigging, and that he knew a great deal about sloops, dinghies, and schooners, far more than the teacher did. Giving a child an opportunity to talk about his knowledge and accomplishments helps him feel added success and satisfaction and it encourages more and even greater efforts. 

       Interest in what a child writes is important too. A boy of twelve began writing a serial of the Peck's Bad Boy type, titled The Adventures of Teddy the Terrible. Each episode was full of slapstick humor and harrowing "death-defying" escapades. At frequent intervals, the whole family was asked to listen to a new serial-plot from the writer's pen. This writing later entered the classroom, where it had a larger audience. It undoubtedly had real value in sending this boy along to satisfying reading as well as writing pursuits. 

• How to teach your kids to love reading by Nicholeen Peck
• Give your kids a life-long love of reading...
• Tiffanie talks about how to become a reader...

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One way to help: take time to listen

Take time to listen.

       Even on the busiest days, take time to listen to children while they relate incidents. Wait for the child to finish his sentence, and then ask reason- able questions which will help him elaborate. For example, when young John rushes to the kitchen to tell his mother, "The announcer on the radio said a blizzard is coming," a quick display of interest and a further question, "Did he say when?" or "Are you sure he meant here in our section?" not only will establish a fine bond of give-and-take between mother and youngster, but also will indicate to the child that his mother is interested in his stories. Consequently, he is inclined to remain alert, and eager to share. In addition to developing good family and group relationships, such discussions are very important if we want to assure reading growth, because interest in happenings, telling and retelling them, and being challenged, make for good comprehension and a meaningful reading experience. 

       Similarly, when a child calls attention to a picture or article in a magazine or book, stop, look, and listen. This is reading at work in a fine fashion; therefore, recognize it as such, even if it costs a momentary interruption. Or, if an interruption at that time is too costly, say, "Wait a moment," and then, as quickly as possible, take time out to listen. 

       Be reciprocal: share choice items with youngsters. A father might say to his young son, "Here's something in the newspaper today about Jack's father that will interest you," and then read to him, “Mr. O. H. Daniel has been named the new scoutmaster.' " 

       For the younger reader, the beginner who in the middle of breakfast, quite unrelated to anything that has been said, may remark, "I can tell a capital Q from an O," such an answer as, "That's fine," is inadequate. The child wants to relate a discovery. Give him a chance; ask how. Perhaps he will even demonstrate by getting a pencil and paper, yes, to the extent of interrupting his meal, but this is a red-hot moment in learning. Take time for it. 

       Such incidents cannot be planned in advance, but they are too important to pass unnoticed. They help lay the groundwork for talking things over, exploring ideas together, and giving and accepting advice. They help create a wholesome atmosphere for learning. 

• Reading Readiness Starts Before Letters by Learning Reading Hub
• 5 Homemaking Habits that Secretly Build Language
• Stop Teaching ABCs Before Age 3 - Teach THIS Instead

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Grown Ups Can Help

        What to do to interest youngsters in reading is not a simple one-two-three formula. But, though it is not so easy as putting a puzzle together or whipping up a batch of doughnuts, it can be a real pleasure for adults as well as for their young charges. Here are simple suggestions that may make this business of learning to read a pleasurable experience for youngsters and grown-ups alike. Most of these suggestions have to do with day-by-day living. Therefore, it is important that we are steady and consistent, starting a good plan and sticking to it. The fly-by-night parent or teacher who gets a new idea every twenty-four hours and takes time trying each one, won't be a success at helping a youngster learn to enjoy reading. Reading requires a consistent atmosphere. And adults must have patient hands and far-seeing eyes-plus a few other vital qualities. 

• Tips to make reading fun for kids from CBS New York
• Engage learners in the classroom by Bridging Literacy
• 5 Fun ESL Activities You Can Use Anytime by The Teacher Trainers

What is the "science of reading?" from We Are Teachers

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