Greetings to everyone from a white Christmas in Chicagoland! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season! Today the topic is teaching moments for everyone.

Teaching moments aren’t just for teachers. They are for everyone who spends time with a child, be it parent, grandparent, aunts and uncles, daycare providers and more… While reading to/with a child, be on the lookout for teaching moments. These are super rich opportunities for learning because they happen in context and come from your child and/or the text they are engaged with.

If you plan on reading a “Be There Bedtime Story” for a loved one, consider when you read the text ahead of time where you can ask the following questions:

What do you think is going to happen next?

What do you think about this character?

If…….then what do you think about…..?

What do you think might happen because of this?

What would you do if this happened to you?

These are only some of the ways you can get the child to go further with what they wonder about and possibly construct their own meaning.  When they construct their own meaning they own it and it stays with them.

Now that is time well spent!!!!