Water Water everywhere “What! Is it time to drink water again? Why should I drink so much water?” Does this question sound like one your child would ask? It surely does to me. I know of many parents who need to constantly remind children to drink water throughout the day.…
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Fun with words Have you ever had fun with words? Have you played word puzzles in the newspaper? Whatever the activity is, we all enjoy playing, is it not? Children like to play most of the time. For children, playing and learning are the same thing. A whole lot of…
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Playing and learning Two weeks ago, I was playing with my niece. Playing and learning go hand in hand in our household. While we were playing, her eyes fell on the Compound Words kit that lay on my table. She wanted to play with it. I gave the set to…
View More A spelling rule so simple that a 5-year-old can teach you
Did you know that the letter combination ‘oe’ makes many sounds? What could these be? Could we simply combine the sound of ‘o’ and the sound of ‘e’? Earlier in this series of articles on our blog, we have learned sounds of a, sounds of s, sounds of ‘v &…
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I have often wondered about the mysterious letter q. It does not have a unique sound of its own and it is the second least frequently used letter in the English language. It is still part of the English alphabet and holds its own charm. I have a distinct feeling…
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Making new words Have you ever wondered about building vocabulary by making new words? It is indeed an interesting method. In an earlier article, we spoke about building vocabulary through word families. In the early stages of learning, word families provide an excellent method to build a vocabulary quickly. As…
View More Compound Words – Learning through play
Vocabulary through imitation For a child who is beginning to learn to speak, building vocabulary is primarily through imitation. She learns words by observing her surroundings and mimicking the words spoken around her. As the child grows and more conscious learning sets in, vocabulary building becomes a deliberate activity. When…
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What different sounds come to your mind when you see the letter combination ‘ea’? Do you think there is only one sound or many? Can we simply add the sound of ‘e’ and ‘a’? Let us explore. We have explored earlier about learning English spellings through Phonics. Also, we have…
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Spelling is confusing Learning English spelling is not straightforward. It is confusing to learn and remember all the spelling rules. After spending many years with the English language as a student and professional, I use the language intuitively. If you ask me to explain a spelling rule, I will have…
View More 2 English spelling rules that you did not know existed
Spelling Rules Have you ever thought that English spelling rules are confusing? I surely have! The correlation between letters and sounds is not straightforward. A single letter can make many sounds. A single sound can be made by many letters or combinations of letters. This makes learning spellings a bit…
View More Hard and Soft Sounds