The Power of Words!

I was reviewing student achievement literature the other day and was reminded of an astonishing piece of information.

Did you know that one of the main differences in children being ready to learn in kindergarten is the number of words that they know when they start?

Children who fair the best at school enter kindergarten knowing around 20,000 words. Those who do not do so well enter school with a vocabulary of only about 5,000 words.

What does that tell us as parents? It tells us that how we speak to our children greatly influences their future success in school. By engaging our children in conversations using a large variety of words will help them succeed in school.

Speak with your children not to them. Ask them questions. Encourage them to think. Use the right words for things, not baby talk. Label everything. Read to them and let them hear new words. Use new words every day. Give them a leg up. Set them up for success.

Strong words, strong message, strong parenting....