• About
  • Contact
    • Advertise – Connect with Baton Rouge Moms

Baton Rouge Family Fun

The premiere digital resource for families in Baton Rouge & Beyond

  • Home
  • Things To Do in Baton Rouge
    • Family Friendly Baton Rouge
    • Baton Rouge Summer Camps
    • Summer Fun in Baton Rouge and Beyond
    • Baton Rouge Area Spring / Easter Events & Activity Guide
    • Baton Rouge Easter Egg Hunt Guide
  • Kids Eat Free
You are here: Home / Archives for Literacy

5 Simple Tips to Encourage Young Readers

March 10, 2016 by Taresa Sneed

It’s simple really, reading is fun! Reading is learning, and as the age old saying goes, it’s fundamental! I’ve loved reading since I was a kid, and I still do. It’s just that these days I’m reading Goodnight Moon, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Guess How Much I love You (to name a few). There’s something fun about beans leading to a beanstalk in the sky where a giant lives. There’s magic in reading, and adventure. I know how much reading helped shape my imagination, expand my vocabulary, and teach me other interesting facts, so I’m hoping to carry those things over to help my children gain a love for reading too!

benefits of reading baton rouge momsI admit, I was one of those moms who read to her babies while they were in the womb. It was a regular thing. Before Landen was born I had a whole collection of books for him (that I’m now reading with his baby sister). Once born, I read to him several times a day and he always seemed to be tuned right in. But what really changed things is the My Superdad, or “daddy book” as Landen would call it. I had this book made for Trey’s first Father’s Day. I thought it would be awesome to have a hard cover book with his dad’s picture on every page with a cape on like a real superhero. It was perfect! He LOVED it. His dad was in a book, eating pizza with a gorilla, flying through the sky, and taming a crocodile. What kid wouldn’t enjoy that??? Landen was 10 months at the time and is 3 now, and it’s still highly requested to read at night before bed.

  Baton Rouge Moms

He loves books all on his own now. We made a reading nook in his room, and he can reach the shelves and pick which books he wants to read. He has his own library card and uses it to check out books and movies at the local library. We’ve done the summer reading program from the library for the past 2 summers and currently working on 1,000 books before Kindergarten (also a program through EBRPL).

Baton Rouge MomsMore than anything, I love the little time that I get to spend with Landen and Ava when we’re reading. I love that even though Landen interrupts me and asks a ton of questions before I get through each page, he’s enjoying listening to me. I love that he’s learning, and I love that it’s something that both of my children will remember us doing together. It’s never too early or too late to develop a love for adventure through reading with your kids. Here are some of the ways we’ve done that with ours.

5 Simple Tips to Encourage Young Readers

1. Develop a routine at night that includes a bedtime story.
2. Attend story time at your local library.
3. Sign up for Summer reading programs at your local library.
4. Attend story time at Barnes and Noble
5. Let them pick the books that they want to read (because they love feeling like they’re in charge).

Happy Reading!

Baton Rouge Moms

Filed Under: Education, Moms, Parenting Tagged With: Baton Rouge Library, Literacy, reading, summer reading program

Summer Reading Programs 2015 & FREE Book

May 28, 2015 by Baton Rouge Family Fun

Summer reading programs are a great way to encourage your child to read over the summer months. The following reading programs might give your child some incentive to grab a book to beat the summer heat.

Barnes & Noble summer reading program is back again, children will receive a FREE book when they participate in the Imagination’s Destination summer reading program and read eight titles.

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

Get the journal and downloadable parent / teacher activities and tips HERE to help children strengthen critical reading skills over the summer.


More Summer Reading Programs for 2015

East Baton Rouge Parish Library
EBRPL will have a program for every age group, everyone can participate! All locations of the Library will have reading logs for each age group (Children, Teens, and Adults). These logs will be available until the end of July. While each group has a different theme and guidelines, the goal is the same: READ!

Chuck E. Cheese – Kids can earn 10 free Chuck E. Cheese tokens for reading each day for 2 weeks.

Scholastic Summer Challenge – Scholastic has a summer reading challenge where kids read and then go online to record the minutes they’ve read this summer. They’ll also be able to take weekly challenges to earn rewards and take part in a World Record challenge!

Pottery Barn Summer Reading Challenge – Open only to children under 10 years of age on any day during the promotion period. Must present completed Award-Winning or Early Reader book list to receive a free book at participating Pottery Barn Kids stores.

What books will your child read this summer?

Filed Under: Education, Parenting Tagged With: Literacy, reading, summer reading program

PBS KIDS MARKS DR. SEUSS’ BIRTHDAY WITH AN ALL-NEW CAT-EBRATION

March 2, 2014 by Tiany Davis

I’m sure man of you are familiar with the Dr. Seuss, Cat in the Hat books and how they made reading a little more fun and enjoyable. Now, as parents, we read and re-read the Dr. Seuss books to our own children all over again.

PBSKIDS_Boy_C_circleR_webreadyDr. Seuss would have been 110 today. He gave us the gift of literacy through his funny, whimsical stories and in his honor, PBS KIDS has announced a week of new adventures with the Cat in the Hat to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday. “Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Cat-ebration” kicks off on Monday, March 3, with the debut of a one-hour THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! special. New half-hour episodes also premiere on Tuesday, March 4, and Wednesday, March 5. The new episodes follow the Cat, Nick and Sally as they explore a variety of animal attributes: from the benefits of crickets’ chirps and birds’ feathers, to the mimic octopus’ remarkable ability to imitate other sea creatures. Viewers also learn how glass is made, how multi-legged creatures walk and how cotton is spun into fabric.

happy-birthday-108th-dr-seuss-01

Through ‘Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Cat-ebration,’ PBS hopes to inspire kids and stimulate their imaginations with a week of natural science exploration. In this special multiplatform event, families will join the Cat, Nick and Sally as they journey to zany Seussian places — from the Grassy-Grove-Dell to Feathery Flats — and learn from their quirky animal friends, such as Bugsy the Beetle, Sharky McGee and Greg the Gecko.

sc148_CITH100_T3_v01

“Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Cat-ebration”

The following is a listing of the episodes that will air during – March 3-7, 2014 (check local listings).

One-hour special, featuring the following four stories – Premieres Monday, March 3, 2014

“Step This Way”: The kids are playing dress-up, with Sally wearing her mom’s shoes and Nick wearing his dad’s shoes. They’re having trouble walking, and the Cat thinks it’s because their feet are the wrong shape. But doesn’t everyone have the same shaped feet? Not at all! The Cat takes them to the Jungle of Bingle-Bungle Boo to meet his friends Emily the Teal, Mikey the Lemur and Greg the Gecko. They see that animals have differently shaped feet to help them do different things! You need the right feet for the right job!

Educational Objective: Creatures have different feet for different uses.

“Anything You Can Do”: Nick and Sally are pretending to be the Cat in the Hat. But there’s only one Cat, no doubt about that! Pretending to be other people is hard. The Cat takes Nick and Sally to meet his good friend Mimi the Mimic Octopus to learn some tips on how to pretend to be someone else. They learn how to observe, pick out something special about the person and then copy it. Mimi does it to protect herself, but now Nick and Sally can pretend to be the one and only Cat!

Educational Objective: The mimic octopus has a remarkable ability to imitate other sea creatures.

“Name That Sound”: Sally and Nick are trying to stump each other by guessing the animal sounds they’re making. The Cat stumps them both when he tries to make the sound of a cricket!  But that didn’t sound like a cricket. They all try but just can’t figure out how a cricket makes its noise. Well, Cat’s friend Clarence the Cricket can surely show them! Off to the Grassy-Grove-Dell to meet him! He shows him his wings, one that is comb-like, the other a scraper; when he rubs them together, he makes his wonderful cricket noise. Back at home, Nick and Sally find things around the house they can use to mimic Clarence — a deck of cards and a comb!

Educational Objective: Male crickets make a chirping sound by scraping one pegged wing against the other wing, which is ridged. This is done so fast one doesn’t hear the individual clicks, rather a trilling chirp, which is why it is hard for us to copy. The sound is used to get the attention of other crickets, either as a warning or for mating.

“Fabulous Feathers”: Sally is playing dress-up, but her favorite hat no longer has any feathers on it. Where can they find more? The Cat’s good friend Puranjay might be able to help! He’s a peacock who lives in Feathery Flats; he has plenty of feathers! Sally collects the feathers that have fallen out of Puranjay and discovers that each one has its own distinct job. But it’s his tail feathers that are just jazzy and snazzy enough for her hat! They are the most fabulous feathers!

Educational Objective: Feathers serve a variety of functions, including flight, heat conservation, waterproofing, camouflage and display.

PBS KIDS MARKS DR. SEUSS’ BIRTHDAY WITH AN ALL-NEW CAT-EBRATION

New Episode: “Balancing Act/Marvelous Marbles” – Premieres Tuesday, March 4, 2014

“Balancing Act”: Sally and Nick are trying to walk across a beam in their backyard, but are having trouble staying on it! Can the Cat help? Why of course! His friend Zappa the Snow Leopard is an amazing balancer! He uses his big wide feet and his long tail to help him keep his balance. Nick and Sally don’t have tails, but they see how Zappa moves carefully to keep his weight balanced. Now they know what to do at home. Using broomsticks to help them stay balanced, Nick and Sally are able to cross the balance beam. And just in time to have some yummy bran berry muffins!

Educational Objective: Sally and Nick learn how a snow leopard balances.

“Marvelous Marbles”: The kids are playing with glass marbles, until one of them rolls away! It was Nick’s “extra luck never miss marble.” Now what is he going to do? Cat will take the kids to a sandy beach that’s full of marbles! But when they get there, all they see is sand. Cat’s friend Sharky McGee explains that sand makes glass. He shows them how sand is turned into glass and all the wonderful things you can make with it — including marbles!

Educational Objective: Glass is made from tiny particles of sand, then formed into all sorts of useful items.

New Episode: “Take a Walk/Cotton Patch” – Premieres Wednesday, March 5, 2014

“Take a Walk”: Sally and Nick are practicing to be in a three-legged race, but walking on three legs is hard! Well, if anyone knows about walking, its Cat’s friends Sid the Centipede, Spinny the Spider and Bugsy the Beetle! They all teach the kids how they walk on many legs by keeping a steady pace and walking in a rhythm and a beat. Back at home, Nick and Sally practice what they learned by using their own special rhythm!

Educational Objective: Nick and Sally discover how creatures with more than two legs (centipedes, spiders and beetles) walk.

“Cotton Patch”: Oh no! Nick has torn his favorite shirt! He needs a perfect patch of cotton to fix it. Good thing Cat’s friend Dr. Twiggles knows all about cotton! Off to Fluff’n Stuff Fields to see him! Once there, the kids are astonished to learn that you can make clothes from plants! Dr. Twiggles shows them how to pick the cotton, clean and dry it, comb it and spin it into thread. Finally, he demonstrates how the thread comes together to make a patch by using his loom. They even learn how to dye the cotton by using berry juice. Nick’s favorite shirt is as good as new!

The book is so amazing it will make your children want to have an actual cat, and take care of it like Sally and Nick and cease cat spraying, if that’s the case of one of your children, you don’t need to worry because with CatLitterExpert, all you cat problems will be resolved!

Educational Objective: Nick and Sally discover how the cotton fibers of the cotton plant can be cleaned, carded, spun and woven to make clothes.

“Name That Sound/Fabulous Feathers” – Repeats as a half-hour episode, Thursday, March 6, 2014

“Step This Way/Anything You Can Do” – Repeats as a half-hour episode, Friday, March 7, 2014

For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter,  Facebook.

Follow Louisiana Public Broadcasting – Kids on Facebook too!

Filed Under: Education, Parenting Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Dr. Seuss, Literacy, LPB, Moms, parents, PBS Kids

Books for Baton Rouge Holiday Book Drive Event

December 16, 2013 by Tiany Davis

Help us give the gift of literacy this Christmas season! Our annual Books for Baton Rouge Holiday Book Drive provides books for children in need in the Baton Rouge area.

Baton Rouge Moms has partnered with K-Love Baton Rouge and Alexander’s Highland Market for a Books for Baton Rouge Holiday Book Drive event  on December 21st.  We will be at Alexander’s Highland Market from 10am to 1pm collecting new and gently used books for the first annual Books for Baton Rouge Holiday Book Drive!  K-LOVE Radio will join us to host games and prizes for the children!

Books for Baton Rouge

A few startling statistics on literacy:

  • In some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children
  • According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 61% of low-income American families do not own any age-appropriate books for their children.
  • Thirty-seven percent of all fourth grade children in the United States are reading below basic levels.
  • Low literacy is strongly related to crime. 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally literate.
  • Low literacy is strongly related to unemployment. More than 20% of adults read at or below a fifth grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.

Give the gift of literacy this Christmas and donate books for children in need in Baton Rouge and beyond!

We hope to see you at Alexander’s on the 21st but if you can’t make it, books can be dropped off at Alexander’s Highland Market during regular business hours, look for the large wrapped box with a large red bow!

Filed Under: Causes, Community Outreach Tagged With: Baton Rouge Events, Baton Rouge Moms, Books for Baton Rouge, Literacy, reading

Baton Rouge Covid Testing Ralphs Market Baton Rouge Lent Meals BASIS Baton Rouge Primary

Like Us On Facebook

Zooper Birthday PartiesOperation Imagination Baton Rouge sweatbox baton rouge Rachel Ezzo Portraits

Search Baton Rouge Family Fun

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in