Reading Every Day: The #1 Way to Prepare Kids for School Success

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Hello, welcome to The Education Connection.

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I'm Robin Wilson and I'm here to help parents and teachers set kids up for success in school

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and beyond.

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So I've been recently talking about getting ready for the next year.

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I'm getting ready for kindergarten and then kindergartners getting ready for first grade

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and first grade getting ready for second grade.

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And I want to tell you there is one thing that you can do.

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Now there's a lot of things you can do, but there is one thing you can do that gives you

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the biggest return when preparing a child for the next school year.

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And that one thing is daily reading.

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It's right whether you're a parent looking for ways to help your child grow as a reader

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in your home school or a teacher wanting to encourage families to read more at home, this

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episode is packed with practical tips to make it happen.

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So let me tell you why daily reading is the biggest return on your investment.

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Think about this.

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Parents who read just 20 minutes a day are exposed to nearly 2 million words a year.

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Compare that to a child who only reads for five minutes a day.

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They'll hear just a fraction of that.

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Daily reading strengthens comprehension, builds background knowledge and helps kids succeed

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in all subjects, not just reading.

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The best part is it doesn't take expensive programs or hours of study.

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Just a few intentional minutes a day makes a difference.

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So I want to give some tips to parents.

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I do talk to parents and teachers, homeschool teachers, moms of homeschool, private school,

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and even the parents that are working with their children after they go to school and

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they come home in the evening.

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So I want to talk to parents right now.

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Make daily reading a habit at home.

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And here are some tips that you can do to make that happen.

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Number one, set a daily reading routine.

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Kids thrive on consistency.

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And if you get this started and you keep it going every day, eventually they will just

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fall into it and start grabbing those books at that dedicated time that you have every

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day.

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Set a daily reading time.

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Years might be before bed when my kids were little.

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That's what we did.

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We did before bed.

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Well, actually I read to my kids every night before bed all the way up till my daughter

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was in fifth grade.

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And even though she was a good reader, just having me read to them things like Lemony Snicket

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or Junie B. Jones, I read to them every night.

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And I read a chapter before they went to bed every night.

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But my daughter would read after dinner also every night.

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So she read to herself, which made her a reader.

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And a lot of times once she got started, it would be time to move on to a different thing

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in our schedule.

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And I would have to almost like, you've got to stop reading because you need to get bath

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time or, you know, other things that we had to do if we had to leave and go somewhere.

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But you can set those times for before bed, after dinner, right after school, and just

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stick to it.

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The more reading becomes a habit, the easier it is to keep going.

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Now one way, and this is number two, but one way to keep their interest in reading is to

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let them pick out the books.

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So a fun thing we used to do when the kids were little at home is I would take them to

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the library every week, and I would let them pick out about five books a piece, and then

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I would pick out one as well.

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And if they are picking out their own books, they get excited about it.

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And I know that the statistics are that if a child is enjoying what they're reading or

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if they have a interest in whatever it is, they can actually read two levels above where

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they are just because of their interest and their motivation to figure those words out.

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So if you want to make it more fun, let the kids pick out their own books at your local

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library or if you go to buy books maybe once a week or something, whatever your budget can

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afford, I know another good place.

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If you go to thrift stores, unfortunately it used to be 69 cents.

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I think it's more than that now.

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And I would let my kids always, always pick out books when they went and we got to where

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we were only picking out one book when we went because they got to have so many books

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at some point.

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So it might be a graphic novel if they're a little bit older, a favorite bedtime story

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or even a comic book, choice builds motivation and don't underestimate comic books.

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If there are words on a page and they're reading them, I think that's a big score.

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So let them pick out that comic book and maybe you want to pick out something that they can

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read to you can read to them and they can get interested.

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I know like if you pick up a Clifford, the big red dog and you read it to them, sometimes

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if they enjoy that book, they want to read more of those and you know Clifford has a

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lot of books.

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So if you get a series go and they get excited about it and they want to read those books

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that you've read to them.

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Read aloud together.

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So don't stop reading aloud just because your child can read on their own.

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Like I said, I read to my kids clear.

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I mean, my daughter was, it was all the way through her fifth grade year.

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Once she was in sixth grade, it got to be where it was like I, she wanted to read her

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own books before bed.

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And so I kind of laid that down a little bit, but every once in a while I would pick it

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up just because mama wanted to read to them just for good memories.

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But reading together boosts the fluency because they hear the way you talk, they hear the

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way you have the fluency, the comprehension.

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And if you want to stop in the middle of the book and say, wait a minute, I thought this

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was going, let me go back and look again and reread that.

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That's modeling for them that it's okay to go back and check your reading comprehension.

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If something isn't sounding right or if something isn't making sense, you know how you can go

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back and check that in your kiddos will see you modeling that and they will do that as

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well.

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Plus, it's a great bonding time.

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Those were some of the best memories that we had before bed.

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Ask those questions while you're reading.

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Go make reading interactive, ask your children the questions like what do you think is going

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to happen next?

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Or if you end that chapter, what do you think tomorrow's chapter is going to be about?

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How do you think that character feels?

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So ask those good questions to keep your kids engaged with the story and build comprehension.

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Try audio books or read along.

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So nowadays you have YouTube that has those books, people read, they've read so many books

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on YouTube.

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So if you can, if you're super busy or if you just want to switch it up a little bit, you

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can find a book on YouTube and you can also have that book.

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And it's kind of, do you remember when we were kids?

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I don't know about you.

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I'm a little bit older, but we would have the record player in the book would be in

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my lap and the record player would be going and then it would say ding and it was time

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to turn the page.

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You can still do that with YouTube.

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There's no ding or anything, but they can watch the YouTube as they turn the page.

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They will turn their own page and they get to see it right there and read along.

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Have them read along books, listen in the car during breakfast or even while doing chores.

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Number six, make reading fun.

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Create a cozy reading nook.

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Start a reading sticker chart.

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Make a fun library trip.

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So if I've already, as I've already mentioned, and when kids associate reading with fun,

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they'll want to do it more.

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I know in the summer they have the reading programs where kids read so many books, they

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get the prizes.

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Join them up for those because that is just a good incentive to keep them reading.

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You know I want to talk to teachers and if you're home school, this will apply to you

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again as well.

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But tips for teachers encouraging daily reading at home and school.

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So number one, send home a simple reading log.

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I do this every year.

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I've done it less most recently because of the homework statistics of trying not to send

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too much homework.

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But there were many years I had parents help keep a daily track of reading with an easy-to-use

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log, no stress.

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They just had to write the title in the book and sign it and how many pages that they read.

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And I send home those little, for first grade, I send home those little eight-page books

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so it's super quick for them to read.

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Number two, model a love for reading.

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When kids see you excited about books, teachers, they're more likely to be excited too.

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And I know you're already excited.

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You became a teacher and so you already share that love.

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Share your favorite books.

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Talk about what you're reading and make read-a-louds engaging using those voices.

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Number three, encourage the parents.

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So if you're a teacher in a private school and you are, oh, you're caring for students

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in your class, you can include parents by sending a quick email or newsletter explaining

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the benefits of reading aloud, even for the older kids.

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Sometimes parents think they should stop reading to their child once they can read independently,

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but that's not true.

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And sometimes parents are super busy.

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I know as a parent, I always was, and just bringing my attention to the fact that we

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need to set aside a time for reading is just beneficial.

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It's like, oh yeah, and the teacher can help you remember to do that.

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Let the kids borrow books from your classroom.

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Not every child has access to books at home, so you can set up a classroom book bag or

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a lending library to encourage reading outside of school.

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I know that thrift stores are a really good place to get books, and I bought some from

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there, but also we have, it's called the teacher store in a town near us, and so they offer

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for a small fee once a year.

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I can go in there and get books as a licensed teacher to allow my kids to take home to borrow,

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but they have so many other things in there.

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So check around, see if there is a teacher outlet or something that your community, I

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know that a local college also has a day where teachers in their community can come in and

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get books for free to help books and all kinds of things, post-it notes, pens, pencils, all

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kinds of things, and so your community might have something like that for you as well.

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Despite the reading success, recognize milestones with certificates, stickers, special reader

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of the week spotlight.

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A little encouragement goes a long way.

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Partner with your parents, and some of that will be with yourself because you might be

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homeschooling your own children, but keep parents, maybe your spouse in the loop with

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reading tips in your weekly newsletter or just talking to them, but you might be sending

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this to someone else, maybe a caregiver, babysitters, help them understand what's going on in your

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classroom and then when families and teachers work together, kids thrive.

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So I have some closing thoughts and a call to action.

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Daily reading is the most, not kidding guys, it's the most powerful way to prepare kids

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for success.

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Whether they're moving into kindergarten or to fifth grade, the key is consistency.

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Just a few minutes a day adds up over time.

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So what's one thing you can do today to encourage daily reading?

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Pick a book, set a timer, and start small.

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And I want to ask if you have found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe to the Education

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Connection so you never miss an episode.

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So if you know somebody that this episode will benefit, please share with them.

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I also have reading resources available in my Teachers Pay Teacher Store, which is at

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Robin Wilson 1st Grade Love at Teachers Pay Teachers.

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I can link that in the show notes.

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So thank you so much for listening and I'm going to see you next time on the Education

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Connection.