It's All Fun and Games

Kids learn the best when they are having fun (I'm pretty sure I have said that in every one of my posts). What is more fun than playing games? Nothing? That's right! So, why not find games that are fun and educational? I have found one game that I would have loved as a kid, so I am here to share it with you! The game is a variation of 'Red light, Green light.' However, with this version the kids will be learning about punctuation.
First things first, go over the proper uses of the punctuation marks that you plan on using in this game. The kids will be lined up across the yard (or room) from you in a line. You will then say "Green light, reader!" this is their cue to begin running toward you. When you say "Yellow light, readers!" they all need to look to see which punctuation card you are holding up. When they see the card they have to do what that card represents (Comma means: slow down and WALK. Exclamation point means: Hop and wave your hands. Question mark means: Stop, tilt your head, and put your hands on your hips. Period means: STOP right now!). If they do not do what they are supposed to, they have to go back to the beginning. The first kid to reach you wins. 

Add Some Art

Sometimes just writing is not enough fun for kids, they need more! So, I suggest having some writing going on within some art activities. Art is always a subject the kids love, use that to your advantage. One art project that I have found and love is 'The Map of Your Heart' project. It is absolutely adorable while at the same time helping the kids with their writing skills.

For this project the kids would make a heart (either drawn or cutout) and write in all of the different things they love and why. They can maneuver each piece around in any way that they want. If they want to go even further they can illustrate each of the things that they wrote out. The decoration of the heart comes next! This is always a fun part.
NOTE: be prepared to become a little emotional when reading your children's heart map!

Alternate Endings

Do you ever wonder what would happen to a character from a book if one small thing had been changed? Well I'm sure that your kids have too. Why not explore this idea with them? After reading a story give your kids the opportunity to create an alternate ending. You can either just talk about it with them, or have them write it out. If they write it you can let them read it out loud to the whole family. Make a day out of it! This activity really makes the kids think about the story in a very critical way, it also gets their creative juices flowing. In all honesty the could even 'rewrite' the entire books. You could have the kids write a completely different story line using the characters from the book that you read.
This is something that you can even do without reading a book. If you find a wordless video online somewhere you can have the kids write the dialogue for the characters. Activities like this can be SO fun! Go enjoy all of the silly things that your kids can come up with; don't be afraid to join in on the silliness.

Go ahead and make dialogue for this video and so many more!

Retelling

After you have read with your kids, how can you help them remember what the story was about? This is where retelling comes into play. There are numerous different ways to engage your children into retelling a story:

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1) Simply have your children tell you all about the story. Be sure to ask as many questions as you can.
2) Have a puppet show. You can make puppets of the characters from the story, if you want to get really into it you can make backgrounds as well. Help your kid retell the story using those puppets.
3) Do an actual play! Who really needs puppets when you can act? It is obviously not required to dress up to act out the story, but why not go all out?
These are just three retelling strategies; there are so many more. Don't be afraid to find something else that works for you and your kids!

The Most Important Thing!

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The most simple, but important thing that parents can do to enhance their children's reading comprehension skills is READ with them. The more you can read with you children the better. However, simply reading is not enough.
As you are reading to or with your children be sure to engage the children in the book; make it a fun experience for them. Use different voices for each character; you are with your kids don't be embarrassed! Depending on the age and reading level you could even break the story into different part. Let your child speak for one of the characters.
The more fun and engaging the reading time that you have with your children is the more they will enjoy it. This will make the story more memorable for them.
Reading to children is SO important. Parents can even make pledges to read with their children at least 20 minutes a day!
It's like Nike; just do it
:)