My creation, Story Hour Academy, offers a free online phonics video course to beginning readers. […]
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Improving Phonics Lessons with Structured Word Inquiry
Story Hour Academy provides free phonics lessons to kids via a self-paced video curriculum that’s divided into 9 sections. The curriculum has some flaws, which I’ve outlined here. However, these lessons are better than no instruction at all. If you use Story Hour Academy, I recommend that you also learn and use something called Structured […]
ArticleA Parent’s Intuition: Identifying and Addressing Signs of Dyslexia in Pre-Readers
Imagine for a moment that you’re a parent that has overcome the reading challenges associated with dyslexia. Now, you have children of your own and you know that one or more of them could have dyslexia, like you do, because research has shown that it’s inheritable. As a parent, you have a choice to make. […]
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“The Three-Legged Stool” – How an Old Man and His Wife Find Happiness
“The Three-Legged Stool” story featured here is by Isa L. Wright. It’s part of a collection of short stories titled The Kindergarten Children’s Hour, Volume 1: Stories for Little Children. The Three-Legged Stool Once there was a little old man who lived in a little old house with his gentle wife. And most important of […]
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“The Little Acorn” – A Story About the Lifecycle of an Oak Tree
“The Little Acorn” story featured here is by Lucy Wheelock and appears in her collection of short stories titled The Kindergarten Children’s Hour, Volume 1: Stories for Little Children. The Little Acorn It was a little acorn that hung on the bough of a tree. It had a tender green cup and a beautifully carved […]
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Hercules vs. the Hydra Story for Kids
The following story introduces young readers to the classical Greek hero Hercules, who is also known as Herakles, and the Hydra that he fights. It’s an excerpt from the children’s book “Herakles the Hero of Thebes and Other Heroes of the Myth” by Mary E. Burt. The Second Labor – Hercules Kills the Water-Snake of […]
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Children’s Stories to Read Aloud from Your Phone
Do your kids get energized when reading books at night? Mine do. That’s why I like to read to them from the glow of my smartphone. The darkness settles them down and lets them focus on listening. If you like to read to your kids from the glow of a phone, too, here are five […]
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“Little Bo-Peep” – A Story to Explain the Rhyme – By L. Frank Baum
The following short story about Little Bo-Peep comes from a collection of stories by L. Frank Baum titled, “Mother Goose in Prose.” In the story, Baum offers an explanation of the circumstances Little Bo-Peep finds herself in, which helps young readers make sense out of the curious Little Bo-Peep nursery rhyme. This work complements Story […]
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“How the Beggars Came to Town” by L. Frank Baum
The following short story, “How the Beggars Came to Town,” comes from a collection of short stories by L. Frank Baum titled, “Mother Goose in Prose.” It complements Story Hour Academy’s lesson about the name and sound of the letter K. The story begins with a classic Mother Goose rhyme: Hark, hark, the dogs do bark, […]
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“Jack and the Beanstalk” with Illustrations
The following short story, “Jack and the Beanstalk,” comes from a collection of short stories edited by Andrew Lang titled, “The Red Fairy Book.” It complements Story Hour Academy’s lesson about the name and sound of the letter J. JACK SELLS THE COW. Once upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in […]
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