For a chance to win an Android IdeaTab and a link to Know-Its Online Reading Games, enter our contest by going to www.know-its.com/contests. No purchase necessary to enter. The IdeaTab is great for all ages and the online reading games are perfect for beginning readers. Enter for your chance to win today! Contest ends May 15, 2013

Never Underestimate the Mind of a Child

When my son started Kindergarten in 1993, his teacher met with me to tell me she was concerned because she did not think he could write his name or read 2 or 3 letter words. She thought all he could do was color. I remember looking at him and saying "Jacob, write your name." He wrote his first and last name on the paper. His teacher was astonished. Then I held up 3 flash cards and asked him to read the words to me. He rattled off, "dog, in, and cow." Again, his teacher was amazed. She had been trying to get him to do these things for a month. When I asked Jacob why he had not written his name or read for his teacher, he said, "ugh, mom, that is boring, I like to color." Things have changed in the last 20 years, thankfully, and teachers have found fun ways to capture their students interest and creativity. It is so important to actively engage young children and make learning fun for them. Playing games and challenging students keeps them interested in learning new things every day. That is what Know Its Essentials is all about. Getting your students interested in learning in a way that is fun. This program has so many different ways of finding out what students needs are, to teach them what they need to know, and strengthen the skills that they already have some experience in. Your students will not be bored and think that coloring is the funnest thing in the classroom to do. They will learn what they need to learn according to Oklahoma's Core Curriculum and they will enjoy every minute of it.

Know-Its Essentials

Did you know that Oklahoma is recognized as a national leader in early education? According to author and award winning journalist Sharon Lerner, in 1998 an Oklahoma legislator pushed through a law that supplied government and private funding necessary to expand Oklahoma's early educational system. This allows for a full day Pre-K program for all four year olds. Now, 15 years later 75% of Oklahoma's four year olds are in a high quality Pre-K public school. Bill Gormey, a Georgetown University Professor saw the Oklahoma program as an opportunity to study the impact of early education through the Tulsa, Oklahoma Public School District. The results of these types of studies on Oklahoma's kids who began school in Pre-K are amazing. Pre-K kids were nine months ahead in the skills necessary for reading, like recognizing letters and being able to tell stories, than of those kids who did not attend Pre-K. They were also seven months ahead in pre-writing skills, and five months ahead in counting and other pre-math skills. These were the biggest reported gains ever documented for a universal Pre-K program. Pre-K children who learn in the classroom the kind of education that a high quality program provides have a greater opportunity for success throughout the rest of their school years and beyond according to the Department of Education. The Know-It's Essentials program is the high quality program for children from Pre-K to 2nd grade that many Oklahoma schools already use to give their students the best opportunity they can to succeed. For more information on how teachers and their students can benefit from this amazing program, please visit our website at www.know-its.com or give former teacher, founder and developer, Diane Stout, a call at 866-823-0711 or e-mail her at diane@know-its.com.

Know-Its Essentials Kindergarten-First-Second Grade Program includes:
Over 300 online teacher lessons
Over 250 teaching aids for interactive whiteboards
Over 300 activities for individual or group use
Over 70 online games
Over 40 online books
Teaching Tools Kit (hands-on) including word cards, games, journal, magnetic lapboard, and charts.

The Department of Education states that the years from birth through age eight are the most critical for brain development, and significant evidence from research and evaluation demonstrate that participation in high-quality early learning programs will lead to both short- and long-term positive outcomes for all children. This is what Know-Its Essentials is designed for. For more information on this outstanding educational program, go to www.know-its.com.

Here is a tip for you if you have a child or children that are reading too slowly:

1. Read easy books.
2. Practice reading by phrases.
3. Reread the same passage and chart the time.
4. Reread with expression until the child or children are ready to read it to a group of children, the principal, grandma, etc.
5. Learn high frequency words (sight words).

Know Its has online games and hands on games for high frequency words. Our new material has activities where you can set a timer to flash words and phrases.

Raylene Harrison from Orvis Risner Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma says the Know-It's program is great! Ms. Harrison said "It is a great program and you can easily find exactly what you need for each student. The student's like the easy pictures and the directions are available online with audio. It provides the foundational skills necessary from phonics with ample opportunities to practice, particularly for struggling students. The kids really like it and look forward to learning." Take it from a teacher who uses the Know-It's program. It will be invaluable to you and your students too.

Learning to read can be fun! Engage is multi-sensory learning and prepare the brain to learn in a exciting new way. The Know-It's Essentials 2013 system helps to measure and assess the deveoplment of learning by following the progress of each child as he or she masters a new task. This helps with individualized program planning and decision making. Know-It's Essentials follows the state core curriculum guidelines and can help teachers and parents assist young children with oral language development, alphabetic codes, vocabulary, and phonics with interactive games that your children will love! For more information on this amazing system for your students, please go to www.know-its.com to view each program and decide which one is best for you and your children.

President Obama has proposed a significant expansion for schools and programs for Preschoolers and Kindergarten children as well as Head Start programs for younger children. This is great news for our young children. According to the book titled, The Acquisition of the Lexicon, the average one year old child speaks an average of twelve words, but by the time the child reaches age two and a half years old, they can speak around 600 words! This happens through natural conversational interactions. The interaction that comes from parents and teachers who actively encourage young children to learn new words and expressions is vital to the growth and expansion of their vocabulary and comprehension. So, please be sure that you are actively involved in educational activities with your young child. It is a fun way of not only teaching your child but a great way for you to form a strong, healthy, and happy, relationship with him or her.

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Education at www.ed.gov has numerous articles on the importance of early learning? In fact, The Department of Education's Strategic Plan FY 2011-2014, stresses that early learning improves the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade. The Know-Its Essentials program takes both a hands on and online approach to teaching students from Pre-K through 2nd grade. Through hands on teaching tools and online activities and games that can be used with smartboards, ipads, or computers, students can interact with other students and with their teacher. Mr. Know-Its makes learning to read fun and exciting for students and teachers can easily monitor each child's progress throughout the entire learning process. Visit our website at www.know-its.com for more information.

 

Comprehension can be improved if students visualize what is happening when they read. Have fun with your students by reading them a story and then let them tell it back to you in their own words. Let them decide what might happen next in the story! This is a fun and creative way to build comprehension skills and imagination.

Pre-Readiness : Shapes and Colors

Mr. Know-Its's Pre-Readiness: Shapes and Colors provides opportunities for children to use oral language. Children learn to "speak up" by playing games using complete sentences. They also describe various shapes, colors, sizes, and textures as they classify objects. By using descriptive words in context, children's vocabularies are increased. Games and manipulatives provide opportunities for children to apply new vocabulary skills.

Pre-Readiness Kit

Mr. Know-It's Pre-Readiness Kit teaches and reinforces basic skills to lay the foundation for capable readers. The program begins with Colors and Shapes, progressing through Classification, Rhyming, Letter Recognition, Rebus Reading, Beginning Sounds and More.

Did you know that you can extend learning by making a class poem? Choose a letter and brainstorm different nouns that begin with that letter. For example if you choose the letter "S", your class may come up with words like sun, snake, sock, and seal. Have your class write their favorite noun on the first line, then ask them to name different words to describe their noun that also begin with the letter "S", such as, slithery snakes, sneaky snakes, scaly snakes, and scary snakes.

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Mr. Know-Its wants to help you teach your Pre-K to 2nd grade student how to read!