Join us for “The Speech to Print Connection Including Alphabet Knowledge” webinar on May 17, 1:00 p.m. EST

The fourth free webinar in our springtime Early Learning and Literacy Webinar Series, “The Speech to Print Connection Including Alphabet Knowledge,” will be presented on Thursday, May 17, at 1 p.m. EST. Find information on how to participate at www.sterncenter.org.

Join us for the third free webinar in our springtime Early Learning and Literacy Webinar Series, “Phonological Awareness,” on Thursday, May 3, at 1 p.m. EST. Find information on how to participate at www.sterncenter.org.

Join us for the second webinar in our springtime Early Learning and Literacy Webinar Series!

“Shared Book Reading Emphasizing Vocabulary”  on Monday, April 23 at 1 p.m. EST

Find information on how to participate at www.sterncenter.org

New to using our online Building Blocks Program? Be sure to check out the “How Building Blocks Works” page before beginning. It explains how to navigate through the lessons and what to expect when you get started. You can also view a demo!

Thank you for joining our first live webinar, “Early Literacy Research and Language Development”. This webinar covered the evidence in how we can help prepare children for reading success during the preschool years. We share the research on which Building Blocks for Literacy is based and proven. We also focus on the important role of oral language development to reading and spelling achievement. You may read the summary and enjoy our recorded webinar at: www.getreadytoread.org.

During the webinar, we welcomed questions and have listed a few below.

QUESTION: My son is 4 years old and he sees a speech therapist and has been for about 10 consistent months but after the first six months they cut his days down to one 30 minute day instead of 2 but articulation wise it’s still difficult to understand but his vocabulary has increased very much. How do I enhance his articulation abilities?

BLANCHE PODHAJSKI, Ph.D: I would ask the SLP if she could provide you with a “home program” to reinforce what she does to compensate for the lost time with her. Often, it can be developing a notebook and finding target sound pictures to paste inside on the page that has the articulatory position pictured.

QUESTION: A parent with dyslexia is concerned his son will also be dyslexic because he is writing his name mirror letter. At 5 yrs old I know it’s developmental appropriate for most children, is that still true with a family history of dyslexia?

BLANCHE PODHAJSKI, Ph.D: The family history of dyslexia is something to definitely be attuned to. I would be more interested in knowing what his phonological awareness is and whether he can match, recognize and name the letter /e/. It might be worthwhile to give him a piece of paper with an “x” in the left hand corner and say “start here” when asked to write his name to see if he does it correctly. He may just be confused in space.

Join us for our next webinar on Shared Book Reading on April 23, 1-2 p.m. EST. You may click here to learn more.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is pleased to co-sponsor an early literacy webinar series with the Stern Center featuring BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY^®.

This four-part series will parallel modules of the online course, highlight many of its dynamic activities, and provide participants with an opportunity to ask questions about BUILDING BLOCKS.

Join our first live event, Thursday, March 29, at 1 p.m. EST

“Early Literacy Research and Language Development”

This webinar has two components – both need to be used in order to participate.

• Event link: http://ncld.adobeconnect.com/grtrliteracyresearch
• Call-in number: 1-888-450-5996, followed by pass code “726199”

 Mark your calendars for these future webinar dates:

 Monday, April 23, 1 p.m. EST

“Shared Book Reading Emphasizing Vocabulary”

 Thursday, May 3, 1 p.m. EST

“Phonological Awareness”

 Thursday, May 17, 1 p.m. EST

“The Speech to Print Connection, including Alphabet Knowledge”

 These grant-supported webinars are free and will be hosted by renowned literacy expert, Blanche Podhajski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Stern Center for Language and Learning President, Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Vermont College of Medicine and Brenda Buzzell, M.Ed., BUILDING BLOCKS Coordinator and Instructor.

 Webinar presentations will be available for viewing afterwards on NCLD’s GetReadytoRead.org site < http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-learning-childhood-basics/early-literacy/early-literacy-webinars >.

 We look forward to your participation. Please share this news with everyone you know who can make a difference in the future reading success of our youngest learners!

With 47% of children in this country entering kindergarten not ready to learn, we are proud to offer this free online program to educators and parents to learn about play-based, developmentally appropriate activities for our youngest learners.

This week, the Stern Center is presenting a Building Blocks conference in Houston, Texas in partnership with Collaborative for Children! Funded by a grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, literacy expert and Stern Center President, Blanche Podhajski, Ph.D., and Building Blocks Coordinator, Brenda Buzzell, M.Ed., will guide area educators on an active tour of the elements of the Building Blocks online program.

It is my great pleasure to share with you our FREE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY® website today!  This early literacy program contains the same research- proven strategies as the original BUILDING BLOCKS site AND it provides users the opportunity to create a community by sharing their own strategies and videos. Reformatted in a Facebook-like design, BUILDING BLOCKS is an even better tool for educators, providers, and parents to help prepare young children for literacy success when they enter school.   With 47% of children in this country entering Kindergarten not ready to learn, we are proud to be offering a no cost opportunity for everyone to learn about play-based, developmentally appropriate activities for our youngest learners.

Please share this website with anyone you think might benefit from it. I also hope you will join the BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY® interactive and engaging social network and share your ideas with others.

Thanks for your interest, I know you will find it time well-spent!