Research tells us that children need stimulation, activity, and creative outlets to live up to their potential in life. We need to support imagination and knowledge daily in our lives and in the lives of children.
Take advantage of all the continuing education we provide here at DIYI. We will explore the world of reading: topics such as motivation, Dyslexia, homework, active lifestyles, and also will provide you information on how to get your children to love water. Please use our CONTACT form to let us know what topics you would like us to explore. Also share your ideas in our FORUM. We want to know what’s on your mind and give you what you want to instill imagination and knowledge into your children! Please share with us. "Dive Into Your Imagination and let us help you fulfill your dreams!"
Dive Into Your Imagination is full of Ocean-based multimedia and print products to help parents, grandparents and teachers educate and entertain children of all ages. Ocean Life From A to Z book/DVD, Dive into Your Imagination®, Visions of the Sea and the Live Your Dreams, Words for Life poster and print collection will help you and all the children in your life dive into their imaginations. Ocean Annie uses snorkel and fins, beautiful underwater photography, video, creative story telling techniques, and music to create a sense of our real ocean and all of its inhabitants. "I believe the ocean is better than cartoons. I want to support you in your efforts of continuing ocean and real life education."
There are five critical skills needed for successful reading: phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, decoding, fluency and comprehension. There are several assessment tools commonly used in Texas schools to measure these skills. Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are two of them.
Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool on. They move from the exploration of print to independent reading. They transition from learning how to read to reading to learn. As a fourth grader, Jayden should be reading fluently, understanding what he is reading and getting enjoyment from reading. But for Jayden, reading is slow and labored. He struggles so hard to read that he loses a lot of the meaning of what he has read. When he encounters a word that he is unfamiliar with, he may skip over it, guess incorrectly or stop reading altogether. Jayden’s grades are low in all of his classes. Overall, he is at risk for academic failure.
It is a Saturday morning and I am very comfortable under the covers. I have no intention of getting up anytime soon. Work had been especially demanding this past week. I am an Instructional Developer/Coordinator in the Institute for Reading Research in the Department of Education at Southern Methodist University. I am currently working as a reading coach on a research project, Project Scale-Up, which is looking at the implementation of research-based first-grade reading interventions in schools along with the impact of ongoing support provided to the reading intervention teachers.
When I think of the topic of reading, I think of the reading needs for children that range from struggling readers, those children at risk for reading failure, to English Language Learners, to children reading at expected grade level, to advanced readers. I think of the challenges these different groups of children represent to their teachers and I think of the impact this has on the home and the families of these children.
Now you might think that as a parent a TV in the bedroom is not a bad idea, gives you some time to yourself, allows you the freedom to watch the program of your choice. Well there may be a need to rethink this strategy if you are concerned about your child’s health and future chronic disease risk.
Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool on. They move from the exploration of print to independent reading. They transition from learning how to read to reading to learn. As a fourth grader, Jayden should be reading fluently, understanding what he is reading and getting enjoyment from reading. But for Jayden, reading is slow and labored. He struggles so hard to read that he loses a lot of the meaning of what he has read. When he encounters a word that he is unfamiliar with, he may skip over it, guess incorrectly or stop reading altogether. Jayden’s grades are low in all of his classes. Overall, he is at risk for academic failure.
It is a Saturday morning and I am very comfortable under the covers. I have no intention of getting up anytime soon. Work had been especially demanding this past week. I am an Instructional Developer/Coordinator in the Institute for 
Reading, activites, and art for kids of all age; visit the Kid-Safe fun in the Kid's Corner.