So We Want Our Children to Read?: 50 Fun Strategies to Make It Happen »

This book begins with A reading kit for everyone: parents, preschoolers, kindergarten, first grader, second grader, third grader, English as a second language, every school system, every teacher, every library. It follows with its benefits: early reading a must. Parents/teachers must keep a positive attitude. Reading down to a science. Age appropriate - when to begin. Time and Place - reading can be taught anywhere not just at home or in a classroom. How much time is required to be successful in teaching reading? Only 10 minutes a day. How fast can a child "grow" in reading? Some children become independent readers in less than a year. All children who are consistently exposed to the 50 strategies illustrated in the book are one school year ahead of the system. All are successful happy readers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nancy Parato Goldhagen is a professional educator, with a Master's degree from DePaul University in Chicago. She has taught at the elementary and junior high levels for 12 years, and at the college level for 7 years. She dedicated the next four years to the writing of educational curriculum guides which were published by the Chicago Board of Education.

Mrs. Goldhagen is married and the mother of two girls. When her first child, Maria, showed signs of wanting to read at a very early age, she searched for a reading system suitable for a child so young. There was none. To fill the void, she began to develop her own program, now known as Play & Read. One important element, she discovered, was that the system had to be playful and fun. She incorporated this strategy of playfulness throughout the entire system. Maria's reading progressed so rapidly that she was reading at a 5th grade level before the age of four. History repeated itself with her second daughter, Roseanne, who was taught with the same system. Both girls developed a passion for reading which continues to this day. Love of reading allowed them to explore the world of knowledge and literature. There was more room for numerous activities such as music, sports etc. Both girls qualified for and took Northwestern University Midwest Talent Search SAT and ACT tests starting in 6th grade.

Results were so encouraging that Mrs. Goldhagen started using the same system with her students. As a stay at home mom she was able to offer classes and tutoring to children of all ages, from pre-schoolers to high school level. Mrs. Goldhagen accepts all students, from the "gifted" to those with learning disabilities. These classes started 17 years ago and continue to this day with astonishing results. Hundreds of students have experienced incredible growth in reading. Typically children are a year ahead of the system, after only several months of using her program. Many bright and eager children reach an astounding level of 5th grade even before they are out of kindergarten. Two of these children are seen in the video provided in the Play & Read kit.

Inspired by her remarkable success, Mrs. Goldhagen sees a vision and a compelling mission to fulfill: to make this system of reading available to all children. Parents, teachers and educators can experience the same joy in teaching children to read and, in the process, develop a warm adult-child relationship.

"After love and affection, READING, is the most important gift you can give your child" Mrs. Goldhagen says.

To make it possible for every child to receive the gift of reading, Mrs. Goldhagen is offering 2-3 hours seminars to teach adults how the Play & Read system works. The seminar covers ideas described in her book: So we want our Children to Read? 50 fun strategies to make it happen. Strategies will be demonstrated.