Do not staple or fasten the pages together.

Piper Teaching

Some suggestions for getting started on Day One, which must also be kept in mind throughout the Reading Window program:

Try to arrange to have 15 uninterrupted minutes for introducing the Reading Window Game. But follow the child’s interest level, stopping even sooner if your child’s attention is flagging. It’s important to make it sound like you’re just playing together. For example, when you notice the child starting to become at all disinterested, you could say something like, “I have to do some laundry right now, but later, if you remind me, we can play some more.”

The first goal is to help the child have a positive, self-motivated attitude towards the Reading Window Game!

If you get off to a good start and maintain a positive attitude throughout, both you and your child will have fun and your child will learn happily and rapidly. Children are always learning. They can learn from you that reading is fun – or they can learn that reading is a disagreeable chore.

So always try to do the Reading Game when you yourself are feeling happy (and when your child is happy!).

It’s easier to fix problems the first day – shortly after they occur. I suggest you call after your child is in bed to avoid having little ears listening in. Between 9:00 & 10:00 pm would usually work well. 540-872-1999 (Verizon cell phone). Leave a message if you don’t get through, saying what times would be good for you to receive a return call.

Grace Reading

After the first day, it’s important to have the Reading Window Game every day, trying not to miss a day. The reason is that if you miss a day your child will forget most of what was learned in the last session, and you’ll have to spend your next session mostly just catching up.

 So try to spend 15 or 20 minutes playing the Game every single day — or at least 10 minutes.

 What if you’re having one of those busy, stressful days when it’s hard to find even 10 uninterrupted tranquil minutes for playing? Really try to find a way to have those 10 happy minutes together, because you’ll save time in the long run by not needing as much review. Sometimes it helps to explain to your child (for example), “Mommy is awfully busy today, but I do want to play with you, so I hope you can help me have some fun.”

 But it’s better to skip a day than to let the Reading Window Game become an unhappy experience.

Clap and give extra praise when answers are correct—but also praise your child even when the answers aren’t correct. Always act as if it is a fun game and not a task to be accomplished.

Don’t use the word “no.” Don’t say anything that means “no.”

Don’t act as if mistakes are “bad” or “dumb” or “wrong.” Mistakes are a regular part of learning!

It is very important for all of your responses to be positive

If a child makes a mistake (like pointing to a duck and saying “dog”), then in a happy and upbeat voice point to it and say, “This is a picture of a duck. A duck is sort of like a chicken. Let’s put it in the picture-window like this, and let’s say ‘duck.’ Very good! Let’s try that again!”

Always look for ways to make your statements positive instead of stating what was incorrect.

There should be no frustration at all for your child during the first three lessons, and only very brief levels of mild frustration after that.

* minimum of 5 transparent sleeves for 8×10 paper. (A transparent sleeve is a protective plastic cover that a piece of paper fits into. They’re available at office supply stores and at many large drugstores.) Later you may want up to 10 more sleeves. (I bought a dozen “sleeves” in a package for $1.99 at our local CVS store.)
* scissors
* a box cutter (optional)
* a pencil
* thin colorful cardboard , like a cereal box, or tissue box. (Children usually prefer bright colors or patterns, or they can do their own decorating on plain cardboard.)
* a small saucer or bowl with a dozen tiny treats (Raisins or Cheerios or halves of shelled peanuts are all good. Try to have them all about the same size, color etc.)

* Cut on the outer line around the word “cat.”
* Trace this rectangle three times onto the colorful cardboard you have gathered. You can make the outside edge line curved or in any design, using the dotted line to gauge size.
* Cut out the three shapes you have drawn on your cardboard.
* Now make a small cut in the middle of the paper rectangle on the word “cat,” so you can carefully cut out the inside window, on the inner dotted line of the paper. (Here’s where you may find it easiest to use a box cutter instead of scissors.)
* Place the newly cut paper window onto the cardboard pieces you have cut out, and carefully trace the window onto each cardboard shape you have cut out.
* When cutting out the inside window on the cardboard, try not to create any folds or bends. (Again, it may be easiest to cut out the inside window with a box cutter.) Children tend to keep folding when there are any visible bends in the cardboard, and it can be distracting to the child.
* Also create two or three windows large enough to frame the largest animal pictures .  (There is no template for this.) The inside opening should be large enough to show the entire animal but nothing else. The frame around these windows should be wide enough to cover up the corresponding word completely (this helps avoid confusion for the student).