We would like to welcome you to our monthly Red Apple Newsletter. Our mission is to help parents help their children.
Our goal with this publication is to bring parents academic and educational resources and also family oriented things to do in the Pittsburgh area. If you have an article you would like to submit, or an event that is great for families, please contact us.
Summer Vocabulary Skills
Summer vacation can be the best time to build academic skills. In just fifteen to thirty minutes per day
you can enrich your child´s skills enough to help them reach the front of their class.
The facts show that
reading is the single best means of building a strong vocabulary. Consider this: Analysis of the frequency
of "sophisticated" words in various situations was completed. This study discovered 68.3 rare words used
for every 1000 words printed in a newspaper, while prime-time TV exposes viewers to only 22.7 rare words per 1000.
Conversations between college graduates were even lower, at 17.3 rare words for each 1000 spoken.
Educational research further reveals that how much a child reads at an early age (i.e. elementary school-aged student)
is highly predictive of how much he will read as a college student and adult. This underscores the importance of
developing good habits early in your home.
Every family encounters the same obstacles to good reading habits; video games, instant messaging, and text
messaging are just a few of the distractions luring our children from good books. Nevertheless, we must be
vigilant in stimulating our children to become readers from a very early age.
There are many actions that you can take to build reading. At Red Apple Learning Centers, I believe in immersing
our children in letters, words and stories beginning at two to three years of age. Interlocking foam letters
provide great opportunity for children to use hand-eye coordination while they are learning letters. Introduce
just one or two letters every week or so while you focus on the playful aspect of building with the letters.
The plastic, magnetic letters that we used to have as kids on our refrigerators are wonderful tools. Each
time you sit down for a meal you can delegate a family member to form one or two words out of the letters
available. Then the entire family can read these words together.
Flashcards provide another wonderful technique, especially for busy families. In our family, we use a
small photo album to hold our flashcards. Each page displays one card. For the youngest children, each
card has one letter on it. Older children´s albums will contain flashcards with words on them
instead of letters. The beauty of these photo albums is their portability. Your child can take these
in the van and review them while you drive to the store or church, or on your way to the many practices or
games in which your children are involved.
Of course, reading good books together with your children is a critical step in their educational process.
As your child matures, allow him to read more and more of the stories on his own. You can act as a human
dictionary as you follow along by filling in any word that gives him trouble. I recommend the three second rule: If he
struggles for three seconds on any word, pronounce it for him to reduce any stress or frustration that it may
cause. In this way you will keep your reading time together a fun, relaxed experience, one to which he will
want to return each day.
Mealtimes or car rides together provide great opportunities to challenge each other. One game children love
to play is "stump the parent." The children find a word that you are unlikely to know and challenge
you with it at dinner. When they stump you, they can then teach you the meaning and even educate you on how
to properly use the word in a sentence.
During dinner, discuss recent books that you have read. As your children become more mature, encourage
them to draw inferences from stories by questioning them about characters´ moods and feelings or by asking
them to describe what they believe will occur next in their story.
I am frequently asked, "How much reading should my children do?" Recently I attended a business
meeting where Bill and Melinda Gates were also present. During the discussions, one of Bill Gates´ colleagues
pointed out that Bill was an avid reader of encyclopedias. Mr. Gates had read as far as the letter "p" before
his career pulled him away from finishing his entire set of encyclopedias. Obviously that statement had a profound
impression on me.
Your goal should be to encourage your children to read a minimum of thirty minutes per day, every day.
We know that proficient, young readers read thousands of words each week, while struggling readers read
less than one hundred. There is only one way to bridge this gap -- stimulate more reading.
As you complete each of these drills at home, if you notice that your child seems to struggle remembering his
letters or words, or if he is falling further behind his peers throughout the year, seek out professional
instruction at the earliest possible time. Just like treating physical diseases, early intervention is critical.
Be sure to question the director or teacher of any educational facility that you are considering to learn
what their success rate is as well as their methods of instruction.
As your children read more and more, you will notice both their vocabulary expand and their overall
knowledge of world events improve immensely. These abilities will enhance their options for careers
and their overall life choices exponentially in the years ahead.
Joseph D. Falbo
Founder of Red Apple Learning Centers
Chocolate! at the Phipps Conservatory
MAY 3 - NOV 9 - Phipps transforms into a chocolate paradise with chocolate-themed plants, activities, and interactive displays, including a children´s chocolate factory and the Chocolate Express! miniature railroad. Visitors can learn how chocolate is made, explore discovery learning carts, play games, and take part in free chocolate-related public programs. All visitors receive a complimentary chocolate samples.
Visit the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens website for more information!
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the Carnegie Science Center
MAY 24 - SEPT 1 -
An exhibition of the largest collection of restored Titanic artifacts recovered from the ship´s wreckage, including a 30,000-ton portion of the hull. The exhibition also features re-creations of the Grand Staircase and a First Class Stateroom, as well as a simulated iceberg wall to feel how cold the water was when the ship sank. Admission is by timed ticket only; advance ticket purchase is available online.
Visit the Carnegie Science Center website for more information!
Three Rivers Arts Festival
JUNE 6 - 22- The 49th annual Three Rivers Arts Festival, held in the historic plazas, city streets, and open spaces of downtown Pittsburgh, features 300 artists, more than 50 live music performances, 15 visual arts installations, and four original dance and theatre productions. Kids can enjoy storytelling with WQED radio´s Queen of Hearts; performances by the Fine Fiddlers of Pittsburgh, the CLO Mini Stars, and the Celtic Spirit Highland Dancers of Pittsburgh; and much more. A complete schedule of family-friendly festival events is available online.
Just Kidding Around: Children in Cartoons
JUNE 7 - AUGUST 3- The Children´s Museum of Pittsburgh will have display Just Kidding Around: Children in Cartoons and Comics in the ToonSeum Gallery. The exhibition features original art and artifacts from Hogan´s Alley, Little Orphan Annie, Rugrats, Nancy, Dog Eat Doug, Fat Albert, Peanuts, Little Lulu, Dennis the Menace, The Boy Mayor and many more cartoons including animation art, comic strips, comic books, illustration, and editorial.
Visit the website for more details and admission fees.
Corduroy Party!
JUNE 21- Joseph Beth Bookstores is hosting a very special event with a very special bear! We´ll enjoy a reading of Corduroy, play games, and then children will have the opportunity to meet and have their picture made with Corduroy himself! Event is free, but reservations are appreciated. You can email with the number of children expected, call 412-381-3600, or just stop by the bookstore to reserve a spot today!
Party time is 2:00pm
Peter Pan presented by Pittsburgh CLO
JUNE 21 - JULY 2 - A High-Flying Fantasy for the Entire Family!
As delightful as a fairytale flight over Never Never Land, this whimsical musical is an instant family favorite! Featuring the rambunctious adventures of the lovable Peter Pan and the "Darling" children, encounters with the cunning Captain Hook and a close call with a crafty crocodile, the Tony® Award-winning Peter Pan is sprinkled with a show-stopping score and of course a bit of fairy dust from Tinker Bell.
Peter Pan will be at the Benedum Center. Visit the website for performance details.
