Redmond parent and educator Michelle Vallene is headed to the Big Apple to promote her book “What Children Need to Learn to Read.”
At next week’s National Publicity Summit in New York City, Vallene will engage in a program she described as similar to “speed-dating with the media,” briefly meeting with representatives of organizations including ABC News, “Early Show” at CBS News, “Live with Regis and Kelly” and Parenting Magazine.
She’ll pitch story ideas such as how to enhance your child’s education in a down economy, helping your child become an “A-plus reader” — and preventing your child from becoming one of Jay Leno’s dim-witted “Jaywalkers.”
Vallene is president of Learners Lane, formerly known as Chateau Educational Enterprises. The business presents reading, math, writing and other enrichment programs through Redmond Parks and Recreation and Eastside schools.
She is also a part-time “safety net” teacher at Einstein Elementary in the Lake Washington School District, helping at-risk kids boost their literacy.
This is so important, Vallene said, because all success in school is based on reading.
“Kids who are behind when they enter school are much more likely to drop out of school,” she noted.
Not all kids are able to attend preschool, some enter school with language barriers or are just not exposed to reading when they’re little.
“Yet it’s parents who are there from the beginning and parents who are in the best position to teach their kids to read,” Vallene’s business partner, Suzie Connor, stated in a press release about Vallene’s new book: “Trouble is, parents often feel ill-equipped to do the job and most learn-to-read books are too technical, too boring or too incomplete to make the process a success.”
That’s exactly what Vallene concluded when she scoured local book stores for user-friendly guides to instill a love of reading and foster school readiness.
“I wanted something geared to parents — simple, approachable,” Vallene explained.
When she couldn’t find what she envisioned, she decided to create her own book and spent three years working on “What Children Need to Learn to Read.”
It includes a foreward by Derek Munson (author of the award-winning children’s book “Enemy Pie”), plenty of white space, cute graphics, bullet points and checklists that help busy parents quickly dive into literacy activities for infants through primary graders.
Although she holds a teaching degree from Washington State University, with endorsements in English and reading, Vallene said parents don’t have to feel intimidated when teaching their children to read. There are countless simple ways to get kids started and keep them interested.
Using “Baby Sign Language,” playing “Peek-A-Boo, “Patty-Cake” or mimicking animal sounds foster language development, as do reading nursery rhymes and singing classic songs.
As kids get a little older, parents can add hands-on activities such as molding letters out of Play-Doh, forming words with alphabet cereal or using sidewalk chalk to create signs.
Later in “What Children Need to Learn to Read,” Vallene recommends book-themed parties, travel games and other ways to keep kids reading and writing without even realizing that they are practicing literacy skills.
Here’s one we especially like, on page 118 of Vallene’s book: “Raving Reporter … Have your child identify people who he/she would like to interview (friend, neighbor, grandparent, teacher, etc.) and create a list of questions to ask them. … Compile all the interviews to make a ‘People I Know’ journal or book.”
Also included are lists of outstanding children’s books, reading goal sheets and certificates that parents can copy to award their young readers.
Vallene’s new Web site, www.LearnersLane.com was under construction at the time of our interview, but for now, you can learn more about Vallene and her book, “What Children Need to Learn to Read” at www.chateau-education.com.
Also look for her classes in the Redmond Recreation Guide, available at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th St., or online at www.redmond.gov.
