1. Parents and caregivers are models for children. Make sure they see you read something every day, both for information AND enjoyment.

2. It's never too early to start reading aloud to your child. Start the day with breakfast and the newspaper. Some quick items to read are a favorite comic, the weather for the day, sports scores, or the entertainment section. Have your child look for coupons or sales on items they need or want. Look in Thursday's Neighbors section for people who are active in their community. You may even find someone you know.

3. Reading is everywhere. Use ordinary experiences to read with your child--street signs, maps, billboards, labels at the grocery store, directions, recipes in Monday's Food Section, Friday's 360 guide, newspapers and magazines in a waiting room, even comics count as reading. Show that you value many types of reading, writing and communication. Click here to learn more about adopting a classroom.

4. If you have a reluctant reader, take advantage of the user-friendly format of the newspaper. It contains many levels of reading and your child can choose to read whatever he or she is interested in without any pressure. The NIE serial stories are ideal for building reading excitement because your child will be WAITING for the rest of the story each week!

5. Have your child read aloud to you from the newspaper. Start with Tuesday's KidScoop and follow the activities as they direct you around the different parts of the newspaper.

6. The newspaper is an economical and ready source for photos, lettering, words and symbols that can be cut and pasted. Have plenty of crayons, markers, scissors, glue sticks and plain paper available to create little books, stories, poems and greeting cards from the newspaper. Cut out interesting letter styles and make your own alphabet collection. Make it a rule for your child to ask if you are finished with the newspaper before cutting it up. It will demonstrate that you value reading and information as well as making your child feel special because they are using something that adults also use.

7. Create your own scavenger hunts. Have your child look for things to eat, things to wear, color words, number words, something that is hot or cold, something to play with or whatever your child learned about that day in school.

8. Use the newspaper as a "scrapbook". When special events occur, such as a national election or sporting competition, follow progress of a favorite person or team. Collect recipes, cartoons, or photos of animals.

9. The cartoons can be used for sequencing for young children and written or expression for older children. Cut up the panels of a favorite comic and have your child put them back in the correct order. Remove the words from the speech bubbles and have your child write in their own version of what is happening in the comic strip. Middle and high school students will broaden their opinions with the political cartoons. Have them follow the national news and the editorials to make their own analyses.

10. Subscribe to The Lima News and encourage your child's teacher to make reading the newspaper a part of the classroom routine. At the end of each day, ask family members if they found anything interesting in the newspaper--something funny, a piece of news that may affect your lifestyle, a new word, an opinion that was agreed or disagreed with. Today's readers are tomorrow's leaders.

PARENTING YOUR TEENAGER DO'S & DON'TS

DO read the newspaper yourself, even the opinions you DON'T agree with.

Leave the newspaper in a common area such as the kitchen table.

DON'T tell your teenagers what they should read: scan the newspaper for items that might be important to your teenager and write their page numbers boldly on the front of the paper to create interest. It will give them the option of finding it for themselves, or not.

DON'T expect them to read everything you'd like them to read. If they miss out on an interesting conversation or important piece of information, it may prompt them to stay better informed.

Begin with lighter youthful content such as reviews of movies, pop stars or the latest electronic development and ask what they think.

Teenagers like to have a cause. Move onto global issues such as hunger, homelessness, or environmental policies. Watch for the same news story on television, the radio, the Internet and in editorials to compare coverage.

Look for articles in the newspaper that report educational issues that might directly affect them, such as school food quality, teen driving laws, or testing procedures.

DO ask their opinion.

DON'T start out by first telling them your opinion.

DON'T be upset when they disagree with you--encourage them to state their case and offer them various scenarios that they may not have thought about. Example: "You're right, that sounds like a good idea for the environment if a deposit is charged on water bottles, but what if you worked in a grocery store and had LOTS more bottles to process?"

Create friendly competition by finding unusual stories, outrageous news, or humor and see who can find the most interesting item of the day or week. They'll be preparing for the SATs and beyond without even realizing it.