Vol. 1
May 2021
Welcome to my first newsletter. I am a lifelong learner, parent, children’s author, school psychologist and have also worked as a counsellor, special education and general education teacher.
My aim is always to support children, families, teachers and other professionals. In this newsletter, I hope to provide enticing snippets of research and ideas to spark conversation as we develop our practice.
You can download the newsletter from my website, Kathleen Cherry | Author/Psychologist ,or subscribe and it will be delivered four times per year to your mail box. Subscribers will receive it a week before it will be available on the website. Email addresses will never be sold or shared and no additional content or ads will be sent.
As a thank you to subscribers, I will be offering a giveaway. Two signed copies of my middle grade novel, Everyday Hero, will be given away as I release a new edition.
I try to include something for everyone!
For families and children:
Check out my YouTube video, https://youtu.be/eTDFDKhrum0. It aims to demystify the psychology assessment process.
As well this month, I am excited by a new children’s television show just launched – Sounder and Friends. It is targeted to 3- to 6-year-old children and is all about phonemic awareness. Phonemic Awareness is vitally important to reading and is often overlooked. It is the ability to play with the sounds of language. http://www.sounderandfriends.com/
For Everyone:
This month, I’m all about MORPHOLOGY. This is the recognition, understanding, and use of word parts that carry significance, often with a Greek, Roman, or Saxon background. Skills in word-building and a working knowledge of common root words, prefixes, and suffixes will improve reading fluency and spelling. Independent writing is also improved. [1]
Research is great but it is always helpful to have a hands-on strategy for the classroom. In fact, I am always about multi-sensory strategies. It is great to use different coloured pens to help establish the steps in building words. This reinforces that the prefix is before the root word and the suffix is at the end of the root word. Learners with reading challenges may have difficulty with sequencing and left/right direction.
And for those wanting to dive deeper, try is Deb Glaser’s book, Morpheme Magic.
For Librarians:
I want to include a shout-out for 49th Shelf https://kids.49thshelf.com. They work hard to ensure Canadian students have access to wonderful Canadian books. They just sent out their new picture book recommendations. See our recommendations. One of my favourites is written in Anishinaabemowin and English. It is very lyrical and connects beautifully to the sensory aspects of the seasons.
And for the school psychologists and school counsellors among us!
www.thrivingschoolpsych.com/10-reasons-to-be-a-school-psychologist/
This is a lovely list for the end of the school year with great illustrations. I love # 4 – building long-term relationships with families and kids and #6 – empowering parents. But perhaps most, of all, I love the concept of a school psychologist as a ‘Strength Amplifier’.
I love questions and feedback. I look forward to sharing with you new videos, research, books and strategies. Connect with me anytime by my website, YouTube or Facebook.
[1] Bowers, P. N., Kirby, J. R., & Deacon, S. H. (2010). The effects of morphological instruction on literacy skills: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 80, 144-179)
All the best,
Kathleen