I’m so excited to share my latest article in CNBC, “Kids who learn this 1 skill early on are highly successful in life.” It’s such a meaningful opportunity to reach a new audience and get evidence-based advice into the hands of as many parents and caregivers as possible.
In the piece, I dive into research-backed early literacy strategies that families can use right from the first stages of a child’s development. I highlight how simple, everyday interactions—like narrating your actions, having back-and-forth conversations, and weaving books naturally into daily routines—can make a powerful difference in a child’s reading journey.
For anyone committed to fostering early literacy and helping close achievement gaps, I hope this article serves as a practical, encouraging resource. I truly believe that small, intentional moments can lay the strongest foundation for a child’s future reading success.
Take a look and please share the article with anyone in your life who might benefit from the information.
The book distills key insights from my book, Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to Help Your Child.
The key takeaway I shared in the article is that raising a strong reader isn’t just about cozy bedtime stories—it’s about weaving language and literacy into everyday life. Drawing on more than a decade of research and expert interviews, I explain that small, consistent interactions throughout the day lay the groundwork for reading success.
Early pre-reading and reading abilities predict long-term academic and career outcomes, so it’s crucial that parents and early caregivers nurture these skills from the start. Luckily, they can do this through simple, powerful early literacy strategies like responding to baby babble, asking questions and waiting for answers, and bringing kids’ attention to the letters of the alphabet and their sounds in daily life.
Successful parents also engage kids in playful language activities, such as rhymes and tongue twisters, which sharpen children’s ability to hear and manipulate sounds—a critical skill for reading. Importantly, they don’t reserve reading for bedtime; they seize opportunities to share books and printed words throughout the day, from mealtime to errands.
By making reading and conversation a natural, regular part of family life, parents help children build the strong language foundation necessary for literacy and long-term success.
Get Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to Help Your Child
Learn how to foster your child’s pre-reading and reading skills easily, affordably, and playfully in the time you’re already spending together.
Get Reading for Our Lives
When we think of kids and reading, we often think about boosting literacy, fostering academic success, or helping them wind down before bed. But stories offer so much more, too—connection, escape, and, importantly, the opportunity to expand kids’ minds and perspectives.
Books can be a powerful way to help your child grow into a kind, compassionate person and to develop their social and emotional intelligence, which in turn supports strong social skills and mental health. Reading opens a world of experiences beyond their own, and with just a few thoughtful tweaks to your routine, you can use books to nurture empathy and social-emotional awareness. Here’s how:
1. Read Fiction
Fiction is a natural empathy-builder. When kids follow a character’s journey—especially through struggles, mistakes, and growth—they begin to understand what it feels like to walk in someone else’s shoes. They can also absorb valuable examples of resilience.
Whether they’re about a dragon learning to control its temper or a little girl nervous on the first day of school, fictional stories help children relate to others’ emotions. This connection lays the groundwork for caring about others in real life.
There’s research that backs up this intuitive link between relating to fictional characters’ feelings and developing empathy, social smarts, and emotional intelligence. Contributing writer Andrea Hunt curated a list of touching picture books to help build empathy to get you started.
As kids get older, they’ll naturally want to pick their own reading material, and it’s wise to let them. You can still influence their choices, however—sometimes recommending a favorite title will do it. Other times, simply leaving out a stack of tempting and well chosen books will pique an older reader’s interest.
- Tip: Choose evocative stories that make readers care about the characters and relate to their feelings. If a story makes you tear up as you read, it may be a good pick!
2. Read Stories About Characters Who Are Different
It’s tremendously meaningful for kids to see people like them represented in books, so provide your child with chances to see themselves reflected in fiction. At the same time, stories also offer a valuable opportunity to help kids empathize with people who are different than they are. It’s well worth your while to make a conscious effort to select books with characters from different cultures, backgrounds, abilities, interests, and experiences, too.
These stories broaden your child’s perspective and normalize diversity. Whether they’re about a refugee family, a child in a different part of the country or world, or a sympathetic character with a different background or personality than your child, these narratives help kids see the world through someone else’s eyes—and feel for them.
You can stretch your child by including excellent stories about people or experiences they might know less about or relate to less. Kids often gravitate to finding a sense of identity based on exclusion, from boys vs girls in preschool to jocks vs drama kids in middle school. Widely diverse fiction can gently push them and build tolerance that they’ll apply in real life.
- Tip: It helps build empathy when kids can relate to a character in some way, even if the character is outwardly very different from them. Look for emotionally complex, sympathetic stories that create nuanced characters that kids can really get invested in.
3. Talk About What You Read
When you read aloud to your child, take a little time to chat. If your little one interrupts the story to talk about it or to share their own experiences, that’s gold—embrace it. You can also spark reflection with gentle questions about how your child would feel in the character’s situation, and get the conversation going by sharing your own (genuine) reactions or experiences.
As your child gets older and reads independently, look for opportunities to connect around books—without stepping on their toes too much. If they read a book you’ve read, try chatting with them about it. If they recommend a book to you, make it your business to find time to read it. You can also ask if they have any recommendations of books you should check out.
Consider questions and prompts like:
- “This story makes me remember a time I felt so embarrassed/sad/shy…”
- “Wow, I feel so sad for this character—it never occurred to me that someone might feel that way.”
- “Have you ever had something like that happen to you?”
- “Have you ever felt that way?”
- “How do you think that made her feel?”
- “What would you do if you were in his shoes?”
- “Why do you think they acted that way?” “I think…”
Open-ended questions help your child reflect on emotions and motivations. You don’t need to quiz them—just be curious together. Let the conversation flow naturally. Over time, this kind of reflection will become a habit, helping kids become more thoughtful and aware of others. It can also help them learn to assume good intentions and handle conflicts more patiently.
This will not only turn them into a kinder person, but it will also make them better at social interactions, smoothing their path a bit as they grow up.
- Tip: Provide a reading journal and encourage your child to chronicle their reactions to books. Reflecting on their reading and exploring their thoughts about it in writing, as well as conversation, can also support emotional intelligence and self-expression.
4. Be Kind and Responsive
Empathy is caught, not just taught. The way you respond to your child as you talk about books (or other things!) matters, too. Listen without interrupting. Acknowledge your child’s thoughts and feelings. If your child resists, don’t push too hard. Children—like all humans—can be sensitive. It is painful to relate to difficult feelings, even in fiction.
Sometimes, the difficult emotions or situations facing a fictional character may feel too painful for your child to handle. In these cases, they may act like they don’t care or even say something cruel about the person suffering the difficulty. Don’t assume this means your child doesn’t care about others. It may actually be a sign that they need to put some space between themselves and the character, because the feelings are too real.
Overall, show your child the empathy and compassion you’d like them to develop. As you model warmth, patience, and curiosity, your child will learn how to offer those same qualities to others.
- Tip: Cultivate responsiveness in your interactions with your child. Responsive parenting is actually associated with raising smart, emotionally intelligent kids and will build your bond as your child grows.
The Takeaway
You don’t need fancy tools or complex lessons to teach empathy and social-emotional intelligence. A simple story, a quiet moment, and a little conversation can go a long way.
Remember, raising children is a long-term marathon, not a sprint. You don’t have to do it all, all the time. A bit of intentionality and some moments of meaningful connection can be pivotal.
So next time you settle in for a bedtime book, remember: you’re not just reading a story—you’re growing a heart.
Raising kids these days seems to involve, among other things, mountains of stuff. And as we navigate family life and all those attendant belongings, it can be hard to find a balance.
Do we hold onto mementos that pile up at warp speed? (That adorable first outfit, a favorite lovey, beautiful book gifts, and so on…) Or do we declutter in real time, with the risk of finding that some metaphorical babies have gone out with the bathwater?
I’ve been thinking about this while clearing out my family’s beloved collection of picture books. We really, really like reading and have owned a lot of picture books. As in, a lot. With my youngest poised to enter middle school, it’s clearly time to purge all but a few very special ones.
Yet it’s been hard to let them go. There was so much of the toddlers and preschoolers my adolescents once were—and the young mother I was to them—wrapped up in those volumes. We certainly couldn’t keep them, but I hated to discard them without a trace. Filling boxes to donate, I imagined my kids someday recalling hazy memories of favorite stories but unable to find the titles.
And this, in turn, got me thinking about the great value of keeping a family reading journal. After all, when we record what we’ve read, we can capture the substance of our reading without storing physical books. We can consult the list years later to rediscover old reads, and even reacquire any we wish to read again from a library or bookstore.
There are many other benefits to keeping a family book journal, of course—encouraging conversation and connection, writing and deep thinking, and lifelong habits of reading and reflection. But my nostalgic side warms to the idea of pinning down those precious moments when my kids adored hearing stories that now barely rate as memories in their busy teen and tween worlds. Of storing those memories safely, ready to pull out and dust off down the line.
So that tops my list of reasons to keep a family reading journal with your children, although the others are at least as valuable.
4 Reasons to Keep a Family Reading Journal
Below are my top four reasons to start a book journal with your kids. But before we go through them, I just want to note that there are many ways to journal, so find what’s right for you.
Writing on paper—not your phone—is ideal with small children, but that can be as simple or creative as you like. Create a lovely paper journal if that’s your jam. Or just jot down notes together and then snap photos to preserve them in a digital album.
Ultimately, your journal—much like the books you share—is about the information and ideas it contains, not the vessel that holds them.
Whatever form you choose, write down the titles and authors of the books you read, the date you read (or finish) them, and you and your child’s reactions or thoughts. You might even include a couple of notes about their favorite character or a great quote.
1. Cherish the Memories Without the Clutter
As your child grows, you’ll move through hundreds of books. A family reading journal offers a beautiful balance between drowning under books (believe me, it’s a real possibility) and treating them like paper plates, swiftly discarded and even more swiftly forgotten.
Collect the memories of the stories you’ve shared without needing to keep the books themselves forever. Later, even without a house full of dusty shelves, you and your child can look back at the literary worlds you visited together—and even share them with the next generation.
2. Foster Special Moments and Deepen Reflection
Sharing a book with your child is already a special time, and adding a journal entry afterward can elevate it into a mini-ritual. Writing down both of your reactions, your child’s favorite elements, and thoughts about the story encourages reflection and conversation that builds your child’s brain and your connection.
It opens up the door to delving deeper and gives your child space to reflect and feel heard. What made them laugh? What made them think? How did you feel reading it together? You’re not just recording facts; you’re capturing emotions and insights that help develop empathy, curiosity, and critical thinking.
Just be sure not to force it or push too much. You don’t want the practice to backfire and make your or your child feel like story time is too much work or requires too much vulnerability. Make sure you allow both of you to sometimes just share a story on the fly, without a need to pull out your journal. Just journaling occasionally or about favorite stories is fine.
3. Encourage Writing and Self-Expression
Keeping a family reading journal can also be a lovely, fun way to encourage your child to work on their writing. You’ll want to take on the journal-writing duties at first, recording the details of books you share. As your child grows, give them opportunities to write the titles or author names.
Eventually they can take on writing up their reactions or thoughts on the books. This will encourage your child to develop their writing skills and self-expression. With a bit of luck, it may even fuel a habit of reflection and journaling that can support mental health, self-awareness, and deep thinking as they grow into young adults.
4. Create a Keepsake for the Future
One day, this journal can be a precious window into your child’s early years. Beyond the photos and report cards, a family reading journal can give a rare glimpse into their developing mind and heart. It will be a keepsake filled with the books that shaped their childhood, their budding opinions, their sense of humor, and your shared experience as a family.
Imagine your grown child flipping through your old reading journal, rediscovering the books you loved together. They may one day share these very same titles with their own children, reading aloud the stories that once filled your living room with laughter and wonder. The journal can become more than a personal memory—it can be a legacy, a bridge between generations built on shared stories and family traditions.
Don’t let visions of the “perfect” read-aloud get in the way of the joys of actual read-alouds.
That thought echoed in my mind during a Reading for Our Lives virtual book club with the staff and volunteers from Women’s Storybook Project in Austin, Texas. This remarkable organization records incarcerated moms reading books aloud, then delivers the books and recordings to their children. Hearing their mothers’ voices creates a vital thread of connection—a bridge across the physical and emotional distance of incarceration.
During the gathering, I was deeply moved by how many hands, hearts, and minds collaborate to make this mission possible. So much effort, fundraising, organization, and leadership is required to deliver a semblance of the read-aloud experience that many parents take for granted.
I was honored to share my raise-a-reader journey with the team’s staff and volunteers and answer their questions about Reading for Our Lives. The goal: To share practical tips, research insights, and solutions to common read-aloud challenges, empowering them to better support the moms they record and the caregivers who share the books and recordings with the kids. Through their efforts, caregivers create reading rituals that offer comfort and consistency by delivering their moms’ voices to children whose mothers can’t be with them physically. At the same time they foster back-and-forth conversation as they share the stories.
Sadly, the deep love and effort I witnessed at Women’s Storybook Project stands in stark contrast to broader trends. New research from HarperCollins UK reported that today’s parents are falling out of love with reading aloud. Just 41% of kids under 4 years old are read to regularly, down from 64% in 2012. And only 40% of parents say reading aloud is fun for them—let alone for the kids. That’s a serious problem, because research shows that frequent parent read-alouds impact how much kids read on their own later, as well as how well the kids learn to read and how much they enjoy it.
And yet, even as many families pull back from reading aloud, others are doing everything they can to hold on to it. When you see the lengths some parents go to connect through books while behind bars, it puts things in perspective. The care. The effort. The vulnerability. Suddenly, the typical excuses for skipping story time lose steam. Our parental fatigue (though real) feels lighter, busy schedules seem less daunting, and waiting for the perfect moment feels a little indulgent in this context. Moms in the Women’s Storybook Project read to counteract some of the emotional insecurity, stigma, social isolation, and other devastating effects of family separation.
In the book club, we explored everything from how to engage middle schoolers who’ve lost interest in books to reading with babies and multilingual learners. The questions reflected the real-life complexity—and beauty—of supporting literacy in all kinds of families. Addressing these questions reminded me vividly that we truly need one another. We rely on a community of support to cultivate the literacy and language skills that all our children need to thrive.
Too often, parenting media paints an idyllic picture of family literacy—cozy bedtime stories, peaceful children on laps, fireplaces crackling in the background. But that image simply isn’t the reality for many families, for many reasons. I’m a sleepyhead who gladly delegated bedtime stories to my husband, choosing other moments in the day to share books with our daughter. If I’m honest, I spent more time thinking about writing about raising readers than actually reading with my daughter when she was little. Good intentions, faulty follow-through. Too often, I waited for the “perfect” book or “right” moment, missing the ample opportunities already within reach.
My book club conversation with the Women’s Storybook Project reinforced for me the importance of embracing the imperfect, yet deeply meaningful work of nurturing literacy.
Let the organization’s stories remind you: the perfect moment may never come, but with intent you can make the time to read anyway. It’s not too late, too little, or too hard. Anytime you can share builds your child’s brain and your family bond.
Recently, I had the joy of chatting with Joe Donahue on WAMC/NPR’s beloved show The Roundtable. Joe has a real gift for asking thoughtful questions and creating space for meaningful conversation—our interview felt less like a media hit and more like a cozy chat over coffee.
If you haven’t listened to The Roundtable before, I highly recommend it. The show regularly dives into the kinds of big, important topics that matter deeply to families, educators, and communities. In our conversation, we unpacked one of my life’s biggest passions: giving parents the tools and confidence to raise strong readers from the very beginning.
Here are some of the key ideas I shared during our talk…
When my daughter was born, I couldn’t stop thinking about the headlines. Again and again, I read stories about America’s low reading achievement—especially among black children and children from low-income families. It didn’t sit right with me. Not because I doubted the data, but because I knew it wasn’t the children who were the problem. So I did what I do best: I dug in. As a journalist, I went in search of answers. As a mother, I was desperate for solutions. What I found changed the course of my parenting—and eventually my career.
Reading doesn’t begin in kindergarten. It begins at birth.
We often talk about learning to read as something that starts when children enter school. But the truth is, the groundwork is laid much earlier—long before that first day of kindergarten. Reading is built on a foundation of talking, playing, pointing, and listening that begins in infancy. In fact, studies show that the number of back-and-forth conversations children experience between 18 and 24 months strongly predicts their vocabulary skills years later.
So yes, bedtime reading is wonderful. But literacy-building doesn’t end there—and it doesn’t require a book in hand. Every diaper change, every grocery store trip, every cuddle on the couch is an opportunity to build your child’s brain. The secret? Your words.
You’re not “just” a parent—you’re your child’s first and most important literacy teacher.
Here’s something I want every parent to hear and believe: You are a literacy leader. From the start. Not later. Not when your child enters school. Right now.
You don’t need a teaching degree to prepare your child to read. You need attention, intention, and love. Gentle teaching—through play, conversation, and shared routines—makes all the difference.
Say the names of foods as you cook. Point out letters on the cereal box. Narrate your day like you’re hosting a podcast just for your baby. When your toddler babbles or your preschooler asks “why” for the hundredth time, lean in. You’re not just surviving the moment—you’re building vocabulary, background knowledge, and brain architecture that supports reading down the road.
Let’s take the pressure off and make learning light.
When people hear the word “instruction,” they often picture a desk, a workbook, and a whiteboard. But for young children, the best teaching doesn’t look like school—it looks like you.
It’s silly voices during storytime. It’s clapping out syllables while dancing in the kitchen. It’s pointing out that “S” curves like a snake or that “M” has mountains. It’s tuning into the sounds around you—truck beeps, dog barks, rhyming songs—and helping your child hear and play with language.
I call this the TALK method:
Take turns
Ask questions
Label and point
Keep the conversation going
It’s a simple way to remember that the best learning happens through warm, responsive interaction. Not drills. Not flashcards. Just life, spoken out loud.
Start now. And if you’re concerned, speak up.
Some parents worry: What if my child isn’t where they should be?
My advice: trust your instincts. Write down your observations. Check developmental milestones (the CDC’s free tracker is a great tool). Bring up concerns at doctor visits. The earlier we notice challenges—especially with language or sound awareness—the earlier we can get support.
Don’t wait until a report card or a reading score makes the problem “official.” Start paying attention now. Ask questions. Be proactive. (See How to Assess Your Child’s Development & When to Seek Help for more tips.)
Because here’s the thing: reading skills are harder to build later. Research shows that kids who start kindergarten behind in vocabulary and letter knowledge have a tough road ahead. But the good news? The building blocks are simple, doable, and already within your reach.
You’re not late. You’re right on time.
So let’s raise readers together—not with stress and pressure, but with storytime, sidewalk signs, silly songs, and a whole lot of heart.
Looking for a rewarding, flexible side hustle that fits into your child’s school schedule? Substitute teaching might be the opportunity for you.
Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent looking to re-enter the workforce, a part-time worker in need of supplemental income, or in between jobs, subbing can provide extra income while allowing you to support your local schools.
“I like the flexibility and I like that it fits into the hours of school for my kids, so I can take them to their after-school activities,” said Elke, a mom I know who substitutes in her children’s schools. “I think it’s a great side hustle for moms. I’m surprised more moms don’t do it.”
Here’s a primer on some basics to know about becoming a substitute teacher and why it can be a great part-time job for parents.
Why Become a Substitute Teacher?
Substitute teaching offers a nice combination of flexibility, purpose, and income. Unlike many jobs, subbing generally allows you to set your own schedule and working location.
The districts I know about let substitutes choose when and where they work, making it easy to align with your child’s school schedule, your commute preferences, and your other obligations.
Substitutes can generally choose the days they want to work and say yes or no to specific assignments. In many districts, subs can see available assignments online or in an app each day and choose one that fits their preferences—or opt not to work that day.
Only want to work in your own child’s school, on campuses that are within five minutes of your home, or in certain grades? That should be an option in most cases, although some districts do require subs to work a certain number of days or be available to work in all schools. (In San Francisco, for example, subs are supposed to work at least five days during their first semester.)
Many parents opt to substitute outside their kids’ schools or districts, too. Besides opening up more work, this can give you great perspective and a valuable chance to compare your child’s school with others. One parent on X described substituting in a “no phones” school and seeing how much kids benefitted, compared to her own kids’ school, where phones were everywhere.
Subbing is a meaningful job—you’re helping maintain continuity in students’ education and a positive environment while teachers are away. It’s also a great way to dip your toes in if you’re interested in pursuing a teaching career down the line.
Benefits of Substitute Teaching as a Side Hustle
- Flexible Schedule: Work only on the days you’re available.
- Same Hours as Your Child’s School Day: Depending on where you sub and the age of your kid(s), you shouldn’t need childcare to take this gig. You may just need to arrange drop-off or pick-up for your child, unless you only take sub jobs at their school.
- Opportunity to Get Involved: Be present in your child’s school and community. It’s like volunteering, but you get paid! “It’s a good way to get to know who your kid is friends with and see what’s going on at their school,” Elke said.
- Make a Difference: The school years are crucial in children’s lives and in shaping the next generation. Your contribution to educating, supporting, and protecting them is vital.
- No Work to Take Home: Unlike full-time teachers, substitutes typically don’t have to do grading or lesson planning after hours.
- Extra Income: Earn money without the commitment of a full-time job.
How to Become a Substitute Teacher
To see if your district is hiring, visit the district’s website and look for a “Careers,” “Employment,” or “Human Resources” section. Many districts also post openings for substitute teachers on job boards like Indeed or EdJoin (used heavily in California). You can also call your district’s HR department or main office.
All states and school districts have their own requirements for substitute teachers, but here are some common expectations:
- Education: You may or may not need a college degree to substitute. For example, applicants in California at the time of writing must either (a) have a bachelor’s degree or (b) be enrolled in college and demonstrate mastery of reading, writing, and math basics. They can demonstrate mastery through coursework, SAT scores, or by passing the California Basic Educational Skills Test. Some states may also require college credits in education or a related field.
- Certification: You may need a substitute teacher permit or license from your state, which may involve a short training program or exam.
- Background Check: You’ll need to pass a criminal background check and likely a fingerprinting process.
- Health Requirements: There may be health-related requirements to work in the schools. For example you may need to show a negative TB test or a waiver from a healthcare provider.
- References or Letters of Recommendation: Some districts require these, along with an online job application.
Check your local school district’s website or state educational department to learn about specific requirements in your area.
How Much Do Substitute Teachers Earn?
Pay rates for substitutes vary by location and school district. In my California school district, substitute teachers earn $250 per day, while in nearby San Francisco they get upwards of $325 a day.
Some districts offer higher pay for long-term assignments or for those with teaching certifications. In my district, subs get an extra $30 per day after 30 days in a classroom, while San Francisco offers almost $40 extra per day after 10 days in a class. There may also be bonuses for teachers who work more than a certain number of days in a semester.
Subbing can provide a nice stream of supplemental income on your terms, and the flexibility means it may even be possible to balance it with other part-time work or higher education.
What’s a Typical Day Like as a Substitute?
As a substitute teacher, your day will depend on the school and grade level you’re assigned to.
In some cases, you’ll follow a lesson plan left by the regular teacher. Other times, you’ll just supervise as kids log into Google classroom or other digital platforms to find their work for the day. You may even need to get creative sometimes, if you get limited direction from the teacher.
Some days will be easy—students will be engaged and cooperative. Other days may be more challenging, requiring patience and resourcefulness to manage distractible kids. This is where parents may have an edge. After all, you’ve been managing your own kids at home for years!
Here’s a rough outline of what to expect:
- Morning: Arrive early, check in at the office, and review lesson plans.
- Classroom Time: Supervise work or teach lessons, assist students, and maintain a safe, positive classroom environment.
- Breaks and Lunch: Bring a lunch to eat in the teacher’s lounge or common area, and use your break time to plan for the afternoon.
- Afternoon: Continue teaching, guide students through activities, and leave notes for the returning teacher. Unlike regular teachers, a substitute’s day ends when the school day is over, and you more or less get to go home when the kids do!
How Are Substitute Teachers Evaluated?
Substitute teachers are mostly evaluated informally, and that starts when you walk in the door. Office staff, teachers, aides, and administrators will notice if you’re friendly, professional, and on time.
People also notice how you manage the classroom, follow instructions, and interact with the class, advises a staffing agency. If you’re shouting across the room or your class gets wild enough to disrupt others, it may get back to the principal. Even how you act during lunch or in the hallway matters. Students also impact how you’re perceived—kids will talk about their day to their regular teacher and parents, and their feedback often gets passed along.
Principals may not be watching you directly, but they hear what’s going on from everyone else. Some districts also have systems to collect formal feedback or evaluations of substitutes. Don’t stress too much, though—simply treating kids and adults courteously and being responsible can go a long way to making a good impression. So be friendly, come prepared, follow the rules, stay flexible, and show that you can keep your cool even if things don’t go as expected.
Tips for Success as a Substitute Teacher
- Be Flexible: Be open to different grade levels and subjects—variety keeps things interesting! Most of all, respond to the circumstances. If your class is unruly or disengaged, be ready to change your plan and shake it up.
- Arrive Early: Give yourself time to review lesson plans and get settled. It’s also nice to have time to use the bathroom or get a drink of water before the students arrive.
- Prepare a Backup Plan: Have a few educational activities in case the teacher’s lesson plans are unclear, incomplete, or nonexistent. It’s worthwhile to have some enriching, fun ideas up your sleeve. Just avoid hot-button issues or sensitive topics. You can even use a little time to pay it forward to the main teacher. Principal Zac Bauermaster suggests subs take time “off script” to have kids write their teacher notes of appreciation.
- Stay Calm and Confident: Classroom management can be tough, but maintaining a firm yet friendly attitude helps. Remember, it’s just one day and sticking to a lesson plan is not a life-or-death requirement. Whatever grade you’re in, they’re still kids. Keep your cool and model grown-up behavior. Elke offered up some veteran mom wisdom that’s served her as a sub: “Keeping a level head and being respectful even when they’re not is really helpful.”
- Bring Your Sense of Humor: Kids can give substitute teachers a hard time. (Maybe you even did that when you were little!) Meanwhile, busy school staff may provide little information or support. And subs also have to face the unexpected, like last-minute changes. If you bring a sense of humor, it can help you roll with the punches. You’ll also have more fun. With a little luck, the kids will catch the mood, too!
- Build Relationships: Be friendly and get to know school staff and administrators when possible. (Just keep in mind they’re juggling a lot.) As you get to know them, they’ll be more likely to call you for future jobs and you’ll know who to ask for help when you sub.
- Embrace the Unexpected: Every day as a sub is different … much like parenting. Enjoy the adventure!
Preparing to Substitute Teach
Some districts provide short training sessions to familiarize substitute teachers with classroom management techniques and school policies.
Many don’t, however, so you may want to do a bit of prepping on your own. There are lots of online resources and social media accounts dedicated to sharing tricks of the teaching trade—although years of parenting may well be some of the best preparation, too.
Elke shared that her school district didn’t provide any training, so she just channeled her own school years alongside her parenting experience.
“I felt silly the first time I did it and I was standing in front of the classroom,” she recalled. “I thought, ok, I’m just going to act like a teacher!” It worked out, and she’s now a frequent sub in her children’s middle and high schools.
Is Substitute Teaching Right for You?
If you enjoy working with kids, have some patience, and can handle a bit of unpredictability, substitute teaching may be a fantastic side hustle.
“You need to be somebody who is independent and can figure it out on your own,” Elke advised. “It requires you to think on your toes and be flexible.”
Sounds a lot like being a parent to me!
If you’re up for it, substituting may be a great side gig to earn extra money while getting involved in your child’s school community. Plus, it offers the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a difference in students’ lives. Check with your local school district to see how you can get started.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the value of awards and recognition. I’ve unexpectedly received a few honors recently, and each time I felt like the experience was about something much bigger than me. While the recognition was validating, I also sensed that I was a focal point. The awards gave me a chance to serve, for a moment, as a symbol of something much larger and more profound—a movement that I had the honor of representing in that time and space.
It got me thinking that any given award is less about the individual recipient and more about the issue they’re being honored for. More specifically, they’re about mobilizing the power of gathering and celebrating the communities and relationships that fuel meaningful work on that issue.
The Power of Gathering
One of the most rewarding aspects of receiving these awards has been the opportunity to be in a room with like-minded people who are all working toward a shared goal. I was reminded of this when I participated in the 30th-anniversary celebration of Literacy First, a high-impact tutoring program in Austin, Texas, that I deeply admire.
They chose to mark their milestone with a book-club discussion that brought together board members, staff, tutors, and partners. It was an honor to celebrate their incredible work—a chance to publicly acknowledge what I’ve known privately for years: they are an exemplary organization, changing lives through literacy.
That gathering provided a special kind of platform. I could have written a social media post or praised their efforts in other settings (and I have), but there was something uniquely powerful about being in a shared space, albeit virtual. A unique potency in collectively celebrating their impact.
Unexpected Connections
Closer to home, I recently received a Community Service Award from St. Francis Children’s Center in Milwaukee. The award was presented at a gala that brought together people from my local community, many of whom were new to my work. Being on stage gave me the opportunity to introduce my mission to fresh eyes, but it also led to some reconnections.
A woman I hadn’t seen in more than a year, when we’d shared bleachers at a middle school basketball game, was at the event. She congratulated me, and in our brief conversation, I learned she now serves on the board of a mentoring organization in the community—one I would soon be partnering with. That chance encounter, made possible by the gathering, renewed our acquaintance and kindled collaboration potential.
This is what I love about in-person gatherings: the unexpected touchpoints, the little moments of reconnection that strengthen the fabric of our communities.
A Platform to Honor Others
Awards also offer a nudge to reflect—on my own work and on those who have shaped it—and me. At the St. Francis Children’s Center event, I dedicated the award to my mother. She has been my biggest cheerleader from day one, alongside my father before he passed. More than that, she laid the foundation for my love of language and literacy.
She filled my childhood with words—thousands upon thousands of them. She enrolled me in early childhood programs, schools, and summer activities, each one helping to shape who I am today. Being recognized on that stage gave me the perfect moment to acknowledge her role in my journey.
Lately, when receiving public recognition, I’ve begun paying tribute to my namesake, Maya Angelou. I sometimes recite a few lines of her poetry as a nod to her enduring impact. Anytime I take a stage, it’s my honor to bring her with me.
The Joy of Celebration
Ever since the pandemic, I haven’t attended nearly as many events as I used to. This season of recognition has reminded me how energizing it is to gather in person. The handshakes, the quick “how are you?” check-ins, the introductions that lead to new partnerships—it all matters.
These moments don’t have to be long or formal. Sometimes, the most meaningful connections happen in those brief exchanges between speeches or in line at the coat check. Or maybe that’s just the introvert in me that prefers one-on-one interactions over holding forth in a crowd.
Awards as an Exclamation Mark
In the midst of my own personal awards season, I fell down the rabbit hole of “Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” clips on YouTube. My descent started with one Kevin Hart tribute video, then spiraled into watching segments of ceremonies honoring Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and others.
What struck me was the sheer joy of these gatherings—the way colleagues and friends came together, not just to recognize talent, but to express, out loud, what they love about someone’s contributions to the world.
That’s the heart of it, isn’t it? Whether it’s a community award, a literacy celebration, or a night at the Kennedy Center, recognition serves as a rare and precious moment to pause and say, This matters. You matter. We’re with you.
For those of us doing mission-driven work, so much of what we do happens in solitude. We put in thousands of hours, refining, creating, advocating, pushing forward, often without immediate validation. Awards aren’t the reason we do the work—but they are a beautiful punctuation mark, a moment to step back and acknowledge the impact.
So, here’s to more celebrations, more gatherings, and more moments to publicly thank all the people who make the award-winners’ work possible.
Get Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six
Learn how to foster your child’s pre-reading and reading skills easily, affordably, and playfully in the time you’re already spending together.
Get Reading for Our Lives
I had an incredible time at the Beyond School Hours National Education Conference in Orlando, where I accepted the 2025 Champion of Children Award from Foundations Inc. Trading Wisconsin’s 10-degree chill for Florida’s sun was lovely, but the true warmth came from spending time among 2,000 passionate educators and advocates. It was a wonderful group dedicated to helping youth feel seen, safe, and inspired through afterschool and out-of-school programming.
It was humbling and motivating to be recognized alongside iconic past recipients like Dolly Parton, Geoffrey Canada, and Barbara Bush, leaders I’ve admired for their transformative contributions to children’s literacy. But the conference’s true heart was its educators and program leaders—unsung champions whose daily efforts create life-changing opportunities for kids.
The conference reinforced my core belief: literacy isn’t just a school issue—it’s a community issue that requires all of us to act. Parents, educators, and community leaders all have a role in building strong readers, from nurturing oral language before kindergarten to fueling curiosity through out-of-school programs.
I appreciate every member of the Foundations team. They all went out of their way to welcome me, celebrate my work, and help elevate it by introducing me to prospective partners at organizations and foundations across the country.
I’m also grateful for the organization’s generous donation to Reach Out and Read Wisconsin, a program that brings books into pediatric care and encourages family read-alouds from birth. It’s among my favorite nonprofits and is exactly the kind of community-based early literacy intervention we need more of.
In my acceptance speech, I shared my personal journey, from championing my daughter Zora’s (named after novelist Zora Neale Hurston) literacy to advocating for every family seeking clear, practical guidance to raise strong readers. I honored my namesake, Maya Angelou, whose iconic poem reminds us:
“I rise… Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”
We rise, in part, through reading. And when some of us struggle to read, we all have a responsibility to address it. We must support:
- Parents to build oral language skills and print awareness from birth.
- Teachers who deliver high-quality instruction and intervention.
- Out-of-school programs that fuel curiosity and knowledge.
- Communities that nurture learning through conversation, play, and exploration.
I urged attendees to turn every touchpoint with children into opportunities for learning, including summer camps, afterschool initiatives, and community events. I challenged them to empower parents as children’s first teachers, by offering them practical tools and quick wins.
When I wrote my book, I titled it Reading for Our Lives because this is urgent. We don’t read for test scores—we read to thrive. We read for our health, our well-being, our livelihoods, and our shared future.
The journey continues, and I’m more energized than ever to spread the joy and urgency of early literacy.
Thank you, Foundations, for this honor and for creating spaces where education champions connect and strengthen our collective impact.
Together, let’s ensure that every child reads—and rises.
If you’d like to learn more about Foundations Inc.’s important work, visit www.foundationsinc.org.
Get Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six
Learn how to foster your child’s pre-reading and reading skills easily, affordably, and playfully in the time you’re already spending together.
Get Reading for Our Lives There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
Zora Neale Hurston
To best usher your child towards literacy from birth onwards, it’s helpful to know what they can and should understand and do at different stages.
Let’s start by setting realistic expectations. Your baby cannot read. It’s not even something you should aspire to, let alone try to teach, despite the bogus claims of some products and the wishful thinking of the parents who buy them. The path to reading unfolds over the course of years, not months, and trying to shortcut the process can misdirect you from providing the critical early support and guidance that’s shown to predict later reading achievement and school success.
Reading is making sense of print at a glance. More specifically, learning to read is learning to recognize in writing words, ideas, and concepts that we already understand in spoken language. So there are two hurdles standing between babies and reading comprehension—sufficient oral language experience and knowledge of the alphabetic code.
Children must have enough back-and-forth conversation with parents, caregivers, and others to build the vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and knowledge of the world they need to make sense of words and sentences. Plus, they need direct explicit instruction in how written language works. That is, how letters and combinations of letters represent speech sounds in print. And both facets of reading—oral language and written language—take time to develop.
The parents’ job in the beginning is not to teach reading but to nurture its long-term development through active attention, book sharing, and caring conversation. Think of these as your own ABCs. Do them thoughtfully and consistently from the start, and you’ll create a rich early-language environment in which your child’s reading can bloom. No flash cards, computer screens, or baby “curriculum” required.
How to Use Language Milestones & Literacy Targets
Below, you’ll find a chronology of milestones and targets to help you anticipate the language experience, alphabetic knowledge, print awareness, and speech-sound insight that your child should accumulate as they grow into reading. By the end of this quick tour, you’ll better understand how your child grows from cooer and babbler to full-fledged reader and communicator.
Many linguists believe that modern human speech abilities, including vowel and consonant sound production, may have emerged roughly 200,000 or more years ago with the development of the larynx (aka voice box). That span has given our brains ample time to evolve the wiring that enables even very young children to produce and understand speech in their native language with ease.
Today, children’s oral language development is thought to proceed along a straightforward and predictable path with observable milestones (e.g., first coos, babbles, and spoken words). I will list some language developmental markers that align with norms published by organizations including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control. The time frames I list correspond roughly to when most monolingual children have reached the milestones, according to analysis of parent surveys, clinical and observational data, intervention and longitudinal studies, and other research.
I’ll also list select targets related to written language skills. Reading, in contrast to oral language, doesn’t develop effortlessly. Rather, it’s a complex learned ability that emerged much more recently in human evolution. Reading requires the “recycling” of brain networks that originally evolved for other purposes (auditory, visual, semantic processing, and executive function). There’s incredible variation in how long it takes people to develop the oral language foundation and absorb the written language instruction they need to learn to read well—and far too many never get there.
For this reason, I use the word target to describe the print-focused skills. These written-language achievements and book behaviors represent the age when kids “should” have the skills or knowledge in order to meet grade-level expectations down the road—not when most kids actually do achieve these skills. In fact, most kids aren’t currently meeting the targets, because there’s such poor communication and infrastructure linking early care to elementary school and beyond. As a society, we’ve raised the bar for kindergarten readiness without properly supporting families and early caregivers in preparing kids to clear it.
Keep in mind that your family’s mileage along the road to reading will vary. The chronology that follows isn’t a standardized, validated screening tool nor a curriculum guide. It merely overviews what kids need to know and do over time where language and literacy are concerned. It’s not meant to trigger a guilt trip about what you did or didn’t know or do at any given point in time.
If your child is older, scan the list to reflect on all that they’ve learned or where they might need support. Then read ahead to see what’s still coming. Get on board with doing what you can now to move forward from where your child is, and to help them learn and accomplish what they need next for school and life.
You can also visit readingforourlives.com/milestones for more in-depth information on the language and literacy signposts described, the research underpinning them, and ideas on what to do if you are concerned about your child’s development.
Language Milestones & Literacy Targets By Age
May the following lists remind you of the range of skills and experiences kids need—and give you the patience and perspective to be a loving guide.
- Language Milestones & Literacy Targets for Babies
- Language Milestones & Literacy Targets for Toddlers & Preschoolers
- Language Milestones & Literacy Targets for Kindergarten & Early Elementary Students
Keep in mind, the ultimate level of reading we’re aiming for is a moving target. The sophistication your child will need to thrive will depend on the individual goals they pursue in higher education, the demands of the workplaces they enter, and the invention of new technologies and media that we can’t even imagine today.
The term literacy itself changes over time. From the dawn of tablets (stone, that is) millennia ago to the global proliferation of the electronic variety today, social and technological change has altered the very definition of the word. As parents, we need to be aware of literacy’s dynamism as modes of communication change.
I think of how my daughter’s second-grade year was dramatically altered by quarantine and an influx of digital technology. A kid who’d had limited screen time suddenly spent hours online daily and became adept at classroom tech, videoconferencing, and ebook procurement—because she had to. The terms of engagement with her school, teacher, and classmates had transformed in an instant. A pandemic raised educational stakes by activating new approaches to technology, communication, and learning.
The need to leverage skilled reading to meet contemporary needs endures. And the best readers, whether 8 or 80, will be defined by their ability to identify the vast majority of words in any text they encounter and construct meaning from them, individually and collectively.
As each age and stage illustrates, this level of comprehension is built on the foundation of a stimulated brain, a robust vocabulary, wide-ranging exposure to writing, and explicit instruction in the alphabetic code. To read well may take a lifetime, but it all starts from day one with the language- and literacy-building experiences parents create.
Edited and reprinted with permission from Reading for Our Lives by Maya Payne Smart, published by AVERY, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Copyright © 2022 by Maya Payne Smart.
Get Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six
Learn how to foster your child’s pre-reading and reading skills easily, affordably, and playfully in the time you’re already spending together.
Get Reading for Our Lives Talking to babies is so vital to their brain development that it’s often called language nutrition. Yet parents of all stripes tend to overestimate how much we talk with our kids—and too often we talk at our tots instead of interacting with them responsively, which is best for their brain and language development.
Well, sometimes the secret to doing more of one thing is doing less of another. And such is the case with positive, responsive parent-child interactions and kids’ media use. If you want to talk more (and more dynamically) with your little one, then limiting the time they (and you) spend glued to a screen is a great place to start.
There was a time when parents only had to contend with television at home, but today smartphones and tablets make media accessible everywhere and every time. A 2023 study, relying on home recordings, found that average daily screen time for 3-year-olds was 172 minutes (2.86 hours) a day, almost triple the 1 hour per day maximum recommended by the Academy of American Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. And that difference amounts to a significant reduction in talk: 1,139 adult words, 843 child vocalizations, and 194 conversational turns lost per day, to be specific.
When to Limit Your Child’s Screen Time
Our words and care beat the unresponsive drone of the television or YouTube every time. Unlike older children, toddlers struggle to learn from video—even live video—without someone physically present alongside them to signal that the video content is useful and worth paying attention to. Only we (live, present humans) can provide the specific, tailored responses to kids’ utterances that they need to grow vocabulary and understanding.
For kids under two years old, the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend very limited media use, and only when an adult is alongside the child to “co-view, talk, and teach.” An example would be when parent and child are video chatting with out-of-town grandparents. That is, media use for the youngest kids should be brief, interactive, and supervised, in order to benefit little ones. Many parents don’t want to hear this, because digital devices have become an integral part of our lives, but the research is clear: showing a baby videos on your phone is not educational.
Indeed, LENA data shows a negative correlation between hours of television and other electronic media detected in recordings and language ability in young children. And a longitudinal study of 2,441 Canadian children found that higher levels of screen time at 24 and 36 months old were associated with worse performance on developmental screenings at 36 and 60 months old, respectively.
Once kids reach preschool age, the time they spend on devices should continue to be in the company of an adult and limited to minutes, not hours, per day. The bright side is: once kids are 3 years old, there is evidence that they can gain valuable alphabetic knowledge from educational media, such as the public television shows Sesame Street and Super Why!, especially if a parent watches alongside them, discusses, and elaborates on the content. So there comes a time when co-viewing video content can create opportunities to talk, build vocabulary, and support kids’ development.
And you don’t have to commit to watching every episode of Daniel Tiger to fulfill your parental obligations. A rule of thumb is to watch a few episodes to gauge the quality and appropriateness of a show for your child and model how to engage with its content. Once you’ve set the tone and shown them how media works, then you can slip away from future episodes to tackle other tasks or take a break.
Preschooler media use is particularly prevalent in households with multiple children, because parents use smartphones or tablets to calm or separate bickering siblings. But researchers warn that the quick fix has lasting consequences: “the negative impact brought by excessive screen time will actually increase the burden for parents in later life.” That’s because each additional hour of screen-time exposure is associated with kids’ increased risk for emotional, behavioral, social, and attentional problems down the line.
How to Limit Your Child’s Screen Time
One strategy that works for many families is drawing hard boundaries around screen use, such as having device-free dinners; setting curfews after which all devices are docked, charging, and unavailable for use; or creating screen-free rooms or zones at home. Thousands of families have signed on for Screen-Free Saturdays, a nonprofit initiative that promotes unplugging, recharging, and disconnecting from the incessant marketing and manipulations of media and technology companies. You could give it a try and make it an event by powering down devices at sundown on Friday, getting a great night’s rest, and fueling a day of family fun and conversation on Saturday.
Parents’ own use of media also adversely affects family talk. Numerous studies have found that when parents are on their phones, they’re less engaged with and responsive to kids—verbally and nonverbally—sometimes even leading to injury when kids engage in risky bids for attention.
Now, I’m not saying we have to give up Netflix and devote our full attention to our children every waking second. But let’s be honest about where our focus is, what that focus means, and how we might take more opportunities to unplug from devices and tune into our kids. A survey of two thousand parents of school-aged children revealed:
- 69 percent of the parents felt “addicted” to their phones.
- 62 percent admitted to spending too much time on their cell phones when they were with their kids.
- 50 percent had been asked by their child to put their phone away.
Knowing better and doing better are two different things. Breaking our bad phone habits often requires serious intervention—mindfulness, that is. Jon Kabat-Zinn has defined mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Practically speaking, mindfulness is the ability to create mental and emotional space between a stimulus and our response. It’s cultivating the awareness, self-regulation, and perspective to consciously choose our words and actions (or silence and inaction) in the moment.
In the past decade numerous studies have investigated mindful parenting and found evidence that it can reduce caregiver stress and coparenting disagreements. Some of the same techniques that have helped parents step out of autopilot and respond to kids more skillfully can also serve to help us set aside our phones and converse more in person. Mindfulness-based approaches have helped people battling phone addictions in other contexts. In a pilot study of phone-obsessed university students, mindfulness-based training was associated with a reduction in the students’ cravings for their smartphones and in their smartphone use time.
An easy way for parents to curb device use is to make a mindfulness practice out of the phone itself. We can follow the example of Marta Brzosko of the Self-Awareness Blog, who “created room for more conscious decision-making” around her phone by taking ten mindful breaths whenever the urge to reach for it emerged.
Similarly, clinical psychologist Mitch Abblett recommends that after we reach for our phones we pause and sit with our devices in hand. Let our thumbs hover over the screen. Take a full, deep breath into the belly and notice whatever thoughts, physical sensations, or emotions arise. Get curious about it all, note whatever feelings come up, and continue to return to attending to the breath.
“We simply (and yet with great difficulty) need to learn to hold our technology more lightly—with more awareness,” Abblett explained in a Mindful magazine article. “Consider making your phone itself a cue for waking up instead of checking out.”
Edited and reprinted with permission from Reading for Our Lives by Maya Payne Smart, published by AVERY, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Copyright © 2022 by Maya Payne Smart.
Get Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six
Learn how to foster your child’s pre-reading and reading skills easily, affordably, and playfully in the time you’re already spending together.
Get Reading for Our Lives