Talking and having real conversations with your child is not only a crucial part of parenting, it’s also a key underpinning of their literacy. The words they know and understand impact both how easily they learn to read and write at first and how far they’ll go with their reading and writing down the line.
If you haven’t read Reading for Our Lives, check out this excerpt explaining the importance of “language nutrition” from a child’s earliest years. And conversation doesn’t stop mattering as children advance through grades and reading levels—any more than your guidance, influence, and bond with your child do.
As your little one gets older, though, it can be harder and harder to engage them in meaningful conversation. Time together can be in short supply, for starters, and when you are together they may be mentally and emotionally exhausted from school or focused on new pursuits.
But don’t despair! Through patience and creativity, you can still get your child talking. With a little luck, you’ll even build habits that carry through into the tween and teen years (though you’ll likely encounter a few new roadblocks around then…).
Below are 20 questions to ask your child that are a whole lot more likely to get a real answer than “How was your day?” Read through them, pick some that might work for you, and then see if they spark ideas for other questions that would work with your child.
First, though, a few tips:
Respond to Your Child
Kids can be absolutely spent by the time they get home. School and activities are taxing physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your child has to tackle new subjects, follow loads of rules, engage with many different people, pay attention, navigate the playground and friendships, and just generally be on for hours each day.
Even when it’s all gone well, they may just not want to talk anymore when they get home. If something went wrong, they may need a break without having to talk or think about it. If you try some creative questions to get them talking and they still resist, put yourself in their shoes and give them a break. Don’t give up—just try again later or another day.
Seize the Moments
Sometimes, we parents bang our heads against the metaphorical wall trying to get our kids talking when they don’t feel like it, but when they do want to engage, we brush them off. Now, I’m not saying to drop your work, burn dinner, or take your eyes off the freeway to give your child attention when it just isn’t doable.
Just try to see every one of their bids for conversation as worthwhile, and respond when and how you can—even if it’s just to pause, look them in the eye, and say “Wow! I really want to hear about that. Can we talk when I finish this?” If it’s a time you can engage, even if you really don’t want to (think: bedtime or when you’ve just gotten an important email), try to give your child your undivided attention for five minutes. Often, that’s all they need, and it’s plenty for a meaningful chat.
Listen More than You Talk
This one is hard! It’s so tempting to pelt our kids with questions, especially when we’re actually getting answers out of them. And it’s even more tempting to share our wisdom about everything they tell us. If we jump in too much, though, they may clam up. As much as possible, once they get talking, hear them out.
Ask simple questions or make neutral comments to keep them reflecting and sharing. Do your best to reserve judgment—about them and people they talk about. If you don’t know what to say, have a few go-to neutral phrases you can drop in, like wow, I see, or What do you think about that? When you listen closely, you learn more, and you can remember details to ask about later on to keep the conversation flowing.
Questions to Get Your Child Talking
Below are 20 questions designed to invite elementary-aged kids to share about their day—what happened and how they felt—without feeling like they’re being interrogated. Try one or two at pickup, during snack time, or while getting ready for bed, and see what clicks for your child.
Remember, don’t pelt them with questions. Just use one or two when it feels natural. Rotate questions through the week or tailor them to what you know about your child’s day: for example, You said you were going to have an assembly today. What was the best part?
Getting Started: Warm-Up Questions
- What’s one thing that made you happy today?
- Who did you sit next to at lunch, and what did you talk about?
- What was the most interesting thing you learned in class?
- Was there a time you felt proud of yourself today?
- Did anything surprise you?
Digging Deeper: Feelings and Friendships
- Who made your day better, and how?
- Was there a moment today that felt tricky or confusing?
- Did you help anyone—or did anyone help you?
- Did anything or anyone make you laugh?
- If you could change one thing about today, what would it be?
Exploring the Classroom
- What was your favorite part of your lessons today?
- If your teacher gave out a gold star, who would deserve it and why?
- What’s something you would like to learn about at school?
- Did you do anything creative—like draw, build, or write something new?
- What’s something you’re looking forward to this week?
Imagination and Reflection
- If your school day were a book, what would the title be?
- If you could switch places with your teacher for a day, what would you do first?
- What’s one thing that made you think hard today or one thing you didn’t understand?
- What would you tell a new student about your class or school?
- What’s one thing you’re grateful for at school?
You can probably already think of some other questions specific to your child’s personality, school, interests, or other activities.
Over time, these open-ended questions can build a habit of connection and meaningful conversation that will help your child grow into a deeper reader, writer, and thinker—and help your relationship blossom over the years. You’ll learn about your child’s friendships, challenges, and joys. Most importantly, they’ll learn that you’re always ready to listen.
Learning to read is the culmination of a long process that starts with learning to talk and then developing diverse skills and knowledge from vocabulary to the ABCs—not just the names of the letters or what they look like, mind you, but the sounds they represent.
These things take time. Kids don’t just recognize the 52 uppercase and lowercase letters—or distinguish similar ones like p and q—after seeing them once or twice. They certainly won’t remember the sounds the letters make, or the ways they combine to make various other sounds, without a lot of exposure and practice.
For the smoothest experience, kids should know as many letters and sounds as possible before entering kindergarten (or whenever they officially start learning to read). All that is why it’s crucial for parents and other early caregivers, from grandparents to babysitters to preschool teachers, to mix letters and literacy learning into daily activities with small kids.
Don’t try to cram it all into mega-lessons—it won’t work and it will make you and your child miserable. Instead, look for chances to include a little learning in playtime or routines with your child. Point out words on a cereal box or your child’s T-shirt, look for letters on signs outside, draw your child’s attention to the text of a recipe you make together, or mix a little writing into drawing time.
You can populate your home with fun prompts and reminders to practice letters and literacy with your child. In Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to Help Your Child, Maya suggests that parents stock their homes with objects to spark little doses of literacy learning throughout daily life, like nursery rhyme mobiles, alphabet charts, waterproof books by the bathtub, or conversation cards on the dinner table.
And anytime you’re shopping for gifts for your child is a great moment to add some of these thoughtful, literacy-supporting toys and decor to your home. You can get intentional about birthday presents, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts, or presents for Kwanzaa, Diwali, Eid—any time you want to surprise your little one with something special.
Have fun and get creative! There are so many unique and beautiful personalized gifts available that make letters, words, and reading a fun and natural part of your child’s day. To get you started, here are a few fun ideas for educational birthday or holiday gifts for kids that support reading skills:
Wooden Letter Train
So many small kids love toy trains, and wooden train sets can make a beautiful (and non-plastic!) addition to your family’s home. You can find lots of small producers on Etsy and other online marketplaces who make wooden train cars out of the letters of a child’s name. You’ll see a plethora of darling options like this train of letters with wheels or this train with letters topping small cars.
ABC Magnet Animals to Teach Letter Sounds
Letter magnets are ubiquitous and a fun way both to practice letters and eventually spell out words—but what if yours gave a clue to the sound the letters represent, too? There’s nothing about an S that tells kids what to make of the symbol, but an S crafted to look like a snake gives them a valuable hint. You can find gorgeous animal-shaped alphabets like this felt ABC magnet set. Of course, some of the letters are necessarily more of a stretch than others, but they can be a fantastic prompt for fun letter learning.
Nursery Rhyme or Storybook Rug or Quilt
If you’re fitting out your child’s space, there are lots of opportunities to enrich it with prompts to practice letters, recite rhymes, engage in oral storytelling, or read together. Rugs, quilts, or blankets with quotations or images from favorite nursery rhymes or tales are ideal for this purpose, and blankets in particular can make popular gifts for kids who love to snuggle up. As your child grows, they’ll be motivated to start trying to sound out the familiar words themselves, especially if you can find one with writing that’s easy to read. Create your own image with text on it for a custom woven cotton blanket, or find ready-made options like this Winnie-the-Pooh rug or an ABC blanket with your child’s name. There are even adorable doll-sized nursery-rhyme rugs for creative play.
Magnetic or Sticker Poetry
Magnetic words or word stickers that your child can use (with your help) to “write” their own simple sentences, messages, or stories are fun ways to build early literacy skills. You can read out the words and let your child arrange them into sentences at first—then, later on, they can sound out the words themselves as they create longer stories. The Magnetic Story Maker Kit is designed for kids to create fun, silly stories. The Magnetic Poetry line also includes various kits of easy words for children, including options in several languages besides English.
Name Puzzle—or Stool
Alphabet puzzles are popular, and you can find many beautiful wooden name puzzles that you can personalize with your child’s name (or even a favorite short phrase or quote). There are also fun twists on the concept, from name puzzles with animal shapes in addition to the child’s name to standing name puzzles, wooden name-puzzle stools, and even name-puzzle step stools with storage that could double as toyboxes.
Personalized Story Book
A picture book customized with your child’s name or that uses it for the main character can make a sweet gift to engage your little one in story time. You can find many options, like a personalized adventure story, a personalized alphabet book, or a personalized coloring and activity book that comes with letter crayons spelling your child’s name. Alternatively, you can make an even more unique tome by getting your own simple DIY storybook printed by one of the many photobook services, like Shutterfly or Google Photos. Illustrate it with photos of family and loved ones, your home, or familiar objects, then add some text naming who or what is in each picture—or even adding a little story of your own.
Personalized Holiday-Themed Gifts
You can also find or make all kinds of customized gifts for different holidays or events that add more letters and print into your child’s world. After all, even clothes with letters, words, or phrases can also be prompts to practice early literacy skills wherever you go with your child or whenever you have a moment together—provided you make it a point to use them that way. You’ll find endless options for different special events, from personalized Diwali treat jars to all-cotton personalized Christmas pajamas.
Story Advent Calendar
If your family celebrates Christmas, a story advent calendar can make an educational Christmas gift that encourages shared reading. Instead of opening a window every day to chocolates or toys—or pictures, when I was small!—your child will get to reveal a little story each day to enjoy together. There are a variety of niche options, as well as a Disney-themed storybook advent calendar, or with a little time and ingenuity, you could create your own!
With these ideas to get your creativity rolling, you can probably come up with many more variations on literacy-rich gifts for your little one and home. (Nursery rhymes on a personalized wall calendar? Book quotes or song lyrics on a customized T-shirt? The possibilities are endless…) The main point is to invest some of your time and thought into preparing your child for reading over the days and years to come. With a little information and intention, you can set your child up with the key skills to become a thriving reader. Reading for Our Lives gives you the blueprint of how to do that.
Then, of course, the next step is helping them learn to read well (and love it)—an even longer process that requires new elements, including ongoing exposure to challenging texts, spelling study, and deep, interactive conversation. But building a literacy rich home and, more importantly, the habit of engaging meaningfully and frequently with your little one are exciting first steps on this lifelong journey. Happy trails!
Taking kids to places and activities that build their brains and broaden their outlook is among the most fun parts of parenting, in my book. From science museums to library events, there are so many fun adventures to have with your child that will shape them for life. And one underrated enrichment activity that should make your list is literary tourism.
Visiting sites related to children’s authors and books can build or reinforce excitement around reading (and even make a child want to author their own works!)—as well as create a valuable opportunity for learning, conversation, and bonding.
There are many historic literary sites open to the public, including authors’ homes and other spots. There are also a variety of other places with special homages or connections to specific writers and literature. This list rounds up some of the U.S. sites associated with authors of books for children and teens, to help you plan your own literary adventures with your family.
You can also do your own research to find locations close to your home or related to your family’s favorite books or authors. Consult the American Library Association’s literary landmarks list, the nonprofit Author Adventures site, the National Register of Historic Places, and library or bookstore events calendars for ideas.
Before you start, check out these tips for successful literary tourism with kids.
Literary Tourism Sites for Families
Below is a sampling of U.S. sites associated with various children’s and middle-grade authors (compiled in part from the ALA’s wonderful list, along with other resources). It’s organized by author name, followed by the title of one of their best-known works for young readers.
Tip: Be sure to check details ahead of time to confirm which sites are open to the public—some can only be viewed from outside—as well as visiting hours and whether reservations may be needed. Call ahead if you can, because sites periodically close for renovations (or even shut down altogether, like the former cottage of children’s poet Robert Frost, which was a museum until it closed permanently for lack of funds).
Children’s Author and Book Tourist Sites
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
- Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts is both the setting for Alcott’s 1868 Little Women and where she wrote the novel. The house, originally built about 1650, is now a museum open to the public, with guided tours and information about the members of the real-life Alcott family and how they influenced the fictional characters.
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- This walking tour itinerary through Stamps, Arkansas, where Angelou lived as a child, shows places the author would have known. It includes locations mentioned in her classic memoir and other sites that would have been familiar landmarks.
- In St. Louis, Missouri, you can see the author’s birthplace and first home in a neighborhood that was segregated at the time. The house is now an official city landmark.
- In New York, you can walk by the Harlem house that Angelou renovated and occupied part-time later in her life. The house is privately owned.
Lydia Maria Child, Over the River and Through the Woods
- Child was an abolitionist writer known in the 1800s for promoting the rights of Indigenous Americans, enslaved people, and women. These days, she’s remembered for the 1844 Thanksgiving poem usually called “Over the River and Through the Woods.” The Grandfather’s House Historical Marker in Medford, Massachusetts marks the real-life house from the poem, where the author’s grandparents lived. Growing up, Child would visit this site from her home on the other side of the river. The original house is still there, although it was enlarged later in the 1800s.
Louise Erdrich, Birchbark House
- Birchbark Books in Minneapolis is an independent bookstore owned by Louise Erdrich and focused on Native American literature. A unique, eco-friendly space, it features plenty of fun for kids: a selection of children’s books, a birchbark children’s loft, hand-stuffed chairs for kids, a hobbit hole reading nook, and a handmade wooden canoe hanging from the ceiling. There are also rotating displays of works by Native American artisans—and Louise Erdrich will sign or personalize any of her books ordered through the bookstore, according to the website. Check ahead for special events.
Marguerite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague
- Henry’s middle-grade fiction features the wild ponies of Assateague Island on the Maryland-Virginia border. Wild ponies really have lived there for hundreds of years, likely descended from survivors of a Spanish shipwreck. Spectators can watch the annual pony swim, when “saltwater cowboys” herd the ponies through the water from their island home to the nearby Chincoteague Island.
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
- The Moseley House in Eatonville, Florida was the home of Hurston’s childhood best friend, and the author often stayed there. It holds a museum with memorabilia of the town, which featured heavily in Hurston’s work.
- The Hall Branch of the Chicago Public Library in Illinois was a meeting place for black literary giants including Hurston, as well as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, and many others.
- Idlewild, Michigan was a vacation spot favored by Hurston, Hughes, and W. E. B. DuBois. The Idlewild Public Library has a literary landmark dedicated in their honor.
Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day
- Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York features a bronze statue of Keats’s characters Peter and Peter’s dog, Willie, in the park’s Imagination Playground. Keats evoked the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up in the award-winning picture books that he wrote and illustrated.
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Monroe County Museum in Alabama has an exhibit about Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. It includes photos, memorabilia, and a documentary about Monroeville—the author’s hometown and inspiration for her fictional setting—during the 1930s.
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
- The author’s ranch in Glen Ellen, California has been preserved as the Jack London State Historic Park. Visitors can tour numerous buildings, including the cottage that London bought in 1911 and where he wrote many of his later works, as well as explore the grounds and hiking trails.
Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy
- The homes of the author and her best friend in Mankato, Minnesota serve as key settings in Lovelace’s autobiographical historical novels. Both are open to the public with prior reservation, offering a window into early-twentieth-century life and the books’ fictional world.
Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings
- The Boston Public Garden in Massachusetts was the setting for McCloskey’s 1942 Caldecott Medal picture book Make Way for Ducklings and now features a bronze statue of the duckling family.
- Hamilton Lane Library in Hamilton, Ohio, was a childhood haunt of the author, who was born in Hamilton and whose first book featured scenes set around town, including at the library.
A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
- The New York Public Library is home to the original Winnie-the-Pooh teddy bear, along with Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, and Kanga. The stuffed animals belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, the author’s son, and inspired the iconic characters.
Toni Morrison, Peeny Butter Fudge
- The Toni Morrison Reading Room at the main library in Lorain, Ohio, where Morrison grew up, celebrates the Nobel Prize-winning author. It houses a collection of her writings, complete with her works for adults and the lesser-known children’s books Morrison co-authored with her son Slade. A glass wall is etched with an excerpt of Morrison’s Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech.
- Look for the historical marker in front of Lorain’s Carnegie Center, formerly a library, where Morrison once worked, too. It now houses the Lorain Historical Society—pop inside to get a peak at what Lorain was like in years past.
Walter Dean Myers, Monster
- The award-winning author and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature grew up checking out books from the George Bruce Branch of the New York Public Library. The library put up a plaque to the author dedicating it as a literary landmark in 2015.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ house in Cross Creek, Florida, is now a state park, preserved as it was when she lived there in the 1930s. This was where Rawlings lived when she wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning 1938 novel The Yearling, and Cross Creek provides the setting for the book.
Woodrow Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows
- Rawls grew up on his mother’s Cherokee land allotment in the hills around Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The town now hosts an annual Red Fern Festival with all-ages activities, including children’s games, a rubber-duck race on a creek, a coon dog field trials event, and a Miss Red Fern Pageant.
Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
- Visitors to Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, can visit the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden and The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum. The museum contains exhibits in English and Spanish and encourages word play, including rhyming games, making up stories, and prompts to experiment with new sounds and vocabulary.
Gene Stratton-Porter, Freckles
- A pioneering naturalist and popular writer, Stratton-Porter documented the unique “limberlost” swamp ecosystem of Indiana and brought it to life dramatically in her fiction—even as it was rapidly disappearing in real life. Generations after her death, her work inspired nature-lovers to restore a portion of the lost habitat. Now, visitors can see it for themselves at the Limberlost State Historic Site, as well as visit Stratton-Porter’s lakeshore cabin at Wildflower Woods.
Hildegarde H. Swift, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
- The lighthouse celebrated in Swift’s 1942 children’s book is no longer functioning, but fans worked to save it as a historic landmark. It’s now part of the Historic House Trust of New York City and visitors can see the beloved lighthouse in Manhattan’s Fort Washington Park.
Kay Thompson, Eloise
- Fans of Thompson’s 1955 picture book can visit the historic Plaza Hotel in New York, the real hotel that served as the setting for the fictional Eloise. Visitors can have afternoon tea in the Palm Court, shop for a wide variety of Eloise-themed products in the Plaza Boutique, and put a message for Eloise into a special mailbox. Those who want to go all out (and drop a small fortune) can even book a stay in a special pink Eloise hotel room.
Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer
- The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri includes the author’s boyhood home, built in the 1840s, and its gardens, as well as an interactive museum with exhibits, films, and more.
- Bonus: If you want to engage in a little virtual literary tourism, you can take an online tour of Quarry Farm, where Mark Twain created his famous characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Alice Walker, Sweet People Are Everywhere
- Though she won the Pulitzer Prize for her adult novel The Color Purple, Walker has also penned various children’s works, including the 2021 Sweet People Are Everywhere. The Georgia Writers Museum in Eatonville, Georgia—where Walker grew up—features exhibits about the author, and its website gives a day-trip itinerary for an Alice Walker driving tour to places including her birthplace, the Walker family home, and her school. Interesting tidbit: Walker reportedly engaged in a little literary tourism herself, visiting the former home of writer Flannery O’Connor, who influenced her.
Richard Wright, Black Boy
- The library in Memphis, Tennessee once barred young Richard Wright during segregation, although he found a way to get around the ban, a story told in his 1945 autobiography. Nowadays, the Memphis library gives out the Richard Wright Literary Awards annually.
Places to See Picture Book Art
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
- Located in the Five College area of Western Massachusetts, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art showcases rotating exhibitions of picture book illustrations from around the world in a 40,000 square-foot facility. There’s also a permanent collection with works by Maurice Sendak, Leo Lionni, Rosemary Wells, and others—plus a hands-on art studio for little visitors to make their own art.
- Society of Illustrators’ Annual Exhibit of Children’s Book Art Every year, the Society of Illustrators in New York City puts on an exhibition called “The Original Art” that showcases illustrations from children’s books published in the U.S. during the year.
One New Year’s Eve when I was a teenager, no one in my family had any plans. On a whim, my mother, siblings, and I headed to San Francisco’s wonderful, multi-story Green Apple Books, an independent bookstore that’s been an institution in the city since its founding in the late 1960s. We browsed the store’s extensive collection of used books, then we picked up dim sum from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the bookstore and took our haul home for a cozy evening.
We crammed together in our cluttered, bookshelf-lined living room to read and indulge in our takeout feast. We probably lit a fire in our old fireplace at some point, and our dog and cat snoozed right in the middle of it all. No one straggled off to entertain themselves behind closed doors; without personal devices, internet, or individual TVs, there was little to draw us apart.
It was a simple and quite modest celebration, but it proved to be happier and more memorable than many other more extravagant holidays other years—and it opened the door to the kind of conversation and connection that shaped us.
Raising my own kids, I’ve found that parenting in the 21st century doesn’t lend itself to these sorts of moments, especially as children grow into tweens and teens. The endless screens are not only distracting and disturbingly riveting, but they also mean kids less often feel bored enough to drift into the living room looking for connection and entertainment. Overscheduling and the FOMO that reinforces it also take their toll.
All this has left me feeling that it’s more important than ever to be very intentional about building moments of connection, conversation, and bonding into our family lives. One way to do that is to create a few special family traditions or rituals that create space for connection and shared reflection, building our kids’ characters and strengthening our families. Simple, small habits can become cherished traditions that help weave the family culture that makes a household unique and binds its members together.
The turn of a new year can be a great time for this. It feels like a moment worth celebrating, but without gifting or many specific traditions, there’s an opening to build your own. So, this New Year, why not try engaging your family in a little reflection and conversation? It can be as deep or goofy as you feel like—the main point is to connect and enjoy each other.
You can start with this family year-in-review activity (there’s even a printable worksheet to use with smaller kids) and then make some resolutions together for the year to come. Then consider taking it deeper by looking farther ahead and farther back. Check out the ideas below for easy ways to spark fun and meaningful conversations with kids of all ages.
(Note: If your child isn’t feeling the conversation, let it go and try another time. You never know what sticks, and sometimes the chats that feel like failures to us—you know, the ones that last about 30 seconds or where we get nothing more than a grunt in reply—have a deeper impact on our kids than we realize.)
Daydream Together: Resolutions for Future Years
Help your child come up with resolutions for the year ahead. If the idea is new to them, explain the concept and share a few you’re considering yourself. Then suggest a fun game: coming up with a goal or resolution for future years. What is something your child would like to do, try, or accomplish the year after next? In 5 years? In 10? In elementary school, middle school, high school?
This is a chance to get your child sharing their ideas and dreams with you, as well as thinking ahead. It’s also a gentle way to build excitement about goals they want to work towards that may inspire and motivate them. If they’re in the mood, you may get them thinking about trying new things, from joining a play or sports team to becoming a camp counselor someday—or even imagining possible careers or college majors.
Just be sure to keep it low-stress and fun! If they say they want to be an astronaut when they’re 20, there’s no need to tell them to study harder now to meet their goal—or point out how unlikely they may be to achieve it. Simply lean in, listen well, and enjoy daydreaming together.
Reinforce Memories & Reflection: Remember Together
You can help your child build their sense of identity, family belonging, and resilience when you help them reinforce positive memories across the years. Talking about happy times you’ve shared fortifies those memories—but recalling challenges overcome can be just as powerful. It takes the sting out of harder recollections, and builds your child’s confidence in their own resilience.
My family spent a school semester in France when my youngest child was starting kindergarten. Discussing stories from that time helps her hold on to memories that could easily become elusive. It’s also helped turn some of the challenges into a narrative of resilience. Lacking confidence in speaking French, she struggled to make friends. In fact, her first friends at school quickly unfriended her for talking too little and running too fast (she caught them in tag). It’s become a running joke for us that helps remind her she can handle setbacks.
At New Year’s, after reflecting on the past year, it may be fun for your family to delve farther back. Does your child remember a favorite moment from the year before last? The one before that? Even small children can recall some special memories, especially with a little help. Looking at old photos or videos together can also spark or rebuild more recollections.
You could even try making a list together of memories from different years and then store it as a fun keepsake that can spur even more happy memories and reflection in years to come.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
When my oldest child was about seven, we happened to visit the Jack London State Historic Park, the preserved ranch of the early 20th-century author famous for adventure novels like Call of the Wild and White Fang.
We were on a family road trip, and the state park offered a convenient stop along the way. As it turned out, it also opened a door into new literary worlds for my son. Realizing a little context would make our spur-of-the-moment stop more interesting, I downloaded an audiobook of White Fang from our public library and handed my son a pair of headphones.
He was fascinated, and it kicked off a love of wilderness adventure stories that wound up driving him to independently read a slew of books starting with the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen and progressing through a wide variety of other children’s literature.
Eventually, the rich reading world that had opened up to him led him beyond children’s and middle-grade fiction. Soon, he was devouring all-ages fiction like The Martian by Andy Weir, along with nonfiction like Revenge of the Whale, a young readers’ version of a National Book Award-winning historical tale of a real-life event that inspired Moby Dick.
His reading level skyrocketed, and I’m confident his enjoyment of reading for fun was a huge driver of that. Many things contributed to his love of reading—listening to stories read aloud by me and other relatives, oral storytelling, abundant (if tattered, often free) books—but I think that trip, too, helped build our family culture of excitement around stories, history, and learning.
Some years later, I wound up on another literary adventure, this time with my daughters. We had the chance to visit two beautifully preserved historic homes that belonged to a children’s author and her childhood best friend—both immortalized in a set of autobiographical children’s novels.
The writer, Maud Hart Lovelace, based her Betsy-Tacy series very closely on her life growing up in small-town Minnesota in the early 1900s. The homes of Lovelace and her best friend—Betsy and Tacy in the stories—featured in great detail. The houses have been preserved as historic monuments, offering a fascinating window into both the fictional world and times gone by.
This literary adventure, too, offered up new horizons for my kids. It not only fostered and reinforced excitement around reading, but also opened the door to conversations about history, the interaction between literature and life, and important topics touched on in the books themselves. It also transported all of us, mentally, into a very different time and space, causing us to see the world from another perspective, stretching our thinking and growing our empathy.
It got me thinking about literary tourism with children, and how wonderful and invigorating it is to expand young minds with special experiences. From children’s museums to aquariums, historic sites to art museums, library presentations to author talks to political events, there are fun enrichment options for any family, budget, and interest. (My brother traveled to see an eclipse with his kids, for example.)
All enrich their minds, build their vocabulary and knowledge, challenge their thinking, and spark their creativity.
I suggest that literary tourism should be on your list, whether to a local site where you can make a day trip or a farther-off spot you can build a vacation around. Below are a few tips for literary tourism with children and for finding good destinations to get you started.
Tips for Literary Tourism with Kids
Follow their interests, but build excitement.
If your child loves a certain author or book, that’s a great place to start exploring literary tourism opportunities—but it’s also powerful to expose them to a new author or book, especially if you model enthusiasm, genuine interest, and curiosity. Ultimately, your choice of destinations will be bounded by what’s in reach within your area, timeframe, or budget.
Any outing will work best if you’re mindful of your child’s interests and attention span. The Jack London ranch site was a good match for an active seven-year-old, because the historic house tour was balanced with plenty of space for free play outside. Be sure to avoid any obvious mismatches, like taking an easily frightened child on a tour of a “haunted” site that inspired a ghost story!
If possible, read some of the stories before you visit a literary tourism location, but you can also use an interesting visit to kick off family explorations of a new writer or book series. You can even share a book on the way to or from an excursion. I used to love reading aloud to my kids during road trips (when I was fortunate enough not to be the one driving), but throwing on an audiobook while I drove generally worked just as well.
Wherever you go, bring your sense of fun, curiosity, and patience. Whether or not you got to dig into the relevant stories ahead of time, build excitement on the trip itself through your attitude. Make it fun for your kiddo: get them snacks, take breaks, cut short any parts that just aren’t working for them, and adapt to their mood.
Most of all, talk to them. Ask them questions, explain things they don’t know or understand, share your reactions, and get them thinking about it all—which brings us to the next point.
Foster curiosity and critical thinking through deep conversation.
Visiting sites associated with an author or literary work offers an opportunity to discuss important concepts, and often values, with your child. It can open up powerful chances to engage around the author and their works’ context, themes, and impact. Many literary tourism sites are connected with older literature, meaning they introduce children to the relevant historical eras, along with weighty social and political issues from their times.
For example, the Betsy-Tacy series brings to life a time before TV, when telephones and cars were major novelties. The series also frequently explores themes of standing up for beliefs vs going along with the crowd. One of the books features the characters making friends with a Syrian immigrant, then being faced with an angry crowd taunting their new friend with slurs.
Another recounts a theatrical production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin—an 1852 abolitionist novel credited with building popular anti-enslavement feeling pre-Civil War—complete with white actors in blackface. This was shocking to me, and it might have been tempting to gloss over it or just put the book aside in favor of newer works. But it described a historical reality, and the story proved a valuable opening to broach important, challenging topics in a natural way.
It got them thinking about why white actors would have played black characters, alongside questions like how popular culture influences politics and the difference between going along with the status quo in a moment in history or trying to rise above it. In the end, it was a chance to impart values, develop their empathy, and foster critical thinking—all in the guise of entertainment and family bonding.
Mind you, any conversation and engagement with your child during shared experiences will build their knowledge, vocabulary, brain, and bond with you, so don’t worry if you’re connecting around lighter topics! Just talk and reflect—together.
Make literary tourism work for your family’s schedule, budget, and ages.
There’s no one best way to do literary tourism with kids. You don’t have to spend a fortune flying to England to see the stomping grounds of Beatrix—or Harry—Potter or to Japan to trace the origins of your child’s favorite manga. You can likely find various options close to home or in areas you’re traveling to anyway.
There are opportunities for literature-related adventures everywhere. Local libraries often have displays about popular authors and the worlds they write about, book stores host author talks or themed book events, or you could craft a literary adventure to anywhere related to a book’s location, author, or topic.
A visit to a science museum could be a bookish outing for a child obsessed with Chickasaw American astronaut John Herrington’s Mission to Space—or for one who loved E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (to see an arachnid exhibit). The latter might also love a trip to the countryside that inspired the author, while the former might like to know more about Chicasaw culture if they come from a different background.
Get creative and you can find a way to build literary exploration into your outings, already-planned travel, or spur-of-the moment adventures.
Check out our list of some U.S. literary tourism sites associated with children’s authors, search for sites in your area or vacation destination, or research places associated with a favorite author or book series.
Tip: Consult the American Library Association’s literary landmarks list, the nonprofit Author Adventures site, the National Register of Historic Places, and library or bookstore events calendars for ideas. Have fun!
“Hi, Ms. Laila!”
The cheerful little voice calling across the schoolyard made me smile. I wasn’t a teacher, but after years of volunteering in my child’s class, I had become a familiar face. Seeing how comfortable my son’s classmates were with me was gratifying.
When my son started kindergarten, I offered to help once a week—despite having a two-year-old, being pregnant with my third, and juggling freelance work. I was busy and often exhausted, but the school let me bring my toddler along, and that made volunteering doable. It was adorable seeing her sit seriously at circle time or color alongside the “big” kindergarteners.
It turned out to be well worth the effort. Not only was I involved in my child’s education and helping our community, but I was rewarded with a level of personal fulfillment and connection that surprised me. That was, ironically, most valuable during the busiest, most tiring seasons of parenting, when it was most tempting to let volunteering slide.
Over the years, I tried to keep a presence in all my children’s elementary classrooms. The form that took changed with my shifting schedule, growing family, and different teachers’ needs—not to mention a long pause during Covid. At times, it felt like a chore I could barely fit in. But every time, whether I went in weekly, monthly, or a couple of times a year, the return on my investment was outsized.
I realize that work schedules, younger children, and other responsibilities make in-school volunteering difficult—or almost impossible—for many parents. But in my experience it’s worth thinking creatively about what’s doable. Even the busiest parent may be able to take a couple of hours off work once a year to help out.
Before you can volunteer, most schools require registration, which can take weeks to process. Get a head start—sign up now, even if you’re unsure when you’ll help. Once approved, check with your child’s teacher to see what’s needed most.
Here are my top 6 reasons for volunteering in the classroom.
It Supports Your Child’s Education
Classroom volunteering makes a direct impact on the students’ education—which is, after all, the point of school. Serving on the PTA, joining the school board, or planning fundraisers all make a difference. And contributing to your child’s schooling however you can is impactful and rewarding. To me, though, volunteering in class gets to the heart of the mission.
Schools are struggling to successfully teach all their students everything they need to know. This impacts everyone, and especially the most vulnerable children. (Read more about the U.S. reading crisis and its unequal impact in Maya’s article on national NAEP test scores, for example.) The education system relies on school volunteers to fill in the gaps of funding shortfalls and learning inequalities.
Helping in classrooms gives school volunteers the chance to directly support students in learning material they need to succeed in the next lesson, the next grade, and the next phase of life. As a volunteer, I’ve read one-on-one with students, practiced multiplication tables with small groups, supported science or art projects, and worked on spelling with kids just learning English.
With each math fact learned, new concept understood, or word sounded out, I could see a child’s path forward getting a little straighter and a little smoother. Along the way, I could also offer words of encouragement and individual support to children in crowded classrooms where the teachers were stretched thin.
It’s Good for Your Child
Volunteering in your child’s class shows them you care about them and value education. It also gives you a window into their academic and social needs.
That doesn’t mean you’ll be working with your own child. Sometimes, you may, but often, you’ll be helping others with individual, small group, or class-wide projects. And that’s a good thing. A thriving classroom benefits everyone—including your child. When all kids are learning and supported, the whole environment improves.
What’s more, kids will benefit throughout their lives if they’re part of a more successful, literate, competent, and fulfilled community. Conversely, they’ll all suffer if a significant number of their peers and neighbors are hampered by inadequate skills.
If your child feels jealous or neglected when you’re working with others, explain that you’re there to support them by helping the whole class succeed. You’ll help them feel better and also offer a valuable model of taking small steps to make positive change.
It Lets You Get to Know (and Support) Their Teacher
Volunteering in the classroom is also a wonderful chance to get to know your child’s teacher. This is meaningful in helping you better support your child’s education and may prove priceless if your child encounters any issues.
It’s also a huge help to teachers to have back-up during the school day. Elementary school teachers have to be “on” all the time—they can’t even take a bathroom break unless there’s another adult in the room.
They have to impart crucial foundational concepts to children who may be at wildly different levels of knowledge and skill development in each subject. On top of that, they have to help kids develop social skills, manage their emotions, and learn basic independence and organizational abilities from shoe tying to remembering their lunches.
At times, what teachers needed most when I volunteered was just for me to put papers in folders, make copies, or sharpen pencils. Those tasks are important, too. Anything that helps lighten the teacher’s load lets them focus more on teaching key material and supporting all the students. Sometimes, even just another grown-up around to calm a boisterous child or pick up some mess makes a big difference.
It Lets You Observe Your Child’s Class
No matter what my volunteer role was, I valued the chance to observe my children’s classes firsthand. There’s nothing like seeing with your own eyes how your child is doing and what their classmates, their teacher, and the overall environment are really like.
If you’ve ever had the experience of asking your little one about their day and gotten one word in return, stepping into their class may be just the ticket. Same thing if you have any concerns about their learning, attention, or behavior.
It can be heart-wrenching if your child complains about problems with other kids, a “mean” teacher, or hating school. Volunteering in the class can give you a clearer picture.
What sounds like bullying might just be normal childhood friction. Complaints about an unfair teacher might stem from the child’s frustration at not getting to chat during math time. And the little one who seems miserable after school may prove full of smiles, laughter, and genuine interest during class—just wiped out by the end of the day.
And if there are real issues to address, time in class may give you the insight to handle them appropriately.
No matter what, go into the class ready to help. Remove obstacles to success for the students and the teacher. Assume good intentions–from the teacher, the other kids, and your own child. If you find something unacceptable, address it politely. People are far more willing to listen when you’ve built a relationship and shown you’re there to support, not criticize.
It’s Good for Your Relationship with Your Child
Volunteering in the classroom builds your relationship with your child. It lets them know that you think their schooling is important and you’re willing to put in time and effort to support it.
Your physical presence also builds your emotional bank account with your child. It’s easy for kids to feel like their parents are always on the computer, on the phone, or at work. Never mind that you may be busy doing things that benefit them, from earning a living to attending a PTA meeting or planning their activities.
Volunteering in their classroom shows your child you care in the way kids, like all of us, understand best—with actions they can see. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to put in a lot of time to reap the rewards. Showing up and being present makes an impact any time you can do it.
It’s Good for You
It can be hard to make room for one more thing, especially when we feel tired or overworked. (And what parent doesn’t, at least some of the time?) But doing something meaningful can be surprisingly rejuvenating.
Volunteering in your child’s class can make you feel happier, transport you away from your worries or responsibilities for a while, and give you valuable perspective.
Meaningful connection is vital to well-being, and it can be in short supply in modern life. Spending an hour or two with your child’s class may be a source of fulfilling connection that actually helps you to be more productive and energetic in other parts of your day.
That said, it’s important to recognize your own limits, too. If you can’t make it into your child’s classroom for a month, a year, or for years on end, that’s okay too.
If in-class volunteering isn’t possible for you, look for other ways to be involved and keep an open mind about trying it in the future. It also may be that you can arrange for a grandparent or another loved one to become a school volunteer.
Every family’s situation is different. The secret is to find what works for yours right now.
Slime! Kids just can’t get enough of it. It’s squishy, stretchy, and undeniably fun! I know some parents and teachers have a love/hate relationship with slime, but let’s turn that into all love. After all, kids adore it, so why not use it to have some fun together and help them learn?
Alphabet slime pairs messy play with meaningful early literacy practice. All you need is a few simple ingredients and some plastic alphabet shapes to make your own ABC slime packed with letters to explore. You can use alphabet beads, small magnetic letter shapes, or any other letter forms that are small enough to mix into your DIY slime.
More than just messy fun, this activity is a positive way to spark creativity and build important early literacy skills. I’ve found that this kind of tactile, hands-on learning can be a remarkable tool to help kids learn their letters faster and retain them more easily. Plus, the time you spend making it and playing with it together creates such special bonds and memories, which will help fuel their learning and development over the years to come.
Just follow the DIY alphabet slime recipe below with your child. Making it is part of the fun, so be sure to let them help mix it up. Once you and your little one have created your ABC slime together, use it for fun and learning! Your little one will love squishing, stretching, and exploring the slime while finding letters.
You can use it to help your child practice letter recognition, letter sounds, or even spelling. As you play together, simply tell them the names of the letters they find, if they’re just starting to learn the ABCs. Then you can explain what sound that letter usually makes.
If they know some letter names or sounds, ask them to try to identify the name or sound of the letters they find. You can also call out a letter name and ask your child to search for it in the slime. If they’re ready, call out letter sounds—for example, /s/—and have them locate the letter that makes that sound.
Once your child can read, you can even turn ABC slime into a tactile word search! Give your little reader a word to spell with their slime. This could be a spelling word they’re learning, a word they’ve struggled to read, or their own name for a budding reader. (Just be sure your slime has the necessary letters, for example if there’s a double letter in the word.) Then have them search for the letters to spell it. They can easily pull apart the slime to separate the letters to spell a word.
Adapt to your child’s level and the skills they’re learning, and be sure to keep it light and fun. (See How to Teach Your Child the Alphabet for more tips.)
ABC slime is a fun and easy DIY learning tool that’s adaptable for children as they age and their literacy develops. Even better, it’s inexpensive—or free if you have supplies on hand and letter beads or magnets to upcycle!
Ready to mix up some fun? Let’s get started!
DIY Alphabet Slime Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup clear or white PVA school glue
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon saline solution that contains boric acid (check label)
- Alphabet beads, foam letters, or ABC magnets
- Optional: Food coloring or glitter
Instructions
Step 1: Combine 1/2 cup of glue with 1/2 cup of water in a mixing bowl. Stir well.
Step 2: Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda until fully dissolved.
Step 3: Add your letters and stir to mix evenly. Pay attention to the letters you include. For example, put in letters your child is learning and maybe all the letters of their name, including two of the same letter if needed. If you want to add food coloring or glitter, also add it now.
Step 4: Add 1 tablespoon of saline solution and mix. The slime will begin to form.
Step 5: Knead the slime with your hands until it gets stretchy and less sticky. Add a few more drops of saline solution if the slime is too sticky.
Store your slime in an airtight container, and you can pull it out anytime for a playful learning experience.
In the 1800s, a legendary swamp teemed with vining plants, warbling songbirds, and colorful butterflies in eastern Indiana—before it was drained, razed, tapped for oil and timber, and turned into dry, flat farmland as far as the eye could see.
But still the swamp, intriguingly named the “Limberlost,” lived on in the imagination of people who never knew it in real life. Even when no one remained with personal experience of it, the Limberlost persisted in the minds of those who had read about it in popular fiction.
That was thanks to numerous runaway best-sellers penned in the early 1900s by a woman who flaunted the conventions of her world to become a working woman—a daring nature reporter and wildly popular novelist. Named Gene Stratton-Porter, she tramped through the swamp in boots and (scandalously) pants, camera slung around her neck.
Stratton-Porter meticulously documented the wildlife of the lush habitat she loved and could see dwindling away before her. She published extensive nonfiction nature studies of the area—plus megahit novels that drew in generations of readers despite being largely forgotten today.
Young-adult and middle-grade novels like Freckles, A Girl of the Limberlost, and many others told touching, uplifting fictional tales set against the backdrop of the Limberlost’s pristine wilderness. Many were also made into films at the dawn of the movie era.
Stratton-Porter evoked the beauty of the swamp and the life it harbored like a kind of Garden of Eden, with an articulate affection that managed to stir an aching longing in those who never saw it. Ahead of her time, she also predicted the drought and climate changes that would come from draining wetlands and cutting forests.
Her portrayal kept the Limberlost alive in legend—and then, amazingly, helped bring it back in reality.
Many decades after she and her beloved swamp were both gone, and a century after she first wrote about it, Stratton-Porter’s words inspired an incredible rebirth of the Limberlost.
Moved by her books, a small group of people worked to buy and rehabilitate a stretch of the former wetlands. They drew inspiration from the author’s detailed descriptions of the lost wilderness to slowly restore the wetlands and coax back the vanishing species that once thrived there.
Today, visitors can explore the Loblolly Marsh and Limberlost nature preserves to see some 1,500 acres of recovered wilderness once again bursting with life, achieving a level of biodiversity that had seemed forever lost. (The Loblolly Marsh, so-named for a Miami Native American word, was the first preserve reclaimed by a few Stratton-Porter fans.)
It’s a tale of hope that illustrates how powerful fiction can be when it touches hearts—and how much impact individuals can have when their hearts are touched. It offers a valuable lesson in leveraging the empathy learned through stories into action in the real world. To me, it also underscores the value of exposing children to myriad works of fiction from across diverse places, times, cultures, perspectives, and traditions.
The Girl of the Limberlost was a favorite of my own grandmother, though I don’t recall ever reading it as a child. My kids never got to know their great-grandmother, but they know something of her through family stories, a hodge-podge of rickety belongings passed down somewhat haphazardly, old sepia-toned photos, and a few equally sepia-tinged books.
When my kids were small, we read a few old novels that took place in the small Florida community my grandmother spent many years in. It was only natural that one day we would get around to Stratton-Porter’s nearly forgotten classic, too. By the time I acquired an age-spotted copy of A Girl of the Limberlost, though, only my youngest was interested in sitting down to listen—but she was enthralled.
The story opens on a misunderstood girl who goes off to school in the city, only to be mocked mercilessly for her poor, unfashionable clothing. It’s a sentimental tale of underdog triumph and emotional redemption with the kind of timeless appeal that speaks to children with a deep sense of justice (and injustice). It went straight to my young daughter’s heart, despite its antiquated language.
And so, this third-hand book recommendation from a long-gone great-grandmother resurfaced, after skipping a couple of generations, and briefly transported my child out of her place in time, into another world. Someday, she may pass along the recommendation and keep these memories alive a little longer.
Be that as it may, though, I like to think that either way she’ll remember the real-world story: That a small group of people—rather than succumbing to nostalgia or fatalism in reading about a beautiful world destroyed by human folly—took matters into their own hands and made their world a little better.
Most of all, I hope that she may take the lesson of the recovered Limberlost and let it inspire her. That she’ll carry it with her, a reminder to do her own part to help raze what’s not right, plant the seeds of what should be, and forge a future that’s as bright and beautiful as the best worlds in books.
Get Reading for Our Lives
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
Getting a first email account is a rite of passage—and it’s one that’s happening younger and younger. Often, kids may have emails from school or created by parents before they’re even quite sure what email is (or how it differs from texting, something my twelve-year-old still struggles with).
Email can help them sign up for apps, communicate with teachers and coaches, get school updates, and stay connected with friends. But email can quickly become overwhelming for kids, too, especially for those who have never learned how to manage it. (Take my high school senior, for example, who didn’t know archived emails could ever be found again.)
We all know that email piles up fast. Notifications from school platforms, newsletters, sign-ups, password resets, club updates, and random marketing emails can flood an inbox in no time. I get a little anxious just thinking about it. And for a young person still learning organization and executive functioning skills, that digital clutter can turn into digital stress even faster than for the rest of us.
The good news is that email management is a learnable skill. With some simple habits and systems, kids, tweens, and teens can keep their inbox a little less overwhelming—and head off the “I have 3,000 unread emails” problem before it starts. (It may come back with a vengeance once they’re adults, but hopefully they’ll be a little better equipped to handle it.)
To get you started, here are some practical ways parents can help kids learn to manage email. If your child already has hundreds or thousands of emails, start with step one for a reset. If you’re just setting up their first email account or it isn’t flooded yet, skip to step two.
1. Start With an Inbox Clean-Up
Sit down together and:
- Delete obvious junk or promotional emails. Search for large senders (like stores or apps) to delete in bulk.
- Unsubscribe from newsletters they never read. Archive any they want to hold onto.
Keep only messages from school, activities, family, and friends. Show them how to label these or put them in folders, and archive as much as possible.
Many email services let you search by sender or category and apply bulk actions, which makes this faster than scrolling through everything.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is getting the inbox down to a manageable size, so your child does not feel defeated before they even begin.
2. Teach Your Child Basic Email Skills
Don’t take for granted that your child knows all the email features we grownups could do in our sleep—in fact, assume they don’t. Show them how to:
- Delete messages
- Archive messages
- Unsubscribe from emails
- Check their spam folder
- Check their recently deleted emails
- Report spam or block a sender (and when it’s appropriate)
While you’re at it, you should probably show them how to see the address a message came from and evaluate if it’s legitimate. Demonstrate the difference between reply and “reply all,” too, along with other useful basics.
3. Teach the “Touch It Once” Rule
One of the biggest reasons inboxes explode is that people open messages and then leave them sitting there. (Guilty!)
Teach kids this useful rule:
When you open an email, decide what to do with it right away. The options:
- Reply if it needs an answer.
- Do the task if it takes less than a minute.
- Add the task to a to-do list in a notebook or online, then archive the message.
- Flag the message if they need to come back to it later.
- Archive or delete if they are done with it.
This prevents the inbox from becoming a messy to-do list. If they get a lot of emails that require action, they should get in the habit of putting those on a task list and archiving the emails, rather than letting their inbox get clogged up.
4. Set Up Simple Folders
Kids do not need a complicated filing system. Just a few folders or labels can make their email much easier to manage.
Consider creating folders for:
- School
- Activities
- Friends and family
- Accounts and apps
- Receipts or orders, once they’re old enough to shop online
Show your child how to move emails into folders (or label and archive) so their inbox stays focused on new messages.
5. Use Filters to Do the Work Automatically
One of the easiest ways to reduce inbox clutter is to let technology sort our emails automatically.
Many email services allow filters that send certain messages straight to a folder or give them the label you choose. If you’re not sure how to do this within their email platform, search for tutorials online.
For example:
- Emails from teachers → School folder/label
- Sports team updates → Activities folder/label
Once filters are set up, important messages become much easier to find and it becomes much easier to keep that inbox a little less overwhelming.
You can also show them how to add regular senders to their contacts or allowed lists to avoid important messages being wrongly sent to spam—and how to automatically flag some must-see messages as important.
6. Encourage Regular Inbox Check-Ins
Kids often ignore email until something goes wrong—like missing an assignment update or a team schedule change. Once they realize it’s important, on the other hand, they may overcorrect by checking constantly, increasing their screen time and digital overload.
Parents can help them build the habit of checking often enough without becoming a slave to notifications.
Help your child build a simple routine:
- Check email once a day at a set time. A good time may be after school, before starting homework. It’s healthiest for younger kids to avoid devices before school, so checking later in the day is probably best.
- As they get older, they can start checking again at another specific time of day. Eventually, they will need to check once in the morning for urgent messages.
Checking regularly keeps messages from piling up and reduces last-minute surprises, while limiting it to certain times helps manage screen time and stress.
7. Teach Kids to Unsubscribe Aggressively
Kids often sign up for things without realizing how many emails will follow. App accounts (including those required for school) and purchases also all usually come with their own automatic newsletter opt-ins.
Teach your child that it is completely normal to unsubscribe from anything they do not want.
A good rule: If they have not read the last three emails from a sender, unsubscribe. They can always resubscribe later, if they want or need to.
Cleaning up mailing lists can dramatically reduce inbox clutter.
8. Explain Why Email Still Matters
Many kids prefer texting, messaging apps, or social platforms. But email is still going to be very important for them over the coming years, including for:
- School communication
- College applications
- Job opportunities
- Activity schedules
…and more. Helping kids learn to manage email now prepares them for adulthood, when email becomes even more essential. Explaining why it matters can motivate them to actually take your wisdom on board and make the effort.
9. Turn Off Unnecessary Notifications
Constant notifications can make email feel stressful.
Many kids benefit from turning off push notifications and checking email at set times, as described above. This way, they can stay in control of their screen time rather than getting pulled in anytime and anywhere they get a new message.
Email works best when it is intentional, not constant.
10. Optional: Separate “Sign-Up Email” From Personal Email
Many youngsters sign up for games, apps, lists, and websites that generate lots of automated messages.
While this approach is not for everyone, some people can benefit from using two separate email accounts:
- Main email: school, teachers, activities, important messages
- Sign-up email: apps, games, shopping, promotions
This can keep important communications from getting buried. It’s tricky to remember to sign in and check multiple email accounts, though—so think hard about whether your child is ready to handle it.
An alternative middle ground is to create a sign-up email but set it to forward to your child’s main inbox. Then you can configure their main email to automatically label messages forwarded from the other account, and put those messages in a special folder.
The Big Goal: Confidence, Not Perfection
Ultimately, the goal is not a perfectly empty inbox. It’s to help your child feel in control of their digital space instead of overwhelmed by it.
In today’s world, learning how to manage an inbox is a lot like learning how to manage a backpack: if you never clean it out, things pile up fast.
Email management is really about executive functioning skills—prioritizing, organizing, and deciding what matters.
Helping your child start mastering their inbox now supports them to feel more in control and tackle the challenges ahead as their responsibilities grow.
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 I wrote Reading for Our Lives, I envisioned it aiding a busy mom—someone hustling through the whirlwind of life with young children, but with an eye on preparing them for success in school and beyond. For her, I filled the book with practical everyday strategies to weave literacy into the fabric of family life, from mealtimes and diaper changes to errand runs and playground jaunts.
What I didn’t anticipate was how much the book would resonate with civic leaders, corporate professionals, and others who were far removed from diaper duty but drawn to the power of literacy to shape communities. One such reader is Kevin Long, a commercial litigation attorney at Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee.
Long didn’t set out to become a literacy advocate. But through a journey driven by a series of questions—he’s curious, persistent, and purposeful—he’s become a catalyst for change, urging Milwaukee’s business community to invest in early-literacy initiatives.
Recognizing Root Causes
For Long, service to others has always been central to his life. Guided by Jesuit principles of being “men and women for others,” he and his wife, Peggy, have long sought ways to uplift their community. Professionally, Long drew inspiration from leaders at his law firm, especially attorneys John Daniels and Mike Gonring, who modeled giving back.
When Long heard me speak about early literacy at a Fellowship Open event, a charity golf weekend benefitting youth empowerment programs, something clicked. He left with a copy of Reading for Our Lives, read it, reflected on it, and asked himself, What does this mean for Milwaukee?
He connected the dots between what he read in the book and what he’d witnessed in local schools. “In almost all of them that you talk to, they all correctly state what a great job they do with their students and how much their students learn,” Long shared. “But they will always say that far too often the students come to them, whether they’re a high school or a grade school, and they’re a little bit behind and we need to catch them up in this way or that way.”
Reading for Our Lives helped him see the bigger picture—that success in the K-12 years or even college doesn’t start there. “The development of any person begins in the earliest years,” he said. “The more you can do in the beginning years of a child’s life, the better you’re going to set them up for success down the road.”
Turning Skepticism into Momentum
Inspired but cautious, Long started small. He didn’t make a grand statement or lead a large campaign. Rather, he began hosting meetings with civic and educational leaders, researching existing programs, and asking thoughtful questions. One of his key discoveries was Reach Out and Read, a program that integrates books into pediatric well-child visits, equipping parents with tools to foster reading habits from birth.
“I looked at things skeptically and said, What’s proved to me that this is going to work before we go ask people to invest a lot of money in this?” he explained. What he found was a program with strong evidence, clear goals, and a powerful framework for reaching families through healthcare touchpoints. “When you have a new birth in your family, there’s an invigoration of everything around that child,” Long said. “That sort of energy helps families coalesce around a strategy to do the best for their child.”
Long’s curiosity deepened: Why don’t more families have access to this? What can I do to help? These questions became the foundation of his advocacy. He championed the program, even convening local foundations and philanthropists to explore its potential.
“Milwaukee is small enough that people who care about something will run into each other,” Long noted. “That’s a huge advantage when building relationships and driving change.” His efforts culminated in a single meeting that raised over $100,000 for Reach Out and Read. For his leadership, Long received the organization’s Stellar Partner Award—a testament to the power of thoughtful questions and bold action.
Your Turn
Long’s story proves you don’t need perfect answers or grand plans. Advocacy starts small—by showing up, listening, and asking thoughtful questions. What’s at the root of the problem? Who’s already working on it? How can I help?
Curiosity, not certainty, drove Long’s success. His questions unlocked funding, built partnerships, and expanded early literacy efforts across Milwaukee.
Change starts with curiosity. It grows with connection. And it leads to concerted action. So why not start with a question of your own? Why not you?
Get Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six
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