If you have a child between six and nine, you are watching something amazing happen. Letters are turning into words. Words are turning into stories. Numbers are starting to mean something. And little hearts are learning what it means to be kind.
You do not need a teaching degree to help. Some of the best learning happens in small, everyday moments at home.
Reading: keep reading together
Even after your child can read alone, keep reading aloud together. It is one of the sweetest habits you can build.
- Take turns. You read a page, they read a page. It takes the pressure off and keeps the story moving.
- Ask “What do you think happens next?” Guessing helps kids think about the story, not just the words.
- Let them choose. A child who picks the book is a child who wants to read it.
- Praise the effort. When they sound out a hard word, say so: “You worked hard on that one!”
- Pick a book that makes them laugh. Kids who giggle at a story want to turn the page.
That last one is why the Lulu Lilly books are funny chapter books. Lulu Lilly the Great Lemonade Strike has 8 short chapters and 58 illustrations, which makes it a great fit for taking turns reading a chapter each night. It even ends with an Ocean-in-a-Bottle craft to make together.
Math: it is everywhere
Math does not have to live only on a worksheet. It is all around your home.
- Count coins together. Pour out a jar of change and sort it. How many nickels make a quarter?
- Cook together. Measuring cups teach halves and quarters better than any chart.
- Tell time. Ask, “Dinner is at 6:00. It is 5:30 now. How long do we have?”
- Play games. Board games are full of counting, adding, and taking turns.
After reading about Lulu’s lemonade adventure, kids can play our free Lulu’s Lemonade Stand game, where they practice counting exact money and making change from $1 and $5.
God and kindness: the most important lesson
Reading and math matter. But the lesson that lasts the longest is learning to love God and love others.
Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
- Ask at bedtime: “Where did you see kindness today?” and “How were you kind today?”
- Pray together for someone. A friend who was sad, a grandparent, a new kid at school. Kids learn to care when they practice caring.
- Notice it out loud. When you see your child share or help, tell them: “That was kind. That is what Jesus does.”
Stories can help here too. Lulu Lilly Valentine’s Day Heartache Hero goes along with our free Heartache Hero game, which gives kids everyday situations and lets them choose the kind thing to do. There is no login and no score. Just practice being a friend. And Lulu Lilly the Bunny Boss: an Easter Story of Jesus, Joy, and Jellybeans is a fun way to talk with your child about Jesus.
You are their best teacher
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Ten minutes of reading, a handful of coins, and a bedtime prayer may not feel like much. But little moments, repeated day after day, grow into something big. Keep going. You are doing a good job.
With love,
Lulu Lilly Books