Start Teaching Your Child to Read

29 Smart Steps to Teach Your Smart Kid to Read

This 117-page is based on how I taught my daughter to read some 30 years ago. 

Like all proud parents, I was and still am proud of the fact that I could teach her how to read when she just turned three (most children learn at the age of five). The TV and all electronic devices may not be as effective as YOU, the parent, to teach your child through everyday intellectual interactions, games, and activities. 

This book provides 29 steps that could begin as early as your baby is one-month-old. My daughter became a proficient reader when she was five (reading books with little or no illustrations). By seven, she would not let me teach her anything -- she could find everything from books. It paid off and it's worth all the initial efforts in teaching her to become an early reader. Now she's an attorney in the United States.  I wrote this book because she has recently become a mother herself, and that's why I wrote this book to share my experience some three decades ago.

Also, read my book" Make Your Smart Baby Super Smart.

Stephen Lau

Learn Some American Colloquial Expressions

Killer: a very funny joke.

e.g. That last one was really a killer;  everybody laughed.

Kick back: relax and enjoy.

e.g I really want to kick back and enjoy the music.

Shag: depart.

e.g. I gotta shag now!

Kick the bucket: die.

e.g. He kicked the bucket when he smashed his car into the wall.

Keep one's cool: calm down and in control..

e.g. The burglar was able to keep his cool when he was stopped by the policeman.

Jammed up: in trouble.

e.g. He got himself jammed up (arrested) with the police

Face-off: a confrontation.

e.g. After my face-off with the manager, I quit the job.

Screw around: waste time.

e.g. Stop screwing around! Find something to do!

Cop out: plead guilty.

e.g. I decided not to cop out and got a lawyer instead.

Smoke eater: a fire fighter.

e.g. Do you really want to be a smoke eater -- a dangerous occupation?

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Learn Some Colloquial Expressions

Yesterday wouldn't be too soon: as soon as possible.

e.g. "When do you want me to give this to you?" "Yesterday wouldn't be too soon!"

Over my dead body: absolutely not!

e.g. "Can I come with you? " "Over my dead body!"

No can do: I cannot do it..

e.g. "Can you do this now?" "No can do.”

Try as I may: I regret or fail to do something.

e.g. "Can you do something with this machine?" "Try as I may, I can't make it work."

Snap it up: be quick.

e.g. "Snap it up! We need to finish it before noon."

Worst-case scenario: the worst consequence.

e.g.  A blizzard is coming. The worst-case scenario is that all public transport will be suspended.

Pipe dream: Something impossible or unrealistic

e.g. The Mayor said that building another highway would be a pipe dream in the current economic environment.

What would you say if: asking for an opinion; what about?

e.g. "I heard you were recently offered a job." "What would you say if I decline the offer?"

Not budging / Not giving an inch / Sticking to my guns: Being firm.

e.g. "We're not going to cancel the charges. We're not budging."

e.g. Despite the protests, the government would not give an inch.

e.g.  "I'm not moving out. That's out of the question. I'm sticking to my guns."

Speak out of turn: speak at the wrong time.

e.g. "Beware of what you're going to say at the meeting. Don't speak out of turn by talking about your divorce."

See to it right away: Take care of a complaint or problem.

e.g. "The tap is leaking." "Yes, I'll see to it right away."

Call for an apology: Demand an apology.

e.g. Your reckless behavior calls for an apology.

In a nutshell: In summary

e.g. "We're having serious financial and relationship problems." "In a nutshell, you want to divorce your wife?"

No can do: I cannot do it..

e.g. "Can you do this now?" "No can do.”

Beats me: I don't know; I've no idea.

e.g. "Do you know how this works?" "Beats me."

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Learn Some Grammar Basics

ADJECTIVES

An adjective describes a noun. Adjectives often give precision and meaning to sentences; in other words, they add color to your writing.

Beware: some words are both adjectives (describing nouns) and adverbs (modifying verbs).

e.g. This is hard work. (an adjective)

e.g. He works hard. (an adverb)

Linking verbs, such as be, become, look, seem, smell, taste, require the use of adjectives rather than adverbs.

e.g. He is happy.

e.g. She became angry. (NOT angrily)

e.g. He looked angrily at you. (it was the action expressed in the look)

e.g. The man looked angry. (it was the expression, not the action)

e.g. The cake smells wonderful. (NOT wonderfully)

e.g. The wine tastes good. (NOT well)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses in sentences. They are coordinating or subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet. They join two or more complete or independent sentences.

e.g. He likes coffee, and so do I (like coffee).

 e.g. He likes cheese, but I do not (like cheese).

e.g. (You ) work harder, or you will not succeed.

e.g. I don’t want to go, nor will I (go).

e.g. Summer is approaching, for the days are getting longer.

e.g. He worked hard, so he passed his exam with flying colors.

e.g. He worked hard, yet the result was far from satisfactory.

Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join unequal elements in a sentence or clause that cannot stand alone.

e.g. When we arrived at the station, the train had left.

e.g. We will not succeed unless we get your support.

e.g. I will help you as long as you ask me.

e.g. I will help you whenever you ask me.

 e.g. I will help you provided (that) you ask me.

 e.g. I will help you if you ask me.

 e.g. Although I am your brother, I will not help you.

e.g. You will stay here till everything is done.

e.g. He behaved as though he were better than you.

e.g. Though he had lost his fortune, he remained cheerful.

e.g. Since spring is coming, we have to prepare the garden.

 e.g. Because spring is coming, we have to prepare the garden.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Common Prepositional Words and Phrases

Learn some common prepositional phrases:

RUN

Run against: compete

e.g. I am going to run against him in the coming election.

Run away: leave; escape

e.g. The burglar ran away before the police arrived.

Run down: hit with a vehicle

e.g. The old man was run down by the bus.

Run down: stop functioning

e.g. My lawn mower is running down; I need to get a new one.

Run into: meet by accident

e.g. Yesterday, I ran into an old friend that I had not seen for decades.

Run out of: not have any more of something

e.g. Hurry! We're running out of time!

HELP

Help along: help someone move along.

e.g. We are more than happy to help you along by giving you any assistance.

Help someone on with something: help someone to put on something.

e.g. Please help her on with her coat.

Help out: help someone out at a particular place.

e.g. I'm at the kitchen. Can you help me out?

Help someone to something: serve something to someone.

e.g. Help yourself to more rice.

GROUND

Ground in: instruct.

e.g. We should ground our children in love and values as they grow up.

Ground on: form a foundation for.

e.g. His intelligence was grounded on reading books on wisdom.

APPEAL

Appeal against: ask a court to cancel something.

e.g. The lawyer appealed against the court’s decision.

Appeal for: demand as a right.

e.g. I think we should appeal for justice.

e.g. They are appealing for our help.

Appeal to: attract or please someone.

e.g. The proposal appealed to many of us.

e.g. Her personality appeals to everybody around her.

e.g. Does this food appeal to your taste?

Stephen Lau

Distinguish These Pairs of Words

WET / WETTED

Wet is the present, past, and particle of “wet”; wetted, as the past and participle of “wet”, means something done deliberately and purposely.

e.g. The heavy rain last night wet the balcony completely.

e.g. He wetted the cloth in the hot water before putting it on his body.

e.g. They wetted the appetite of the guests with a fragrant soup.

DEFER / DEFER TO

Defer means to delay or postpone; defer to means to give way or show respect for.

e.g. I wish to defer my trip.

e.g. I defer to your request to cancel my trip.

PURPOSELY / PURPOSEFULLY

Purposely means deliberately; purposefully means in a determined way.

e.g. That guy purposely left the trash on the sidewalk.

e.g. The student purposefully worked on his project to get a better score for further advancement. 

COMMON SENSE / COMMON-SENSE

Common sense is always put in two words. Use a hyphened compound work as an adjective, and not as one single word.

e.g. Use your common sense when you do this.

e.g. This is just a common-sense approach to the problem.

ALLOW / ALLOW OF

Allow means permit; allow of means leave room for.

e.g. The new regulation will not allow you to do this.

e.g. The procedure is so precise that it will not allow of any variation.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

My Book Just Published

This 145-page book is about TAO, the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China more than 2,600 years ago, who authored the immortal classic Tao Te Ching on human wisdom. 

His unique and controversial wisdom shows you how to think. It is your thinking mind that may make you live longer. Continue and go through the rest of your life journey with self-awakening to the realities of your true self, of others around you, and of the world you are living in. Look at anything and everything through the lens of the TAO.

According to the TAO, the end of anything is always the beginning of something else; the material world you are living in is forever filled with these cycles of beginnings and endings. Get the profound wisdom to intuit these cycles of balance and harmony so that you may continue the rest of your life journey and live as if everything is a miracle.

Here is the outline of the book:

INTRODUCTION

ONE: THE QUESTIONS AND THE ANSWERS

TWO: THE THINKING MIND

The Composition of the Thinking Mind

The Thinking Process

The Conscious Mind and the Subconscious Mind

The Power of the Thinking Mind

The Role of the Thinking Mind

THREE: THE WISDOM

The Ancient Wisdom

The Eastern Wisdom

The Conventional Wisdom

The Spiritual Wisdom

The Essence of True Wisdom

FOUR: THE TAO

Tao Te Ching

Empty Mind and Reverse Thinking

The Mind and the Now

Humility and the Ego

No Judgment and No Separation

No Picking and No Choosing

No Expectation and No Over-Doing

Control and Spontaneity

Embracing and Letting Go

Attachments and Detachments

The Awakening and the Manifestation

FIVE: YOUR JOURNEY OF LIVING LONGER

The Step of Intent and Desire

The Step of Unlearning and Relearning

The Step of Body Awareness and Mind Focus

The Step of Being and Becoming

The Step of Actions and Inactions

The Step of Recovery and Rejuvenation

The Step of Patience and Perseverance

The Step of Accepting and Embracing

The Step of Confronting Changes and Challenges

The Step of Returning and Awakening

APPENDIX A: THE MEDITATION

APPENDIX B: THE BODY CHEMISTRY

APPENDIX C: THE FAST

Click here to get your copy.

Stephen Lau