Educating Locally. Learning Communally. Living Freely.

BJU Press Assessment Testing

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The BJU Press Testing Center has made it is mission to provide high-quality assessment services for students in a secure, testing-friendly environment.  They provide computerized achievement testing for pre-college students using the Stanford 10 Online.  The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) at their center for college students.

You are invited March 13th to an Open House at the BJU Press Center any time between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm!  You can save $10.00 if you register your child for an achievement test at the Open House.  Test results will be available in just one week.  A free consultation about test results is included with your testing fee.

What: Open House at the BJU Press Center
When: March 13th, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Where: BJU Press Center, 1430 Wade Hampton Blvd. , Greenville, SC 29609

Do you have any questions?  Would you like to make an appointment?  Call the BJU Press Center at (864) 770-1381.  Visit www.bjupresstesting.com/testing-center to find out more.

The Love of Reading

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Friday, February 1, 2013

http://pinterest.com/pin/4081455884406099/

                “I wish my daughter would enjoy reading,” the woman told me a bit wistfully, “She just likes TV and her video games.”
                Frankly I was a little shocked.  The lady, making polite conversation had asked my daughter, a budding reader, if she liked to read books.  This was her response to an enthusiastic “Yes”.  I wasn’t sure how to respond, as reading is just a way of life for us.
                Since that short conversation months ago, it has often returned to my mind.  I have often wondered how it is that my kids enjoy reading so much when it seems that fewer and fewer children voluntarily pick up a book.  After much pondering I have realized that there are certain things that we do which have facilitated our children’s love of books.  And so, for the first part of a three part series on reading, “How our children came to love reading”:
                We checked a book out of the library once entitled, “The Library” by Sarah Stewart and David Small.  It is a story about a young girl who enjoys reading to the exclusion of pretty much everything else.  Eventually she acquires so many books that they overwhelm her house.  It was an instant favorite in our family as we all have shelves that are overflowing with books.  Both my parents and my husband’s parents place a high value on books and reading, and that has carried over to our family as well.
                Many literacy experts have suggested that in order for children to become willing readers, they must see their parents read, both out loud to the children and to themselves for enjoyment.  Both my husband’s sisters keep a log of books they read each year, and this is something I am doing now as well, both for myself and for my children.  Having a heavy cold earlier this month sure got my list off to a good start!
One of the best things we have done is to give our children free access to books.  Shortly after our oldest child was born my aunt gave us a box of books she had gleaned from her bookshelves.  They were duplicates or books that her kids had outgrown.  Some were already slightly damaged or missing covers, so I had no qualms about letting my daughter look through them.  We kept the books in a box under her crib, pulling it out in the mornings for easier access.  From the time she was mobile she would crawl into the box to look at the pictures in the books.  We have also gathered quite a collection of board books for our littlest readers – some we have replaced after each child because they have worn out.
                Giving our kids access to books led very naturally to the next step, reading aloud.  Of course if you look at the pictures in a book, you have some desire to know what kind of story the pictures tell.  My husband and I enjoyed rediscovering books we had enjoyed as kids – and both grandmothers happily obliged by lending us books from their shelves – as well as finding new favorites.  It has been really fun to get the whole family involved with our reading, from Mom reading during the school day to Grandpa and Pop-pop sharing their favorites on their weekly lunchtime visits and Dad reading aloud when he has time in the evening.  Our current list includes Uncle Wiggly’s Story Book, Old Mother West Wind, Treasure Island and the Hobbit.
                We try to visit the library when we can to supplement the books we have at home.  We always visit the children’s section when we go, but we have enjoyed exploring some books from the adult section as well.  Cookbooks with lots of pictures are a favorite at our house; sometimes with yummy results!
                After our daughter learned to read, it wasn’t long before she was devouring books on her own, a confirmed reader in her own right.  She still enjoys it when we read aloud, but she also spends a good chunk of her free time reading to herself.  Her younger brother is now the one who clears the book shelf browsing through the picture books of an afternoon.
                So there you have it.  The process of getting our children to read has been rather organic, growing from things that we naturally do.  This is not to say that we spend all our time reading.  While some families may feel it is better to banish TV and computer time altogether or to severely limit it in favor of books, we have never felt the need to place strict limitations.  One movie a day or a little time on the computer is plenty without being overly strict.  And it still leaves plenty of time to read.
 Stay tuned for posts on some of our favorite books and where to find good books cheap in the next few weeks.
 

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