Usborne Book and More

Wow!  It's hard to believe that summer is gone!  Where did it go?  School is now well underway, and fall is here.  As the days get shorter, you may find that you and your kids are spending more time indoors.  Take advantage of this time to make reading together a part of every day.  Did you know that reading is the most important skill that your child needs to master in order to do well in school?  Think about it.  It's pretty hard to do well in math if you can read the directions or the word problems.  It is difficult to do well in history or science if you can read the book or the test,   It's hard to do well in language arts if you don't understand different types of writing or the vocabulary, all of which is learned, in part, through reading.  So, what does it take to become a good reader?  Practice!  The best readers in the world are those who read--a lot!  This is true regardless of income level,  or where you live--urban, suburban, or rural. 

Practice isn't the only thing that can help your student become a great reader.  Make reading aloud to your kids a regular part of your day.  There are so many advantages to reading to your kids.  First of all, from the time we are born, we seek pleasure.  Think about it, babies cry if they want to be held, eat or have their diaper changed.  When you read to a baby, the baby associates the snuggling and closeness with pleasure.  The sound of your voice is calming and the baby gets the message that books relate to life, and bring peace, warmth,and security.  But what if you are past the baby days?  You can still choose a great book, whether a picture book or a chapter book and read together regardless of the age of your child.  I highly recommend this for reluctant readers.  Kids who think they don't like books just don't like to read either because they haven't spent enough time doing it to get good at it or don't have books they are interested in.  However, many of these kids don't mind if someone reads something to them.  Once you start reading to your kids, you may find that even the most reluctant readers become a little more interested in books.  

Stay tuned for some great read aloud book reviews of books that you can share with the children in your life and help them to Fall into reading!

If you could do something that would help you connect with your children on a daily basis, even when they become teens, stimulate their imagination and creativity, and give them a significant advantage in school in life, would you be willing to invest $10,000?  As parents we want the very best for our kids, but we also have to know what that BEST is. Most parents make sure their children get three meals a day.  Children need proper nutrition to grow up healthy.  Food is the source of energy for a growing child.  Those who don't have this need met are often malnourished and experience a host of medical problems as a result.  Unfortunately, many children in America are experiencing a different type of neglect and as a result malnutrition because parents and caregivers are not being taught the importance of feeding their child's brain.  US Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley said, "If every child were read to daily, from infancy, it would revolutionize education in this country."  Did you know that if you read just 20 minutes a day that you would read, on average 20 200 page books EACH year?  This, my friend, is the investment I am talking about.  Reading aloud to your children helps you connect with them; it builds their vocabulary, imagination and creativity, promotes discussion and and even good character and morals.  Reading aloud is the equivalent to feeding their brain and should be as important part of parenting and giving our children food to help them grow physically.  The great thing about reading aloud to your children is that you can start TODAY, no matter their ages.  Reading aloud is an activity that a parent and child can share until the children leave home.

Throughout the summer, I will be sharing tips for reading aloud to children, tips for choosing great books for different age groups and sharing book reviews of some of my favorite books.

Stay tuned!

Depending on where you call home, the school year has either already ended or will end very soon.  Sadly, for many children the learning has ended as well.  Don't get me wrong, as a homeschool mom, I will be the first to admit that I LOVE summer vacation.  But is it the learning that kids need a break from or the structure and rigid, margin-less routine of the school year?  Weekdays packed full with school, after-school activities and sports, then homework leaves little time for family, play or pleasure.  Then add weekends filled with weekend sports, travel, shopping, household chores, and church.  Nine months of a routine like this and no wonder people are ready for school to be out.  However, spending the summer at the pool and in front of the TV or XBox complete with late nights and sleeping late in the morning is hardly the prescription for a healthy, productive, and restful summer.  So, what's the answer?  With a little planning and creativity you can have the BEST summer vacation EVER--complete with MORE time at the pool, MORE rest for everyone--including mom, MORE learning and reading, MORE creativity and even MORE time for friends.

First of all, as a parent decide what you want to accomplish this summer.  Better yet, close your eyes and pretend it is September 1, 2011 and you are sitting down to write a letter telling someone about the amazing summer you had with your friends.  What would you write.  What does that look like in the picture book of mind?  Here are some questions to get you started:

• Do you have house or yard projects to complete?
  
• Is there a class you would like to take or a skill you want to learn?
• What about the kids?  Do they have a special interest you could explore?

How would your kids answer this question:  If I could learn anything I wanted at school, it would be......

Now, make a list of fun, educational field trips you can take with your kids and maybe a friend and her kids.

Finally, make a schedule.  Kids work well with a schedule.  You don't need to schedule every minute of their day and to be quite honest, kids NEED unstructured time to play and be creative but this unstructured play time often gets left out unless it is planned.  Finally, take time to read to your kids every day.  Choose a great book that you can read aloud--even if only for a few minutes a day and even if your children read independently.  Stay tuned for MORE great tips on summer great summer reading and learning as well as book reviews on fabulous read-aloud books and fun projects to keep your kids reading, learning, and thinking all summer long.