Summer Reading Roundup

What's great about summer reading besides getting caught up in a book? Free books & prizes!

Check out:

Your local library- I just registered my children online for our library's program. The girls are entered to win prizes and get a book once they complete their summer reading. The library is even having an adult summer reading program. Most libraries at least have a program for the kids.

Barnes & Noble- First through sixth graders simply have to fill out a reading journal. Once it is completed they get to pick a book to keep.

BAM- If your child reads specific books from their adventure section, they can get a free pencil case.

Chuck E. Cheese- Check the website for a reading reward calendar (they even have one for teeth brushing). When your child fills up the calendar and brings it in, they get 10 free tokens. The bottom of the certificates say a food purchase is required.

Lifeway- Pick up the journal in store or download it from the website. Kids have to read six books and memorize six scripture verses. They get a free Bible and book.


Do you know of other rewards? Comment below, so we all know about them.

Five Book-free Activities You Already Do That Are Helping Your Children Learn

Educating your children takes more than sitting in a circle and reading. Our everyday activities are extremely important too. I bet you do (or did) all of these things for your children: 

1. Listening to your children talk about their day and telling them about your day. They are learning sequencing.

2. Playing with your children and following their lead. You are building their confidence. It is likely to transfer over to their school subjects as well (Pincus, 2012). 

3. Checking the weather and talking about what to wear. You are helping them apply information to their everyday life, make predictions, and draw conclusions. 

4. Letting them roll down a hill or spin in circles. You are allowing them to build their vestibular system. The vestibular system controls our posture, balance, alertness, concentration, and stillness. It sounds strange, but without this type of movement, kids can't sit still (Connell & McCarthy, 2014). 

5. Listening to music together and singing (no matter what it sounds like). You are naturally developing your children's listening skills (2014). 

Did you get a 5/5?



Connell, G., & McCarthy, C. (2014). A moving child is a learning child: how the body teaches the brain to think (birth to age 7). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Pincus, Donna B. Growing up Brave: Expert Strategies for Helping Your Child Overcome Fear, Stress, and Anxiety. Little, Brown and Co., 2012.

One Home, One Book?

I just participated in a Screen-Free Week challenge from an awesome Usborne rep. A couple of nights a week at snack time my daughters pick a few Sesame Street songs on YouTube to watch. Last week we read books every night instead. Because of this my one-year-old daughter was able to listen to the paper page books that I read with my three-year-old daughters throughout the day. She laughed. She followed along. We showed her things in the book together. She is excluded from many activities during the day because of her love of eating small things (and ripping paper). This was one way to make her feel connected and show her sisters that she can be included.

Can this be duplicated for a first and fifth grade set of siblings? Yes, it can.  Right now, many schools are proving that they can with the One School, One Book from ReadtoThem.org, and this can be implemented at home.

I challenge you to try reading the same book to all of your kids. It gives them something else to talk about and another way to connect with each other and to you. It gives them more ideas to use when they play and helps them all feel included. Also, it builds their vocabulary and literacy skills.

I know. It's spring sports time. The musical is in full swing. There is a way to fit it in. It can be brief. Try 5-15 minutes at snack time, right after school, bedtime, an audio book in the car, before they are allowed to watch TV, before baseball practice, after soccer practice, Tuesdays and Thursdays, etc. If you want to make it happen, you can.

It's worth it. My three-year-olds comment and incorporate the books into their play. They make connections through the day. They like to pretend they are the bunnies from A Tale of Peter Rabbit. They pretend that some of their toys are the tuna fish from Swimmy. We make references and connections to the books often. They have their own jokes based on the books. They use words that we normally only read and do not use in everyday conversation. My husband has heard most of the stories too, so he can join in with the conversation. My one-year-old recognizes the stories and reaches for her favorites. When they are able to listen to chapter books, we will incorporate those too.

It's going to look different based on the ages, but I challenge you to give it a try. Kids can listen to books that are beyond their reading level. You could read the same book to your first grader as your seventh grader. They'll have a bond they normally wouldn't have without it.

Here are some chapter book ideas from Read to Them.org.

Need help picking a book? Email me, PM me on FB, or drop a comment below.

Not Your Traditional Mary Had a Little Lamb

This weekend I discovered two books that take the sweetness and timelessness of Mary Had a Little Lamb and add a twist. You need to check these out. 

Screenshot from Amazon

Jonas Sickler takes a look at Mary and her lamb in Africa. It is a simple wordless picture book that follows the nursery rhyme exactly. I found it in my local toy store. It is on Amazon. Ages 0+

Screenshot from Amazon

Kayla Harren's Mary Had a Little Lizard is also a wordless picture book. It takes you through the rhyme, but adds many details to it. You'll love the friendship between the lizard and the girl, how the lizard sneaks to school, and the silliness. My family's favorite part is when the lizard, who is covered in paint, is discovered by Mary's teacher. I checked it out from the library yesterday. We've read it at least 8 times already. Any age that knows the nursery rhyme will love this book. It is on Amazon. 

Tiny & Organized Kitchen Writing Area

Most of the time while my husband and I are cooking the girls like to be with us in the kitchen. We try to find jobs for them like ripping up lettuce or broccoli, sprinkling cheese, or even just being a spoon holder. Sometimes it is just not possible to give them a job, but (even though I'm tempted many times) I don't want to say, "Go away." After all, I want them to eventually to be able to do more in the kitchen to help, and I don't want to send them to college only knowing how to make a peanut butter sandwich. Experience is the best teacher.

Because of this, I've been giving them pieces of scrap paper and pens to write with while we are in the kitchen. They love it, but it's always a mess for me. After reading an article about the habits of neat and organized people, I decided it's time to make organization and less clutter a habit. Here's what we made to control the pens and scrap paper:

I took an instant Quaker oatmeal box and ripped off the sides. Then I wrapped it with pretty wrapping paper that we thankfully had. It's simple, but effective. The girls now get up on the stools and grab the box when I tell them I don't have a job for them to do right now. 

Other materials you could use:

• Cereal box with 3/4 of it cut off and wrapped up
• Soup can (cover those edges)
• Cute basket
• Mason jars
• Cookie jar
• Anything that can hold paper, pencils, or pens

How can you make it even better? Make it with your child. Show us yours on FB or comment below. 

Why Children Can't Always Do Two Things at Once

Can children:
Pour milk and answer a question?
Do homework while watching TV? 
Text and talk to you at the same time? 

Can adults:
Watch TV and check their email at the same time?
Browse FB and talk to others? 
Lull a baby back to sleep and write this blog post? (My current situation.)

The brain can only do one task that requires thinking at a time (Connell & McCarthy, 2014). Television requires thinking. If you are asking a question and your child is watching television, she is going to have these responses:

1. She stops watching and listens to you.
2. She ignores you and keeps watching.
3. She tries to go back and forth between listening to you and watching, so she really doesn't understand what you are asking and is probably annoyed.

Only tasks that are automatic can be done with a thinking task. Walking and talking can happen only if you have fully learned to walk. Until then walking is a thinking activity (2014).

Some adults say they can text and watch television at the same time, but they really can't because both require thinking. What they are doing is rapidly switching back and forth between the two. Children cannot do this (2014). That's why reading with the television on is not a good idea. One cannot be fully involved in their reading.

So...

Can children:
Pour milk and answer a question? If they are still learning how to pour and it requires concentration, children cannot pour milk and answer a question at the same time. They will either stop pouring, ignore you, or spill the milk (2014).

Do homework while watching TV? No. Both require thinking. Consider switching it off.

Text and talk to you at the same time? No. Both require thinking. You'll want them to put down the phone before the conversation begins.

Can adults:
Watch TV and check their email at the same time? No. Both require thinking. They can rapidly switch back and forth between the TV and computer.

Browse FB and talk to others? No. Both require thinking. Consider logging off when you are around others.

Lull a baby back to sleep and write this blog post?  No. Both required thinking and two hands. One needed rhythmic swaying. This post waited.

Works Cited

Connell, G., & McCarthy, C. (2014). A moving child is a learning child: how the body teaches the brain to think (birth to age 7). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Junk Mail & Other Tools for Writing

How do kids get better at a sport? They have a coach. They practice. They play. They try out different strategies. They make mistakes and get messy. They enjoy it. Writing is no different. If you want your children to write and enjoy it, they need the tools to make it engaging. 

Free supplies:

• Return envelopes from junk mail 
• Hooray for reusing! Open those credit card offers and other envelopes you generally don't keep to find this golden tool. Your kids will LOVE stuffing their notes inside, licking it up, and even drawing stamps. 
• Notepads from charities like St. Jude's Children's Hospital
• It's fun to have different types of paper. 
• Return address labels that come from charities too
• They'll enjoy making their envelope "official."
• Advertisements with pictures and letters that can be cut 
• Decorations and embellishments can be found in unlikely places.

Low cost supplies:

• Plain white computer paper (It's possible to get rebates from stores like Staples, so you can get this paper free.)
• Construction paper
• Pencils
• Pens
• Crayons/Markers
• Stickers
• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Plain envelopes for letters they'd like to mail

Here is our set up: 

The kids don't need their own table. All they really need is a basket or caddy to keep the supplies in, a place to go, and time with you to get them started.

One of the best things you can do is make the writing center/caddy/box with your children. They can decide with you where the envelopes, paper, glue, magazines, etc. will go. You can sit down and create a letter side by side. They can use the junk mail envelopes to write immediate family and friends they see notes. You may want to have some plain envelopes available, so they can mail a letter.  They may also want to draw pictures, write a story, or simply glue pictures. Let them decide. The materials are their supplies to use as they please.

How do kids get better at writing? They have a teacher. They practice. They play. They try out different strategies. They make mistakes and get messy. They enjoy it. Just like a sport.