Good Morning!

I'm playing catch up today-I've been neglecting my classes and my students for about a week now, and I'm feeling REALLY guilty. So this morning's job is to get everything graded and everyone's questions answered. And new lesson plans prepared for the coming week, and a few articles written for my site (http://www.reading.allinfoabout.com), and, and, and, and!

Is school out yet in your area? Our kids have to go until next Wednesday, but I know that a number of districts around us have dismissed already. In a few days, kids around the country and maybe even the world will be saying "I'm BORED!" Here's a response:

Check with your child's school and get a list of books that they feel kids this age ought to read. If you can't find one at school, try the children's librarian in your hometown, or check online. Once you've found the magic list, have your child choose a book to read.

Reading is only part of the battle, though. In order to get the most out of the experience, your student needs to respond to the book in some fashion. Bookreports are the old-fashioned way to do this, and many kids will balk at doing them, especially in the summer. Instead, try challenging them to write a screen play for the book, create a newspaper edition about it, or write the diary of the main character. When you use more creative response options, you'll tap into different learning styles and will help kids to see that a cursory reading isn't enough to be truly literate. True literacy involves deeper thinking than that. Here are a few more response ideas to try: create a story web (connected shapes that show relationships), make a poster of graffitti that includes quotes and applicable sayings, write a version of the story that tells what happened after the last page, and take a pivotal event in the story and rewrite the ending as if the characters had made a different decision.

Keep reading!!

Summer is almost here...

It's hard to believe, isn't it? Another school year come and gone. I've been quiet because my oldest dd just graduated. Been pretty hectic around here, with all the celebrations and all. But hopefully now I can get back on track and give you some fun ideas to keep your kids learning all summer long.

And that's what we're aiming for, isn't it? Just because school is out doesn't mean that learning should grind to a halt. Study after study has shown that if academic skills are not practiced regularly over the summer, kids actually regress with their skill level. Teachers know this and often the first several weeks of school are spent in review! You can give your kids a head start simply by having them use their brains a bit over the next few months. Believe me, it's well worth the effort and even the occasional fight.

You probably won't have much luck with sitting them down to do traditional book work unless you become the schoolwork enforcer. However, there are ways to sort of sneak the learning in while they're not looking. Those are the types of activities that you're looking for and those are the types of activities that you'll find here. Not everything will suit everyone, but chances are good that you'll find something a few times a week that will intrigue your kids, or that something I say will spark an idea of your own.

And without further ado, here is one to try:

Go on a photo scavenger hunt! Make a list of things for your child to snap pictures of. This can be as simple as names of objects or items in your yard or neighborhood, or it can be trickier. Try riddles, making an alphabet book, taking pictures of items of certain sizes or shapes, or other creative groupings. Match the level of difficulty with your child's needs. Arm the kids with cameras-the digital kind, the disposable kind, or whatever you have around the house. If you have more than one child, try a competition. Or make the game cooperative. The finished products can be gathered into a scrapbook for even more learning fun.