Start rethinking your home library: mix some books along with toys.
When children are small, be sure to place tempting books along with toys. I placed board books in baskets in nooks around the house and on the toy shelves. Giving books real estate not only makes them easily available, it establishes that they have value.
When children are used to reaching for books, all you have to do is maintain rather than establish a habit.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
March is Reading Month, Tip #4: Loan a Book
Loan a book.
Did you read something fabulous? Loan it to a friend! Books and magazines are a great thing to pass around for kids and grown-ups. Getting and giving recommendations is one way readers figure out what to read next.
One time, a friend (we'll just call her Christy- because that's her name) sent me a terrible book (I am too embarrassed to share the title publicly) that had been a Kelly Ripa Book Club Book, and ingeniously she added her written own "review" ("Awesome." -Christy M.) on the page with press reviews in the book (which were from trashy women's magazines in this case...). After adding my own comment to the page (I remember precisely what I wrote: "I actually felt my IQ dropping with the turn of every page" - Mary R.), I sent it on to a lady (we'll call her Stacey- because that's her name) in upstate New York. Writing our own reviews before passing on the book was fun.
Typically when I loan out a book, I expect it may not come back. Que sera, sera.
Disclaimer:
The woman referred to as "Christy" in this post very generously sends me many fabulous books. I owe her for "The Help" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain" among others. But she also sent me (with a warning post-it that it was terrible) the worst book in the world, for which she still owes me 2 hours of my life. Sending someone a book and saying it is terrible is a confusing challenge. You read it, thinking, "It can't me that bad." Well, it was worse than anyone could have ever imagined.
The woman referred to as "Stacey" in this post almost never does offensive things. Although she did once recommend "She's Come Undone" which freaked me out, she used to make me Snickerdoodles on a regular basis. Heaven knows she could pop a batch in the mail.
Did you read something fabulous? Loan it to a friend! Books and magazines are a great thing to pass around for kids and grown-ups. Getting and giving recommendations is one way readers figure out what to read next.
One time, a friend (we'll just call her Christy- because that's her name) sent me a terrible book (I am too embarrassed to share the title publicly) that had been a Kelly Ripa Book Club Book, and ingeniously she added her written own "review" ("Awesome." -Christy M.) on the page with press reviews in the book (which were from trashy women's magazines in this case...). After adding my own comment to the page (I remember precisely what I wrote: "I actually felt my IQ dropping with the turn of every page" - Mary R.), I sent it on to a lady (we'll call her Stacey- because that's her name) in upstate New York. Writing our own reviews before passing on the book was fun.
Typically when I loan out a book, I expect it may not come back. Que sera, sera.
Disclaimer:
The woman referred to as "Christy" in this post very generously sends me many fabulous books. I owe her for "The Help" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain" among others. But she also sent me (with a warning post-it that it was terrible) the worst book in the world, for which she still owes me 2 hours of my life. Sending someone a book and saying it is terrible is a confusing challenge. You read it, thinking, "It can't me that bad." Well, it was worse than anyone could have ever imagined.
The woman referred to as "Stacey" in this post almost never does offensive things. Although she did once recommend "She's Come Undone" which freaked me out, she used to make me Snickerdoodles on a regular basis. Heaven knows she could pop a batch in the mail.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
March is Reading Month, Tip #3: Reread a Favorite Book!
Reread a favorite book!
Rereading favorites seems like par for the course with a toddler (for goodness sake Brown Bear- what do you see?), but as kids get older, sometimes we forget what can be gained with rereading: enjoyment, additional noticings about structure and word choice, celebration of the artwork, and building a common cadre of home literature for inside jokes.
We still shake our fists and yell , "Those Darn Squirrels" and Claude still says "Cock-a-Moo-Moo" for roosters at times. And we always add "eat a nut, look at view" to any to do list.
Rereading favorites seems like par for the course with a toddler (for goodness sake Brown Bear- what do you see?), but as kids get older, sometimes we forget what can be gained with rereading: enjoyment, additional noticings about structure and word choice, celebration of the artwork, and building a common cadre of home literature for inside jokes.
We still shake our fists and yell , "Those Darn Squirrels" and Claude still says "Cock-a-Moo-Moo" for roosters at times. And we always add "eat a nut, look at view" to any to do list.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
March is Reading Month, Tip #2: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
In honor of Doctor Seuss's birthday, the NEA designates March 2 as "Read Across America Day". Many schools do special programs: even Colby Dog will be presenting at a school that day! (If only we had a Seuss hat for her to wear with her Service Dog Vest!)
Dr. Seuss is a fun way to play with rhythm, rhyme, and word combinations. Stories range from The Cat in the Hat to The Sneetches to And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
So serve some green eggs and ham via Rachel Ray (or from this cookbook), make oobleck after school, or just rhyme a lot to amuse yourself.
Be sure to grab some Seuss from the shelf today!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March is Reading Month, Tip #1: Relax.
Relax. Really, relax.
In honor of "March Is Reading Month" (MIRM), I hope to suggest a tip a day (or close!) to support reading and writing at home.
But this is not a to-do list. If I find out that anyone did everything on this list, I would be pretty upset. Adding 31 things to anyone's life would make it hard to relax (Tip #1). So pick and choose; I hope your family will try some some tips now, save some tips for later, and just plain skip some tips.
So Tip #1 is...Relax and enjoy MIRM.
In honor of "March Is Reading Month" (MIRM), I hope to suggest a tip a day (or close!) to support reading and writing at home.
But this is not a to-do list. If I find out that anyone did everything on this list, I would be pretty upset. Adding 31 things to anyone's life would make it hard to relax (Tip #1). So pick and choose; I hope your family will try some some tips now, save some tips for later, and just plain skip some tips.
So Tip #1 is...Relax and enjoy MIRM.
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