Beneficial Buddy Reading

When I taught 5th grade, one of the activities that we used to do quite a bit was "Buddy Reading" to the kindergarten kids.  It truly was a mutually beneficial (symbiotic, anyone?) relationship between the two vastly differently-aged kids...and something I highly recommend for parents with kids of multiple ages.  It's as easy as asking the older child to "be the teacher" to the younger child.  The older child (OC) will most likely love having the responsibility of being "in charge" of the younger child(ren) (YC), and will take his role very seriously.  The YC will love this because chances are good she looks up to her big brother and wants to be just like him.  (Added bonus is that it buys you 5 minutes to load the dishwasher!)

If your older child is not quite old enough to read the story, he can still teach the younger child by pointing out colors and identifying animals, cars, trucks, trees in the book.  If you only have one child, let her be the teacher to your pet dog or cat, or even a stuffed animal.

Changing up normal reading time makes it that much more exciting, and letting your child be the teacher will add even more fun to reading.

Book Report: Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton

Who doesn't love Sandra Boynton's books?  They're funny, cute, kid-appealing, and this one in particular has a really important talking point for kids.  Happy Hippo, Angry Duck takes a light-hearted approach to kids' feelings and letting them know that being sad, angry, happy or frazzled is totally and completely normal.  As always, Boynton's illustrations attract kids, but it's the message in the book that I find so compelling.  I think so often we forget that kids need to know that being confused or angry is just part of life.  She ends on such a positive note by saying ". . .I hope you are happy.  But if you are not, you have friends who will help you."  We need to emphasize to even the youngest kids that they are surrounded by family and friends who love and support them no matter what.  Two thumbs up for this multi-purpose book!  We found it on Amazon for just $5.99! 

Never-ending Endings

Kids of all ages love hearing stories.  They also love making up their own stories.  Tonight, for a quick and easy change of pace, read just half a book/story to your child and challenge him to come up with his own ending for the story.  It doesn't matter if it's a new book that you've never read, or an old favorite, your child will (most likely) love coming up with his own sequence of events.  More than just fun, this piques children's imagination and keeps them excited about reading.  There are literally endless possibilities, and you can take turns coming up with alternate endings.  Your child will love hearing what kooky new twist you come up with and will no doubt have critiques on how it could be better.  Instead of the Brown Bear seeing the Red Bird, let your 4 year old throw in a pink polk-a-dotted parakeet.  Instead of the Three Little Bears scaring Goldilocks when she wakes up, have them invite her to stay for more porridge, fall in love with Baby Bear's neighbor friend who stops by to play and live happily ever after.  Whatever you do, make reading an adventure.  Make it fun and once your child sees how much fun you're having, he's sure to jump right in!

Book Report: Textured Soft Shapes: High Tide by iKids and Kate Davis

A puzzle? Bath toy? Book? Which is it? All 3 and then some! This simple book consisting of just 5 pages packs in a bunch of learning skills.  Rhyming riddles describe different sea creatures whose identities are revealed when kids remove their outlines from the following page.  I see kids loving this because of the rhymes, bright colors, soft animal cutouts.  I see parents loving this because it is waterproof, tear proof and floats.  Let your kiddos read in the bathtub, at the beach or in their beds and never worry about the integrity of this book.  Great for kids 6 months-2+.  We found it on Amazon for just $10.39.

Getting Your Kids to Read (Especially in the Summer) -- Tips from a Teacher

Reading is one of the most wonderful activities a child of any age can do.  The way the stories build their imagination, vocabulary, language skills, background knowledge....well, it's pretty spectacular.  Unfortunately, most kiddos view reading more like visiting the dentist (sorry, dentists) than the luxury most of us consider it.  (How many adults do you know who don't just love to curl up with a great book and just read, read, read?) 

If you find yourself with a reluctant reader, check out these tips that I used to use with my students to see if it motivates them.  As with most educational feats, the trick is getting kids excited about what they're doing.  Reading a book (especially reading a book during the summer months) is no different!

1. Ask your kids what they think will happen next in the book. Kids will be dying to find out if they're right, so they read away.
2. Ask your kids to draw a picture of a scene from the book and tell you all about it. The more kids talk about the book, the more excited they get about it.  If they're not great artists, have them make up a song and dance routine about the book.  Not dancers and singers?  Have them create clay/playdoh figures from the book.  Be creative -- what does your kid like?
3. Ask your kids to write an alternate ending to the book and compare/contrast it to the real ending of the book.
4. Read the book at the same time your child reads it so you can have in-depth conversations about characters, their decisions, conflicts, resolutions, scenery, etc.
5. Have your child read parts of the book outloud to you; this improves fluency and comprehension, while making the child feel that you are part of the whole reading process (if you are not available to listen, pets and stuffed animals work as great alternates)
There's a little reader in each one of our kids and it's our job to pry him and build him up.  Find out what your kids love and use that to help them love reading!
What do you do to keep your kids reading all summer long?

Book Report: Ten Friendly Fish by Debbie Tarbett

My little monster is just 19 months, but she has more fun with colorful, counting book than I'd ever imagine.  Ten Friendly Fish is full of vivid pictures of sea life that she just adores.  In fact, her limited vocabulary includes "oppa" (octopus), which I'm certain is a direct result of this book.  With each turn of the page, one more fish gets distracted by a new sea friend until the very end when the one lone fish is once again reunited with all of his original buddies at their party in the sea!  Great for learning sea life names, looking at brilliant pictures and of course, counting! Tarbett also has a similar book about Ten, Wriggly, Wiggly Caterpillars, if that's more your style!  We found Ten Friendly Fish on Amazon for $18.95.