Monday, July 12, 2010

Kids, Summer, and Reading

We are about half way through the summer. In approximately six weeks our children will be returning to school. I'll be honest - we've slacked off on the reading since school has been out. At first I wanted to give the boys a break from it. Reading somehow becomes less fun when you are forced to read for homework for twenty minutes every night. And, as a parent, you can grow to dread those twenty minutes. Yet, when the pressure is off, it is very rewarding to snuggle down with your school-age child and let them read you a bedtime story!

Tonight the boys and I all piled into Riley's twin bed, pulled the covers up around us, and read. I read the boys one of my all-time favorite children's stories, Where the Wild Things Are. My heart gets heavy because my boys are getting to the age where they say, "That story is for babies!" But, they hung on to every word!

Then I listened as Khegan and Riley read me chapters of out Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (If you thinking to yourself that you have never heard of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, then your children are either very young or young adults, because this book is a hit amongst school-age children.) The boys did a great job reading, given that it's only about the fifth time I've read with them this summer....

Yes, I could sit here and make excuses. They would be good excuses too. We have been uber busy this summer! I wanted to give the kids a little break from reading. The boys have been on the go from dawn til dusk and when I put them to bed they drop like flied. BUT, the fact of the matter is, mom's been slacking. I have been relishing the nights without homework, agenda books, and reading logs. It's time to start gearing back up and preparing the boys for the beginning of another academic year!

7 comments:

TheNextMartha said...

My son is currently reading Garfield. A collection of comics. That's been the extent of our reading this summer. Oops.

Lindsay said...

It's easy to slack off during the summer months! I am surprised my kids remember HOW to read! Lol

Overthinking Mama said...

yea.. my son hasn't read at all this summer.. :-(

God Bless
<3
otm

Anonymous said...

A great couple of books for tweens (4th grade-7th grade), especially boys, is Patrick Carmen's Skeleton Creek. It is a joint project with several authors and published by Scholastic books. It is different because one character in the book writes a diary for the events, and the other character, a girl, shares her story through videos. The book gives you a login code to watch the videos when the reader comes to that character's part. The books are in the mystery genre. As a middle school language arts teacher, I highly recommend this author and his new style of books! My reluctant boy readers at school loved them and I was also entertained!

Unknown said...

If you'd like them to have a fun way to keep reading and prepare for school, there's always the Summer Reading Club at Columbus Metropolitan Library. It's not too late to signup and kids can earn fun prizes by reading, completing online activities, etc. Go to www.summerreadingclub.com or stop by your local library to signup. Oh, and adults can signup as well. Enjoy!

Julie Theado
Columbus Metropolitan Library

Lindsay said...

Hi Julie! I've been waiting for that comment since I clicked the "publish" button on this post! LOL You are right, I should have them signed up. Had every good intention to sign them up at the South Western Public Library, but my good intentions didn't get the job done! :)

Lindsay said...

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for the comment! I will look into those books for my boys to read when they get a little older - they are 2nd and 3rd grade next year!

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