June READER Time - Something for the Whole Family to Enjoy

Something For the Whole Family to Enjoy!

Summer is well underway here at My Homeschool Tale!  We have completed all of our regular schoolwork for the year; we have set aside our workbooks and math cd's, we have shelved our history and science.  We are turning our time and attention to the beautiful sunshine outside, picking sweet strawberries from our garden, and watching the butterflies hatching in our butterfly house, we are enjoying some leisure time and diving into some organizational projects.  And we have already kicked-off our summer break with a road trip! 

I love road trips!  Whether it includes overnight stays, or is a one day kind of thing!  I love going on little adventures with my family.  Learning new things along the way, seeing some amazing sites, experiencing a variety of activities......I love it! 

A little washed out, but everyone is smiling! 

Our boat ride on one of the Great Lakes!

So what does any of this have to do with READER time?  Well, when your all piled in the family car and your destination is a few (or several) hours away, you need something to do to pass the time.  You see where I'm going with this, right?!  We certainly can't waste all that time staring at electronic devises {otherwise we end up with zombie-eyed children when we arrive at our destination}. 

So for our first summer road trip of the year, we planned ahead.  We had been wanting to go through the whole Narnia series with our children, and we thought we might all enjoy them as audiobooks.  Especially, after April's READER Time post about audiobooks!  So we purchased this collection:

My husband is the only one of us that has read the entire series.  We had read a book or two from the series to our oldest 2 children several years back.  And we have all enjoyed the movies that are quite charming, but don't always follow the books.  We felt that listening to the audio version would be a sure way to make sure we got through the whole set and would be a fun way for us all to enjoy these stories. 

Well, we are already one book into the series as a result of that first road trip.  I didn't think we would finish a whole book, but the kids couldn't get enough!  I'm a little sorry that we didn't bring the cd's for the second book along!

We are also pairing this series with A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia by Christin Ditchfield.

I love the way this book is set up chapter by chapter of each book in the Narnia series.  I am very excited to dive into it.  And I am looking forward to the conversations that are sure to be sparked!

We've had some absolutely beautiful weather that I wouldn't want to wish away, but I have thought that a rainy day might find us lounging inside with our minds far away on an adventure in Narnia!

Hoping you can join us on our Narnia adventure this summer!  Or maybe you have some other plans for reading that includes your whole family - I'd love to hear about them!

May READER Time - Get Ready for Summer Reading!

Summer is just around the corner!!!

I am so excited to declare that!  It has been a challenging year for us - and my children have shown just how hard working they can be.  {Proud Mama!}

This year they started off by finishing up the previous year's school work that fell behind due to a few life issues that needed our time and attention last year.  But even with this carry-over work from the year before, my kiddos are on track to finish this current year's schoolwork by the end of May!  Wow!  That was a lot of work!

Let me just say, we are all ready for a nice, relaxing summer!  We look forward to play-dates and park-dates, trips to zoos, nature centers, and historical parks, camping, and simply having time to just play outside all-day-long!  Doesn't it sound great?!  Looser schedules, no schoolwork (at least not visible schoolwork), and plenty of time to READ!

I love Summer Reading!  It's our chance to catch up on all the great reading that is set aside during the school year, when time is more limited.  And with our ever-growing list of books we want to read, what's more fun then tracking our reading just to see how much we can do!!!

We love to take part in the summer reading games at our local libraries and bookstores.  But we often set up our own reading games at home - because it's just so much fun!!  I am very excited to share some of those summer reading game ideas and resources with you today!  And with summer approaching - now's the time to get ready!

1. Summer Reading Kit



I put this cute reading kit together a few years back.  I love the gummy worms - what a great way to kick off summer reading with a sweet treat while you read!  You can check out the Summer Reading Kit post here.  Or you can just pick up an updated version of the pdf's here to create your own. 





2. Summer Reading Bookmark

The next year I went with a simpler method for tracking our summer reading by using a bookmark - just color a book for every 20 minutes of reading.  IF you color the whole bookmark and you have completed 10 hours of reading!!!  Check out the post here. Or pick up the pdf here.

3. Reading Punch Cards



Another simple and fun way to track reading progress is with these cute punch cards!  These are probably my favorite!  I made them in 3 different formats to meet different needs - one tracks time read, one tracks books read, and one lets you set your own reading goal.  Each of our children are at very different levels of reading, therefore we set different reading goals based on each child.  Which is another reason I like these punch cards.  You can view my post for the Reading Punch Cards here.  Or you can pick up a set of punch cards here. 




Now you can't have a summer reading game without prizes!  While reading is definitely rewarding in itself, a little incentive to meet a challenging reading goal can be very encouraging!  We have local libraries and bookstores that offer a range of prizes from books and book bags to dollar story type toys.  We prefer to avoid the latter, which is why we offer our own prizes.  We love the idea of earning a book for meeting a reading goal.  Another favorite idea is to earn some Book Cash.  It works like this - we establish smaller reading goals that can be meet several times throughout the summer.  Each goal met = $1 Book Cash.  We keep a running total and at the end of the summer they can cash out their Book Cash by going to the local bookstore or picking out a book on Amazon.  The punch cards and bookmark work great for this - each completed card could be $1 Book Cash.  The bookmark could be $2.  Or you can set your own amounts.  And because they help pick out their book prize, they are likely to continue reading!  Win-Win!

I hope you find these resources and ideas helpful to you this summer.  Or maybe this post helps spark some other summer reading ideas for you!  Do you already have Summer Reading plans?  I'd love to hear about them, or to hear how you are using my resources!  Happy Reading!!!

April READER Time - The Beauty of Audio Books

The Beauty of Audio Books

Audio Books are amazing!!!  They are something my entire family has grown to love!  This month, I will share with you why we love using audio books, as well as the many benefits that come with them. 

Audio books give the pleasure of enjoying a story without the struggle.  Children are almost always ready for stories beyond their reading capabilities.  It seems a shame to hold them back to "See Jane run!", when they are ready for a storyline with more substance, like Black Beauty.  It has allowed my older children to enjoy books that would have otherwise been difficult to read.  My son listened to Johnny Tremain when he was in 5th grade.  He might have been able to read it on his own, but he gained so much from listening and not struggling with names or language that he's not familiar with. 

The use of Audio Books in homeschooling is indispensable!  What a freedom it has given me. . . . . and my voice!  Of course, I still read plenty to my children.  I have just found that using Audio Books has sped us up a little.  If I have to tend to my toddler while reading from Story of the World, I would most likely have to pause my reading as my eyes are diverted from the page.  But we can all comfortably sit and listen to Jim Weiss read our history lesson to us.  Even if I need to quietly move across the room and scoop up my toddler for some snuggles, all the while the reading doesn't need to stop!  If only all our lessons could be interruption-free!!!

Sometimes a book is just better presented as an audio - it gives it an element that may otherwise go missing.  What could be a great story gets placed in the donate pile or put back in the library bag, sometimes even before it's finished!  We have found this to be true for several books.  We recently had Madeleine Takes Command on our living history reading list.  I was feeling behind, so I thought I would grab it as an audio book - I am so glad I did!  I could never have done that story the justice that the narrator gave it.  The French accent was a delight to listen to, not too mention, I would have probably butchered several of those French words and stumbled over the language of the text.  Yet each day, the kids were content to listen to more than just one chapter, often asking for more!  And sure enough, we blazed through that story and got back on track with our read alouds.  And my husband was delighted to hear the account each evening of what was happening in the story.  The Door in the Wall is another book that can be a difficult read - even difficult to listen to.  I've heard of more than one family that did not like it at all.  However, we enjoyed the book as an audio - thereby forgoing the distracting element of trying to read some of that old English language that may have come across as choppy and uninteresting, and instead listening to it being read smoothly giving the story the character that it was due. 

Characters come to life listening to these stories over and again.  Audio books get used so often by my kids in their free time or at bedtime, that I never have buyers remorse.  I am so thrilled that my children are making trusted friends in the characters of good books.  Winnie the Pooh and his pals, Heather and Picket (Green Ember), Encyclopedia Brown, Hank the Cowdog, and Black Beauty are just a few of the voices that I hear coming from their rooms on a regular basis.  They dive into these stories over and over.  And so far, it hasn't gotten "old" for them yet.  I certainly haven't tired of hearing the kids play yet another audio while playing in their room or just before bed.  What a great way to end the day - off on an adventure with some good old friends!

With all these audio books being played each day, those listening skills are certainly getting exercised!  Which, I think, could never get too much exercise - Amen?  And I have recently learned that kids who struggle with Dyslexia, often will do better with auditory learning.  Now that I think about it, it seems logical to me that if you struggle to process things correctly from a visual aspect that you would prefer to learn audibly - lightbulb moment!  Learning this reinforced my desire for using audio books.  I especially like when the child is able to follow along with the book.  To slide that finger under the words on the page as the audio speaks the words into our ears allows us to use multiple senses at the same time.  This creates a connection in our brain that facilitates learning.  So while many think that listening to an audio takes away the opportunity to practice reading, the truth is it is actually giving us practice - practice with success!  Allowing those connections to be made correctly in the brain.

And now for the "what" and "how" of Audio Books: One of our favorite ways to enjoy audio books is on a Kindle Fire.  My children have all saved up their own money to buy one, and it's been a great asset to us.  We have filled them with books and audio books, along with a few games and videos for fun.  But the great thing is we can set up parental controls to limit the amount of time, and the appropriate time, for each child on games and videos. Sidenote: if you use Kindle FreeTime, it doesn't include audio books, but an Amazon representative recently told us that they were working to add audio books in that feature in a future update - Yeah! One thing I love is that our children all share an Amazon account, so what one buys can be shared by all!  That makes shopping nice and simple for me - I can add amazon gift cards to stockings, Easter baskets, birthday cards, etc. 

I wanted to share a quick list of our favorite audio books, so I enlisted the help of my kiddos in building that list.  Well, it didn't really turn out to be a quick list.  We just had too many favorites that had to be included!  Some were downloads from Amazon's Audible, some were CD's that came with books, others were audio books from the library.  We hope this list will add to your audio book enjoyment!

 

Chapter Books:

Green Ember

Winnie the Pooh

Hank the Cowdog    

Black Beauty

Madeleine Takes Command

Encyclopedia Brown

Sign of the Beaver

Rascal

Pollyanna

A Little Princess

Little Women

William Carey

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

 

Picture Books:

Skippyjon Jones

Row Row Row Your Boat

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Llama, Llama collection

Bear Snores On / Bear Feels Sick

 

Audio Dramas:

Jonathan Park

In Freedom's Cause

Under Drake's Flag

With Lee in Virginia

March READER Time - Changes

March 2016

 

Changes are happening here at READER Time!!!  Before I go into those details, let me back up and explain why. . . . .

 

This is our 3rd month since establishing READER Time and making an intentional effort toward growing a family of READERs.  We are continuing to make progress - but we've also had some set backs along the way.  After sliding through winter with only a few sniffles, March met us with some nasty bugs.  And, of course, my kiddos were so good about sharing. . . . .and taking turns!  What's up with that?!?! 

 

While I hoped I would write that we are all on the mend, sadly another victim is on the couch with a bucket beside them.  Needless to say, all our routines have fallen to the wayside.  Even my plan to post this month's reading list was set aside to tend to what's really important right now. 

 

However, the delay of getting the READER Time post up for this month gave me a little more time to ponder what I've started here.  I questioned the purpose of listing what my family is reading for the month.  It's such a specific list of books that probably only fits my family - not a themed list by any means.  How could this be helpful to anyone else?  I love to Pin book lists, but I usually go for themed lists, or at least age categorized lists.  I really was struggling with how our list was going to benefit anyone else. 

 

Then I realized that I didn't want READER Time to be a book list!  There are plenty of those already out there.  I want READER Time to be encouragement!   

 

So back to the beginning!  Changes are happening here at READER Time!!!  And I am so excited about it!!!  READER Time will now be a monthly post that offers tips, encouragement, helpful info, even some great resources, and occasionally a themed reading list.   I am so excited for what is planned for the months ahead.  The ideas just started lining themselves up faster than I could jot them down.  I love those moments!

 

I am so excited for what is in store for READER Time!  And I hope you'll join me on this journey, so that we can all grow into READER families!!!



February READER Time

February 2016

Follow along with us as we try to make reading more a part of our days; more a part of our lives.  If you would like to learn more about what READER Time is for us, read my original READER Time post.  You can also pick up some great bookmarks/reader lists there, too!

 

This year, I am determined to be more purposeful with our reading lists, as well making the time to read.  So I will continue what I started in January and share my reading plans with you.  Although, I set my plan in motion far enough into last month that we did not complete all that was on our list, which is the reason for several repeats listed this month.  But I can see the progress that we are making in reading and I am very pleased. 

 

Without further ado, here is a glimpse at our bookshelf for February:
 

 

 

Read Alouds for the whole family to enjoy:

Madeleine Takes Command (Ethel Brill)

We are half way through this book and on the edge of our seats with suspense!  We are listening to the audio version and I love the French accent of the narrator, it really adds more to the book than I could give reading it aloud myself.

Buttons for General Washington (Peter and Connie Roop)

Paul Revere's Ride (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow / Illustrated by Ted Rand) Love this version!
The Fourth of July Story (Alice Dalgliesh)
Yankee Doodle (Gary Chalk)
 

 

 

7th Grader: Ben and Me (Robert Lawson)
5th Grader: Phoebe the Spy (Judith Griffin)
The Robinson Crusoe Reader (Julia Darrow Cowles)

2nd Grader: Sam the Minuteman (Nathaniel Benchley)
 

 

Toddler: (various winter and valentine books including, but not limited to:)

Winnie the Pooh's Valentine (Bruce Talkington)
Bear Hugs (Karma Wilson)
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? (Jane Yolen)
Time for a Hug (Phillis Gershator and Mim Green)

Mom: The Reading Promise (Alice Omza)

Dad: Wheel of Time, book 1 (Robert Jordan)

What are your reading plans?  I'd love to hear from you!

 

January READER Time

January 2016

 Follow along with us as we try to make reading more a part of our days; more a part of our lives.  If you would like to learn more about what READER Time is for us, read my original READER Time post.  And pick up some great bookmarks/reading lists there, too!

 

As we start this New Year, I am determined to be more purposeful with our reading lists, as well as making the time to do our reading.  So this is our READER Time plans for the month (or, well.....the rest of the month).

You'll find a lot of historical fiction on our lists this month to go along with the area of history that we are studying.  I tried to choose books that would really draw the kids in.  And I LOVE picture books!  So it was very hard to narrow down my choices for my Toddler.  I'm so very excited to start my year off with a great book that I'm hoping will encourage me in this new drive.  And Dad is hoping to take some time to pick up an old fantasy series he read years ago - he is actually the most consistent reader in the house, but he's happy to jump in on our bandwagon to read more!

Read Alouds for the whole family:
The Courage of Sarah Noble (Alice Dalgliesh)
Madeleine Takes Command (Ethel Brill)
Buttons for General Washington (Peter and Connie Roop)
The Secret Garden (Francis Hodgson Burnett)

7th grader: Ben and Me (Robert Lawson)
5th grader: Phoebe the Spy (Judith Griffin)
2nd grader: Sam the Minuteman (Nathaniel Benchley)

Toddler: (various winter picture books including, but not limited to)
The Mitten (Jan Brett)
The Hat (Jan Brett)
Gingerbread Baby (Jan Brett)
Blizzard (John Rocco)
Bear Snores On (Karma Wilson)
Skippyjon Jones Snow What (Judy Schachner)

Mom: The Reading Promise (Alice Ozma)
Dad: Wheel of Time, book 1 (Robert Jordan)
 

READER Time

Reading is amazing!  It can whisk you away to a new world, take you on exciting adventures, and touch something deep within your heart.  Reading can also educate; it can provide you with info on any subject you choose – fact or fiction.  So whether you’re seeking to learn about George Washington, or you need help keeping track of the characters in Star Wars, reading is your answer.

 

Reading is fundamental to all learning that takes place beyond the days of deciphering those pesky letters into sounds, words, phrases, and sentences.  I have long been an advocate for reading.  It strengthens your mind all while sitting back and relaxing with a good book!

My desire is to foster a love of reading in each of my children.  We have acquired a large selection of books over the years through gifts, book sales, and my inability to say “no” when it comes to these little treasures.  Plus, we have a wonderful local library that we love to visit and leave with armfuls! 

However, putting this passion into action has been quite another story (pun intended J) for us the last couple of years.  Yes, we’ve been busy, but I think it’s more that we are making choices that are using up our time that could be used reading.   I know the benefits outweigh what we would be giving up.  Just the idea of pushing aside the busyness of life and snuggling up with some good books, can be benefit enough!  And what’s better than sharing a story with someone?!  Having that experience together, or even being able to chat about the shared experience of reading the same story separately can create a bond between people.  I love that!

We had been feeling a desire to change this in our home.  We want our home to be a READING ZONE!  We want our home to be filled with the stories of really great books – from picture books to novels!  If our chores go undone, I want it to be because we were snuggled up with some good books – not because we soaked up too much screen-time. 

So this is where READER Time comes in.  READER is my little acronym of encouragement!   It stands for:

Reading Everyday And Developing Excellence Reading!

 

How true it is!  The more we read, the better we get at reading!  We also gain knowledge, experience new worlds or exciting adventures, and glean new skills, attributes or character traits.   All of this is what I am referring to as “excellence”. 

This year as I crafted our Daily Design (our basic schedule for each day – seen here), I included READER Time to help us get started toward a lifestyle of reading more.  Our plan for now is to set aside at least 30 minutes each day for quite reading individually or read alouds together.  My children are also in the habit of reading books or listening to audio books before bed and in the morning for a bit before getting up.  So this designated READER Time is my way of being more purposeful about including reading during the rest of the day.  I am hoping it will grow from here, but this is where we will start. 

I even made these fun cards to keep track of my reading goals for myself and my children.   It’s a great place to jot down those next books you want to get to.  And it can even be used as a bookmark!  Help yourself to a set of these READER Time cards to encourage yourself or your family to read more.

 

You can also join me on Good Reads.  It’s a great app where you can keep track of books you want to read, books you’ve already read, or books you want to keep in mind for a future time.  It’s like digital shelves that help you organize your reading, by person or topic.  You are able to rate the books you’ve read and even leave comments, and it can be helpful to read comments about books you might be interested in.  What I love the most right now is the reading goals - I am excited to have set a goal of reading 15 books this year for myself.  It’s not a lot, but it’s more than one a month, and I think it’s a great place to start! 

Won’t you join us for READER Time?!!!

Reading Punch Cards

Looking for a fun way to track your reading during the school year?

Check out my cute Reading Punch Cards!

I created 3 different styles:

July's Reading List

 It's the start of another new month!  And with that bring a new reading list for our house.  We are enjoying having a select array of books in our reading basket.  And I find that we are taking more opportunities to read because of it.  Even the briefest moments between activities, will find us grabbing a book or two to pass the time.  The kids are requesting read aloud time more and more.  And it's even helped with the chores!  What??!  The chores??!  Yup, even as I type right now. It's the "hurry, clean up your room and I'll read more stories from our book basket!"  And it works!

Our favorite from last month was More Stories From Grandma's Attic.  We all enjoyed those stories.  One chapter was never enough!  I am sure you will see another book from that series pop up on one of our future reading lists.

Well, on to our list for July!  This month I have included several patriotic/historical themed books to go with our country's birthday.  I also grabbed a few bug books - because it is an especially buggy time around here right now.  And then I filled in with a few favorites.

July's Reading List:

Mr. Popper's Penguins Literature Study

 

Last month we read Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.  We had just wrapped up a study on Antarctica and this book was the perfect culminating activity!  And, of course, we planned to watch the movie upon completion of the book - which everyone was looking forward to, even though we had seen it before. 

Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler has put together several Literature Study lapbooks.  And Mr. Popper's Penguins just happened to be one of them!  So, I thought we would try our hand at some lapbooking!


The kids thoroughly enjoyed the book!  Begging for "just one more chapter!"  And the lit study was a great addition.  We did one lapbook together, with each of the kids working on a different element.  I love the way it turned out!

Summer Reading Bookmark

It's time for

S U M M E R    R E A D I N G ! ! !

 

I'm always on the look out for a simple way to track our summer reading.  Why not a bookmark?!

You often keep one close by while reading.  So why not make that bookmark doubly useful......

saving your spot AND tracking your reading time!

 

 

This bookmark is simple - you just color in a book on the bookshelf each time you read for 20 minutes.  Once you have colored in all the books on the bookmark, you will have read for

10 HOURS!!!

 

That's quite an accomplishment!

 

And if you're still going strong, you can fill up another bookmark!

 

Our local libraries and other reading games that we sign-up for all have their own tracking systems - some we record the time on the internet, others have sheets or calendars to fill in/hand in.  I plan to use this bookmark as our initial record of reading.  Then, transfer our time to each separate reading game.  I think it will really simplify things to use the bookmarks as our one main record to keep track of for each child. 

 

Click on the pic above to download a copy of my Summer Reading Bookmark. 

Note: it comes with 2 bookmarks per sheet. 

 

I'd love to hear how this Summer Reading Bookmark works for you!  Leave me a comment!!!

 

 



June's Reading List

Well, I'm a bit late in getting this post out...but we still have lots of days in June to fill with reading! 

Last month was our first go at having a reading list.  And I think we did very well!  We didn't get to all the chapter books, so I only put 3 on the list this month.  We did get to most of the picture books multiple times, but occasionally forgot to mark them on our chart.  Overall, I was very encouraged by the increased amount of reading time we spent together. 

And now that summer is starting, and summer reading games are popping up all over, I am sure our drive to increase our reading time will continue to grow. 
 
I was excited to pull out several "daddy" books to go with Father's Day this month.

 

June's Reading List

Chapter Books:
More Stories from Grandma's Attic by Arleta Richardson
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo

Monthly Book List

I wanted to start a monthly book list at the beginning of the year, but due to time constraints I just haven't pulled one together yet.  Well, May is as good a time as any to get the ball rolling!  So here is our list for the month:



Mr. Popper's Penguins by: Richard and Florence Atwater (to wrap up our Antarctica study)
(I also grabbed the Literature Unit from Confessions of a Homeschooler for some added fun!)
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Sarah, Plain and Tall by: Patricia MacLachlan
Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by: Peter Lerangis (another one I found for our Antarctica Study)
I Will Rejoice by: Karma Wilson (a springtime favorite!)
Barnyard Song by: Rhonda Gowler Greene
Book! Book! Book! by: Deborah Bruss
The Children of the King by: Max Lucado
Hugs and Kisses by: Christopher Loupy
Love Your Neighbor: Short Stories of Values and Virtues by: Arthur Dobrin
Library Lion by: Michelle Knudsen
The Kissing Hand by: Audrey Penn
The Emperor's Egg by: Jane Chapman
Seashore Animals by: Michael Chinery
What is a Marsupial? A Bobbie Kalman Book
Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by: Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (hoping to do some planting this month!)
Time for a Hug by: Phillis Gershator
I'm as Quick as a Cricket by: Audrey Wood
Hush, Little Ones by: John Butler
Bless Me by: Grace Maccarone
Hush Little Baby by: Sylvia Long (I LOVE this version!)

Fun Schooling

I tend to be a task oriented person.  I always feel as if certain things need to be done before the "fun" can begin.  I'm working on this a lot right now.  With a new baby in our family, we don't always have time to get those certain things done.  So, what?  Are we going to never have fun?!  Well, that won't work! 

 

I feel like the Lord is really teaching me to make some adjustments in my life.  To learn to calm down about some things.  Even simple, small things can make a big difference. 

 

As I prepared to go to the hospital to have my little Snuggle Bunny, I put together an activity bag for my other children.  One item I included in that bag was a Mad Lib book.  We hadn't done these yet with our kids (I guess I forgot about them). 

 

 

What a hit!  The kids love them!  We like to do them together as a family - it's so much more fun to laugh together! 

 

Summer Reading Kit

I love playing summer reading games with my children.  I think it is so much to track our reading - especially since we do so much!  And it's a great way to spend a rainy summer day!  We usually participate in the summer reading game at our local library.  But this year we also signed up for one through Journey Forth:

http://www.bjupress.com/books/summer-reading/

It's from BJU Press, some of you might be familiar with their homeschool products.  It's worth checking into, since they are offering a Kindle Fire as a Grand Prize for the game.  Plus, they have a wonderful list of great books to read, divided by age groups.

I poked around online (I love pinterest for this) and found some great resources for tracking your summer reading.  I pinned my favorite here.  I was only able to get the printable to open in my picture viewer and since I'm not all that computer savvy, I decided to make a few adjustments and make my own version.  I love how it turned out!  And today is the day we are going to get started on it!  (It really helps that it's a rainy day, too.)

Here is the Summer Reading Kits my kids are receiving today. 

I placed their logs inside library pockets (the same ones I used for our Tricky Tic Tac Toe game).

The logs are made to look like the old fashioned library cards!

Book Report

My Little Buddy was due to write a book report this week.  The example in the book seemed boring to me, so I scoured the web looking for other ideas.  But alas, I ended up making up my own.  So, I thought I would share it with all of you!

The book he read was Secret in the Maple Tree by Matilda Nordtvedt.  It was a charming little book that he and I both enjoyed reading together each day.  I can't wait to see how he fills out his book report on it.  Reading with him has become such a treasured time of the day for me.  And it's the one subject that he never puts off; he's always eager to get started on the next chapter.  We even finished this book a few days early, because I couldn't resist his plea to just read the last 3 chapters all at once.  I love to watch his passion for reading grow!

Christmas Activities

I put together some Christmas Fun Packs for my kiddos to do these past few days.  (You can see that post here - including a couple of free downloads!) 

As I was organizing all of these activities into their Christmas Fun Folders, I decided to organize them by themes.  By the time I prepared all of this, I was down to about 8 weekdays before Christmas.  So, I did 8 themes.  Next year I am hoping to start a little sooner and add to it to make 12 days of Christmas activities. 

My 8 days of Christmas activities were:

1. Christmas Books

2. Christmas Words

3. Christmas Cookies

4. Christmas Gifts (for others)

5. Christmas Trees

6. Christmas Counting

7. Christmas Symbols

8. Christmas Nativity

 We started with all smiles, but . . .

. . .then I asked, "Do you want to keep helping me with cookies or do you want to watch a Christmas movie?"  And the smiles returned - there was even some cheering!!!

Word Family Books

I was reviewing my Curly Girlie's spelling list with her today.  She's in 1st grade.  I noticed that all the words, except for 2 sight words, ended in "ay".  And it occurred to me that we could make a Word Family Book! 

I love ideas that have us doing something different than workbooks.  Especially when it's a quick and easy project to pull together on a moments notice.  I always get my best ideas at the last minute, so if it's not quick and easy - or I don't have all the necessary supplies - it just doesn't happen around here.  But this project was doable -

My First Worship Notebook

Looking for great gift ideas for your children?

 

How about a great gift idea that’s free?! 

Try “My First Worship Notebook”

It’s a worship notebook for your child. To ease them into note-taking, I have limited the writing to their favorite song and the sermon title and verses for the day, along with a spot to tally up common words they may hear during the sermon. Most importantly, I included a large framed spot for their artwork.   They can take notes right along side you, like the big kid they are!

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does no need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

I started this with my 8year old (now 9). He stays in “big church” with us now, so I thought he was ready for something more to help him focus on the message.