Three Ways to Make Reading Fun

Kid-Lit Week kicks off with a great article and tips by Kelly Wilson of the Teaching Resource Center. Check it out.

With the absence of a routine that the school year provides, summer can seem chaotic. It can also be a prime time for important reading skills to slip.

However, reading doesn’t have to be a chore – it can be fun! Here are a three easy ways to help your kids enjoy summer reading.

Read Together

Reading is a great way to connect with kids. Take around 15 minutes each day to sit down and spend some time in a story or book with a young reader. Use this time to monitor what your kids are reading, asking questions about what’s happening in a particular story and if they agree with choices the main characters are making. This is a simple way to encourage kids to take a deeper interest in a story and relate with it personally. Your kids will soon look forward to this time each day, developing their connections both with you and the reading process.

Celebrate!

There are several Summer Reading Rewards Programs to help support your kids, through your local library, book stores or restaurants. These can be found through an Internet search. Have your children choose their favorite programs and talk about the reading requirements and the rewards offered. Download and print the appropriate forms, and hang them within easy reach. Each day, your kids can mark what they read, getting closer to their Reading Rewards.
If you want to make your own system of challenge and rewards, use this reproducible Bookmark and Reading Log and this Summer Reading Calendar. Make a goal for each day, week and/or month to meet - such as reading minutes or total number of books to read - and decide what the rewards will be when your kids meet the goal. If you want kids to put in a little more effort into Summer Reading, here is a great Book Box activity, along with a printable Book Report form for kids to use.

A Reading Bingo Game

Bingo is a great game regardless of the subject. To make your summer activities a little more book-oriented, print out this Reading Bingo Board. Each square on the Bingo Board has a genre or activity suggestion related to reading. Print one out for each of your kids and make summer reading a fun adventure!

Kelly Wilson writes for Teaching Resource Center in a regular column called “Kelly’s Corner.” Teaching Resource Center offers classroom teaching tools and resources designed to help K-3 students who are learning to read.

Kids + Pets = ACTIVE

A new study reveals that owning a pet dog has a significant impact on the health and well-being of children.

“Keeping children physically active is vital to their health and there is no better way to do it than running around with a pet dog,” says Nicole-Moschetti, the author of new children’s book Little Dog Rusty.

According to Deakin University researchers, young children who own dogs are less likely to be overweight or obese compared with those who do not have dogs in their families’ homes.

“A dog is a wonderful addition to your family and can go far beyond its ability to entertain and amuse,” says Jaclyn Brada, the illustrator of Little Dog Rusty.

Little Dog Rusty is an illustrated, comical tale about a young puppy who could easily win the title “the messiest dog in the world.” Unfortunately for the kids in the house, Rusty becomes the picture of innocence when Mom comes home to find the house in shambles and looks for someone to take the blame.

For parents who are trying to get their kids away from the computer or TV and out to play, having a dog is a really good strategy.

Owning a dog can help children in many ways, including:

~ Improving fitness by playing with and walking the dog
~ Learning responsibility through the care and feeding of the dog
~ Developing sensitivity by meeting the dog’s needs such as buying treats and toys
~ Overcoming loneliness and shyness, especially in a single-child household
~ Increasing organizational skills by taking care of the pet’s property and maintaining its feeding and walking schedule

Both Ms. Moschetti and Ms. Brada are graduates of the University of Colorado and both reside in the Centennial State.

Little Dog Rusty, the first in a children’s book series, is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, PriceGrabber.com and Ecampus.com.

(Little Dog Rusty by Nicole DelVecchio-Moschetti; ISBN: 0-615-2962-7-0;
$12.99; 32 pages; 8½” x 8 ½”; hardcover; Permanent Ink Press)