My husband and I are very strict scholastically with our children. I come from a brainiac family and just really want them to do their best and not slack off, and my husband wants them to have a better position in life than he feels he does. We want them all to go to college, but, we know how unbelievably expensive that can be. So that is where studying hard can really pay off in another way. If they study hard enough, they can apply for scholarships. That would be so awesome if they all got scholarships because that would make life easier on not only us, but, also - them! I think my brother is still paying off his loans - and we’re almost forty! (Not that we’re twins, he is two years older than me, but, we are both almost forty!) It would be so awesome to get that awesome college education and not have to struggle for years paying back loans, have to try to deal with student loan consolidation and every other method possible to just get ahead and keep paying on your loans! Another awesome way to get scholarships is through band. Our elementary band teacher is so encouraging of the children working hard and letting the music take them through college! And so she should be, she never paid for college at all! She was on full scholarships thanks to band! I love hearing her talk about it, she makes me feel hopeful and like there really is a way to make it happen!

GO READ A BOOK!

I was just reading about this amazing culinary arts program at this site, http://www.twincitiesculinary.com and it got me to thinking. One of the (many) things that made it difficult to leave the North Dallas area, was the fact that one of our high schools had some awesome magnet programs that my boys would have loved! There was a robotics program, that really they both would have enjoyed, but, they also had a culinary arts program that Shawn would have really loved!

I mean, really, how cool would it be to be in high school and have a major focus of your study be robotics? I knew some boys when I was in high school that would have so dug that!

And my sweet Shawn has been watching cooking shows since he was two years old. I am not even exaggerating! I remember that he would sit through two thirty minute shows back to back, and I was completely amazed! What two year old sits still that long, let alone for cooking shows? I just thought that was too funny!

So when we were back in Dallas, and I kept passing the high school with these great programs, I kept getting really sad. I wondered if I’d made a big mistake by moving. But then, my husband reminded me of the heavy gang activity in that school! And that really relieved me a lot! And besides, he could always go to a culinary college!

GO READ A BOOK!

I am so glad that my children (well, two of them) have summer reading assignments. They only give them out at the high school level, which for us is 7th-12th grades. My children read all year long on their own, anyway, but, I still like that they are being instructed what to read - in the summer! Each successive grade level has an increasing amount of responsibility with their summer reading. The 7th graders, for instance, have to have their books completed by the beginning of the school year, and then over the first week, they will have extensive reviews of the book. And then they will be tested over the book. My 8th grader, however, will not have any reviews. They will just be tested on their books the first week of school. And then the 12th graders, on the other hand, have quite a bit of responsibility! They are reading more than one book and they have to complete an assignment for the books before the school year starts! As a mama bookworm, I have to say - that ROCKS!

GO READ A BOOK!

That is the name of a really great new blog by a stay at home mom of three precious girls. She is always on the lookout for great activities for her girls - fun and educational - and wants to share her finds with all of us. And so, she started Little Fun; Little Learning.

One of my favorite posts she’s made so far is all about some of the great books that she recommends reading to your kids. She actually lists some of my all-time favorites as she discusses Reading with your child.

It really is a great new blog, already filled up with many wonderful resources - you really should check it out!

GO READ A BOOK!

Toddlers are full of energy. For them the whole world is just one big adventure. So just how do you keep these little explorers busy?

Here are a few fun and educational activities you can share with your toddler:

Draw a Giant Picture – Buy a large piece of cardboard (poster size) at your local arts supply shop and have fun drawing a huge picture with your toddler. You can use finger paints, crayons or markers. If your toddler is young just let him scribble or dab paint onto the poster board. Talk about the different colors as your drawing, for example say “Wow, your orange tree looks really nice. Mommy’s going to draw a red balloon now”

You can even take turns lying on the sidewalk and draw a body outline of each other using chalk. Once you have the outline draw in the face and features.

Make a Mask – Using paper plates help your toddler cut out eyes, nose and mouth and paint in the colors of your toddler’s favorite animal. He can be a cat, tiger or even a mouse. Once you finish with your masks, put them on and pretend to be animals. Toddlers love pretend games and this activity will help build their creativity.

Go on a Field Trip – Nothing fancy, just go to the local pet shop and show your toddler all the different types of animals or fishes. You can also go on field trip to look for bugs around your neighborhood. A field trip to the supermarket is great fun too. I’m not talking about your weekly shop but just a special field trip where you buy only a few items but your toddler can help you choose, weigh and even pay for them. This usually works great with fruit and vegetables since there are so many different types.

Show your toddler the different types of fruits and name them. Talk about the different colors and textures. Let them be just like you and place the items in your shopping cart and on the checkout counter. This is a great way for even young toddlers to start learning about their environment and the foods we eat. You can even make a special fruit salad when you get home.

GO READ A BOOK!

What?! I didn’t get a perfect score??? They didn’t even tell me what I missed…Oh, sure - Mrs. Lisa “Mama Bookworm” herself - missed one?!

I bet they’re just making it up! I was gonna do this quiz, and then come on here and brag to ya’ll - see, why I’m such a good reading influence on your children? But noooooo….

(Yes, I know - you’re not supposed to start a sentence with ‘but’, either. Ugh.)

Well - I had a great conference with my daughter’s teacher - she had very lovely things to say about my little one! And she completely explained the TOPS Reports to me as well as the Accelerated Reader Program - and let me tell you - that program is awesome! I really like it!

They start out the year assessing each child’s reading level - which is really cool to know. My daughter is in the fourth grade and she tested at 5.9 or 5.2 - which would mean either 5th grade, 9th month or 5th grade, 2nd month. We talked about a lot of different numbers - so I got them a little confused, that’s why I am not sure which one - but noone has ever told me exactly where my children’s reading levels are at before - so I thought that was really cool!

I wish I could get my boys tested to see where they would fall.

All in all, it sounds like a great program and she gave me some good ideas for working on comprehension with my daughter at home.

And sometimes getting my kids to do schoolwork, especially extra stuff that the teacher didn’t specifically assign, but, they need to brush up on - can be tough.

But I ran into a blog today that has some great tips for dealing with that - it is Aurelia Williams’ blog, and you can find the post here: Tips to Stop the Homework Battle in Your House.

GO READ A BOOK!

 

I ran across a great blog by two moms this morning - and it is, in fact, called…Two Moms In A Blog.

The blog is by Heather and Crystal, who have a lot of great stuff to share for moms and families.

And the post that really piqued my interest was about, you guessed it!  Education!

Crystal found some really great products recently to get all our little bookworms busy, and keep them happy, as well!

Read all about it here:

Bright Minds Mind Benders - just for teens?

And please don’t forget to:

GO READ A BOOK!

Well, this week the kiddos in Texas all have more state testing (TAKS) that they are taking.

Yesterday, my third and sixth grader took math and reading, respectively.

I am actually a bit worried about my third grader and her math test - not just her, really. Quite a few of the kiddos in her class were having trouble grasping the word problems that will surely be on the test. In fact, on the benchmark a few weeks ago, the majority of the class scored in the 70’s.

I feel fully confident in bringing her up to speed at home, and over the summer. I am not worried that she is going to drastically fall behind in her schooling.

No, actually my worry is focused a bit more ‘on the homefront’. When she scored a 97 on the reading test, I was so happy for her. And the reason I was so happy for her was that she was going to get to tell her brothers, specifically the 6th grader, that she got a 97, missing only one problem.

You see, these boys, specifically the 6th grader, love to torment her, as any good brother must. She is frequently bombarded with questions way above her comprehension level and mocked upon not knowing the answers. I actually once heard the sixth grader say to her, “I bet you don’t even know the square root of pi”!!

Yeah, because every good third grader knows the square root of pi! Heck, I’m probably not even spelling it correctly!

So on the glorious day we received her test score, I couldn’t wait for them all to pile into the minivan and be enlightened with the news!

And oh, how ANTICLIMACTIC it was! Would you like to know what Mr. Sixth Grader said to sweet little Miss Third Grader?

*cue snotty voice*

“When I was in third grade, I got a 100 on the TAKS!”

ugh.

I will definitely have to lecture him, perhaps adding in the threat of losing video games, before these test scores come in. Life - and school - are hard enough without the humans in your house giving you grief over what they perceive to be your failures!

Sheesh!

GO READ A BOOK!

I am reading the most wonderful book that was loaned to me by one of my daughter’s third grade teachers. I am going to have to return it soon, and I know I won’t get it all finished, so I guess I will be making a ‘trip’ over to Amazon. The book is called The Read Aloud Handbook and it was written by Jim Trelease. It also includes a giant treasury of great read-aloud books. I am so amazed by this book already, only a little way into it, that I think I might have to re-focus my whole website/personal mission to get kids reading! We need to be reading aloud to our kiddos! Now that my kids are older, we rarely read aloud to them, I have to admit. Well, that is going to change!

I also found a great article online about this very subject:

10 Reasons to read to your child

By: Dawn Holland RN

We all know that learning to read is important, but as parents what do we do to facilitate this milestone? Reading to your child has many benefits one of which is simply having time to snuggle together.Here are 10 reasons to read to your child.

1. When you read to your child, he/she will learn that reading is important to you, therefore reading will become important to him/her.

2. The more your child hears sounds, the better he/she will process these sounds into words. When a child is preschool/kindergarten age the listening word starts to become the written word.

3. Reading has a calming effect on a restless or fussy baby. Who doesn’t want an easy way to calm a fussy baby?

4. Reading is a wonderful before bed routine. Studies have shown that a child will thrive in an atmosphere in which routines are present.

5. Reading will help to develop your child’s imagination. Have you ever gotten lost in a good book? Your child can do the same while you are reading to him/her.

6. Reading will foster your child’s ability to listen and pay attention. With all the problems we here about concerning attention spans this is a great way to avoid that.

7. Reading to a young child will teach him/her the correct way to hold a book and turn the pages.

8. Reading to your child will develop in him/her the desire to become a reader.

9. Teachers will thank you

10. When a child is read a personalized story book, he/she will be able to recognize his/her name in print at an early age.

Isn’t it exciting to think that you can have such and effect on your child’s ability to read just by reading to him/her? You have the power to develop a life long joy of reading and learning in your child. WOW! Just read.

Article by:

Dawn Holland is a WAHM of 3 boys and an RN with 12 years of maternal infant and pediatric nursing. She is also a Certified Breastfeeding counselor. Dawn owns Books from the Hearth, an online bookstore and gift shop specializing in personalized children’s books and personalized baby gifts. www.BooksFromTheHearth.com

So let’s all get reading to our kiddos!

GO READ A BOOK!