Last time I wrote about the importance of summer reading and how time spent reading during the summer helps children maintain their reading levels.   I’d like to talk a bit more about reading for pleasure.

Reading for pleasure should be just that—material that the reader finds enjoyable.  What is enjoyable varies widely from reader to reader.  I don’t care for mysteries.  I wouldn’t be amenable if someone told me I had to read a mystery this summer.  My co-worker reads cookbooks as if they were novels—cover to cover.  I don’t get it.  But hey, that’s her thing.

I fear that because we often tell kids what they should read we aren’t helping them discover how pleasurable it is to sit down with a book of their own choosing and get lost in it.  I argue that we should take this approach with our children—especially when it comes to summer reading.  I care that they spend time each day reading.  What they read, I’m prepared to let them decide.

Unless you find something truly objectionable, I urge you to let your kids select what they are going to read this summer.  It might be a comic book, magazine, graphic novel, or some unconventional text that still requires plenty of reading.  Ask your kids to tell you about what they are reading.  You might be surprised to discover how excited they are!
 

The summer travel season is finally upon us.  For some families that means the always-popular road trip.  Parents have many options for keep-busy ideas when traveling with children. 

One of the best ways to pass the time on a road trip to plan for a variety of reading-related activities.  The trick, of course, is to make them seem more like fun than work.  Books on tape are an excellent way to engage the entire family while traveling.  Books on tape are available in a range of reading levels, titles and interests.  During a succession of family road trips we have listened to all of the Harry Potter books on tape.  They are wonderfully narrated and listening together gave us plenty to discuss.  Our car trips turned into mini book clubs! 

Engage in word games while tooling down the highway.  For younger children play “Rhyming I Spy”.  One person says, “I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with __________ (fill in with a word that rhymes with something you’ve just seen).”  The child then responds with the correct rhyming word. 

Older children will enjoy a more advanced version of this game.  Instead of rhyming, give the definition of what you “spy”.  Children will guess the word and build vocabulary.

Silly songs are a good way to help beat car boredom.  Check out CDs by Jack Hartmann , Jim Gill or Father Goose.  Sing at the top of your lungs!   Encourage older children to read the lyrics to reinforce their reading skills. 

Encourage children to write and draw.  Give them a “book” containing blank pages labeled with each letter of the alphabet.  Have children jot down or draw words or pictures for things they have seen during your travels.  The result will be a keepsake ABC travel journal. 

Practice spelling by using refrigerator magnets and a small cookie sheet.  Call out words and have children arrange the letters to spell the words.  The magnet letters stick beautifully to the cookie sheet and the lip on the sheet keeps the letters from spilling.

Do you have any travel tips to share?  I'd love to hear them. 

Happy trails to you!