Summer Reading Olympics!

Now that summer's here, your children are going to be spending a lot less time sitting in class, and a lot more time sitting around your house.  Hot summer days can be boredom inducing, or they can be brain boosting!  There's nothing better than relaxing in front of a fan with a good book on a steamy day.

But maybe your kids haven't realized this yet.  Maybe they haven't discovered that reading is fun.  What you need is a little incentive.  Many parents feel they shouldn't reward kids for reading because they want their kids to read purely for the love of it.  This ignores a fundamental truth about reading, however.  When kids first learn to read, it's not fun.  It's hard, hard work!  Their little brains are trying to remember a million things at once, and it's exhausting.  Reading only becomes enjoyable once it feels natural.  Until then, your child probably needs a little motivation.  We used to require Crazy Bug to read 10 minutes a night.  Some nights it was torture.  We kept it up, though, and suddenly, when she got to a second grade reading level, she took off!  Now she's reading day and night.  It took us a few incentive programs to get her there however.

This year Crazy Bug's school participated in her school's Reach For the Gold Reading Program.  The idea was for students to become "Olympic Readers" by reading for 15 minutes each night.  There were ribbons for students who read for 10 consecutive nights, and medals for those who read 20, 30, or 40 nights.  Crazy Bug would have done ANYTHING to earn that gold medal!

There's no reason you can't recreate this program at home!  Here's how:

• Set your own goal for either a daily commitment or a total number of hours read.
   
• Kick off your Reading Olympics with an Opening Ceremony.  Create some fun Olympic themed crafts together, like this Olympic torch.
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  At the halfway point, your "athletes" gain corporate sponsorship with all its perks!  (Let them choose their favorite place for an inexpensive treat and call it a sponsorship perk.)
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  Keep the fun rolling with Activity Village's Olympic printables.
   
• When your kids have met their goals, hold an awards ceremony.  Make your own awards or purchase these fancy medals.

There's no reason why you can't stretch the Olympic fun to other subjects too.  The Summer Olympics has more than one event.  Maybe your child can earn a silver medal in math facts or a bronze for geography!  You could also do a unit study on the Olympic Games.  Homeschool Shareoffers a free Olympics Lapbook template.

How To Find the Right Level Readers for Your Child

Have you looked at the leveling systems for easy reader books lately?  The levels have gone haywire.  Every publisher uses its own system to determine reading levels, and they vary widely from publisher to publisher.  This can make it nearly impossible to determine which books are appropriate for your kiddo.  That's why I was psyched when I stumbled upon the Accelerate Reader website.  The Accelerated Reader system provides consistent level information for all books!  It's incredible easy to use.  Just go to the AR Bookfinder and type in a book title.  Look for the book level (BL).  You may also want to make sure the interest level (IL) is appropriate.  If you're looking for new titles, you can do an advanced search where you can set the book level and genre.  You'll get a lovely list that you can take over to Amazon or your local library!

Here are some examples:


BL .06    BL 1.2   BL 2.4
BL 3.5    BL 4.6     BL 5.5 

I find searching for books by level particularly helpful when I am trying to challenge my daughter.  It allows me to choose books that are just a little bit harder than what she's used to so she will be challenged but not discouraged.  I hope you find this resource as valuable as I have!

Early SAT Prep 1: Vocabulary

One comment I hear again and again when I tutor is, "I've never seen any of these words before.  How come I have to know them?"  Students often feel that having a strong working vocabulary is unimportant because they can just look up any unfamiliar word as they come across it.  What they fail to realize is that the SAT tests the level vocabulary they should be writing and speaking with, not just reading.  The difference between a sophisticated paper and one that lacks style lies partly in the words chosen to express the ideas.

So how can you help your child build this kind of working vocabulary?  Well, you could get flashcards...

Just kidding!

Here are some easy ideas:

1.  Read books that use sophisticated vocabulary.
I find that older books tend to include many more words than newer children's books.  Compare Andrew Lang's fairy tales with Disney versions, for example.  Or even one of the original Curious George books with the new stories based on the PBS show.  When in doubt turn to the classics.  Roald Dahl's books also pack a verbal punch.  (If you know of other vocabulary-rich children's books, please leave a comment!)

2.  Discuss unfamiliar words.
When you come to a word your child may not know, stop and ask him about it.  Explain what it means.  If you don't know it, you can find plenty of free dictionary apps for your smartphone to help you out.  Try to use the word again later when discussing the book or having a conversation.

3.  Encourage descriptive writing.
If your daughter is writing a thank you note, postcard, or story, encourage her to use stronger descriptive words.  Can she change "We saw some big mountains" to "We saw some gigantic mountains"? 

4.  Talk like a grown-up.
Children absorb what they hear.  Anyone who's ever accidentally let an expletive fly knows that!  Use this to your advantage by using sophisticated words yourself.  If your child doesn't understand a word, you can always explain it.  If your own vocabulary is weak, go ahead and sign up for a word-of-the-day e-mail program. 

I hope these ideas inspire you!  Maybe someday your child will put his arm around you and say, "Mom, thanks for all you did to help me succeed on the SAT and get accepted into my top choice college!" 

Or maybe not.  But we can hope, can't we?

Advice from an SAT Expert

I've been an SAT and ACT tutor for 5 years now.  I've taught hundreds of students in test prep classes and in their homes.  The majority of my private tutoring students are bright teenagers taking multiple AP and Honors classes.  These kids should be well prepared for the SAT.

They're not.

Here's what I would like to say to their parents.

"Your child has spent 12 years in school learning to read, write, and solve problems.  Now he has 8 weeks to prepare for the SATs.  In 8 weeks I can:

• Teach him strategies to improve his accuracy and avoid careless mistakes so his test scores will reflect his actual abilities.
• Review math concepts he hasn't used for a while and may have forgotten.
• Show him how to write the specific type of essay that the essay graders are looking for.
• Review and/or teach grammar rules.

In 8 weeks I cannot:

• Provide your child with a college level vocabulary.
• Greatly increase your child's critical reading ability.
• Increase your child's math problem solving ability to the point where he can see a problem and determine the simplest way to find the information he needs to solve it.

What can you, as a parent, do?  You can get in a time machine, go back to kindergarten, and start working on those skills then!"

Somehow, I don't think that conversation would go over well.  But hopefully, your child is still in elementary school and you have plenty of time to prepare!  Does this mean I advocate spending 12 years "teaching to the test"?  Absolutely not!  However, I do advocate spending 12 years helping your child prepare to be an articulate adult who reads critically and solves difficult problems.  Starting tomorrow, I'll help you out with a series of posts demonstrating how to build these skills in children.  No flash cards or bubble tests necessary!

Our May Reading List

Last month we finished reading the third Harry Potter book to Crazy Bug.  We're afraid the rest of the series may be a little heavy for her at this age, so we've been looking for other options.  Neither my husband nor I can stand any more of the rapidly published children's series books!  So here's what we've found...

                        


Emily's Runaway Imagination, by Beverly Cleary
A book about the funny adventures of a farm girl in the early 1900's.  This is a great introduction to what life was like a 100 years ago!  Follow it up with a trip to a living history museum so your child can see things like a washboard and wringer in person.

The Blue Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang
This classic 1890's collection of fairy tales is part of a whole series of books.  The tales are much more detailed and interesting than current versions and use rich, sophisticated vocabulary.  Your child might enjoy seeing how the original tales differ from the Disney versions.  Plus, the series has dozens of tales you've probably never even heard before!

Aesop's Fables
Every child should be familiar with these.  There are probably hundreds of versions available.

Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater
When Mr. Popper is sent a group of penguins, life gets nuts until he takes his penguin show on the road.  Try another compare and contrast activity with the book and the recent movie.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Pippi leads the life your child dreams of: she has a pirate father, a pet monkey, and no parental supervision!