Reading
Whether your child is a infant, toddler, preschooler, elementary age child, or even a tween, they will benefit immensely if you make time to read with them every day. Additionally, we want to encourage our kids to make time for their own reading for pleasure. It may seem old-fashioned, but developing a love of reading goes far beyond school work. Reading opens up the world to kids, empowering them to explore, learn, and use their imagination. If you’ve got a child away at camp, the gift of a book can be a welcome part of a care package. A caveat: Today’s bookstores often look more like toy stores than bookshops. On my last outing with my grandkids the lure of the toys created a difficult situation. You may need to set expectations before you go to the store with your children that “today we’re going for books, not toys” or find your good intentions thwarted.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of books to choose from here are some great list of award winning books. The Bank Street College of Education’s list is comprehensive and broken down by age and topic.
Here is another good list from Smithsonian Magazine.
And, the New York Times.
Another novel (pun intended) way to incorporate reading this summer is with a bit of high-tech: Microsoft’s free Reading Coach. Kids use AI to generate grade-appropriate stories. They can record themselves reading the stories and the website rates the reading proficiency. Parents can add their own text, so if you have a word list you’re working on, it can be incorporated into the recognition and rating program. Students and families can access it from any device by creating an account here.
I do have some caveats about the site: 1) though my pronunciation is pretty good, there were some words that it insisted I was mispronouncing; 2) as the son of an award winning author, I think that the artistic creations of real authors is generally much better, more entertaining, and more thoughtful than the AI generated content; 3) It would have been better if the child could play back their recorded voices, rather than just having the AI give a somewhat dubious score. In other words, this is a supplemental tool, and not a replacement for a good book.
An alternative might be to use the record-a-book function that you’ll find in many kid-friendly audio-players. While I often recommend using this feature to have mom, dad, or a grandparent save an audio book for quiet time, it is also a confidence booster for a child to hear themselves once they have mastered a book. The Toniebox ($99) and Yoto Player ($99) both have this ability.
Graphic Novels
Reluctant readers may find a bridge to the joy of pleasure reading through graphic novels and even comic books. Unlike comics, which focus on super-hero subject matter, graphic novels often tackle important ideas and subject matter. (It is important to keep in mind that not all graphic novels are intended for all ages. Some are decidedly about topics, and may be illustrated in a manner, not intended for children. However, some are excellent introductions that may stimulate a desire to read and learn more. I’m thinking here particularly about graphic novels that have a historical bend.
History, Multimedia & Writing
A fun family project that touches on wide variety of skills that can be valuable when school rolls around again is assembling a family history or photo album. It gives the opportunity to use crafting, computing, photography, and writing into a tangible item that might even become a family heirloom. Let your child take listen to family stories and write down their version or have them write their own memories of family members, trips, and holidays. Combine them with photographs and plug them into a word processing program, or better yet, build a book using an on-line service like Blurb.com or Shutterfly.
Of course they will want to include family photos. You’ll have some on your phone, but others you may want to scan. We started using the flat-bed scanner built into our all-in-one Brother printer. But, as we got more serious about incorporating oversized items, curled, discolored historical photos, and the like, we found a stand-type scanner and the software from Vivid-Pix.com to be simple enough that adults and tweens could operate it and get automatic color correction.
What if you don’t have the first idea of how to build a family history book? Blurb.com has multiple software platforms for all levels of users, and the software is all free.
