Tuesday, November 11, 2008

WFMW: Read to Your Kids

My four year old son, Alden, likes to read... sometimes. You know, when he's not distracted by his bike, his brother, the tv, or umm, life. He's much more motivated since he started preschool. His angel teacher, Miss Peggy, gives each child a reading folder where they record every book they read. For every five books, he gets to choose a sticker to put on the front of his folder. And every time he reads one hundred books, he gets to choose a brand new book which Miss Peggy then inscribes with his name, the date, and how many hundred he has read. He just got to three hundred this week.


This program motivates my husband & I too. We can see how many books we read him in a day, and also when we haven't sat down with him for a couple days. We keep track of the names of books, to remind us of favorites, new & old. This would be a very cheap & easy idea for any parent to implement. It works for us!


Some of our favorites:
Sandra Boynton - Going to Bed Book, Pajama Time, Barnyard Dance
Jane Yolen - How Do Dinosaurs... Series
David Shannon - How I Became a Pirate, Pirates Don't Change Diapers


For an online version of your book list, for yourself or your kids, check out Goodreads. You can keep track of books to-read, currently reading, and read. You can rate books & write reviews. You can check out what others have thought of a book. You can add friends & see their lists & reviews. And you can add reviews & widgets right to your blog. Here's mine:











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For other tips & ideas, read Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

8 comments:

Jane of Seagull Fountain said...

Honestly, I hate those charts I have to sign about how much my kid reads or I read to them. Mostly because I am too inept to remember not to spill dinner all over them.

Sad that such an ordinary thing is so overwhelming and impossible for me to manage.

mkt said...

Another great books for parents to motivate them in reading to their children is Jim Trelease's "The Read-Aloud Handbook". He notes that when reading aloud to your kids, you should be reading books that are above their reading level (because their listening level is higher). He gives great reading list ideas too (www.trelease-on-reading.com) which have helped us find some great books to read together before bedtime.

jen aka mommay said...

I was looking at those pirate books in the scholastic magazine. Maybe I'll have to get them!

My 2yo loves Goodnight Goon at the moment!

Debbie said...

Good for you for encouraging people to read to their kids. I am always amazed to learn that some people don't. Great tip.

Rebecca Irvine said...

We read 'The Blue Castle' for book club a while back. I really enjoyed it. Did you learn about it from your mom?

Jane Anne said...

Great way to encourage your son to read! My boys love the Pirates Don't Change Diapers book, too!

Jana said...

I think it is a great bonding time to read to your kids. I have 5 kids and I try and read to them. My son is also in preschool and has to color a picture on a chart for each book he reads. It get us all involved in reading. If I am busy with my 6 month old my older kids will read to him. btw, I live inMesa AZ too!!!

Stephanie said...

I figure the one way I can spoil my kids with no guilt is BOOKS. We keep a well-stocked bookshelf in our home and go to the library every week. I love to read them books because it's the one thing that settles them down when they're all wound up. My 4 year old is now reading almost completely independently and is on almost the same level as the kindergartner. And I have NEVER taught them to read, just read to them a lot. Someday we should compare some of our favorites. :)