So many books, so little time!!!
I think I need to become a librarian so that I can devote more time to reading ...
This post will be short and sweet. Today I received Jen Robinson's May newsletter and happened upon her recommended reading lists for Picture Books, Early Elementary School, and Late Elementary School and just had to be sure to pass these on. There is a lot to pull from here and judging from the titles that I am familiar with, Jen continues to be a trusted resource for book recommendations.
As you gear up for LP's Summer Reading challenge, be sure to include some of these books in the mix!
Happy reading.
5.31.2011
5.30.2011
Reading at the Dinner Table?
Over the past few months, I've been dabbling at reading a book by Laurie David called "The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids One Meal at a Time
." 
Of late, with the confluence of some sports ending (or never ending) and others starting in our house, the family dinner has gone by the way side -- and I mean way to the way way side -- on too many nights. Nevertheless, I'm still aspiring to keep everyone fed both physically and mentally/emotionally.I love the premise of the book and the value it places on being sure we remain connected as a family. On the lighter side, David offers good recipes that my kids have actually eaten, fun ideas for making dinner special or unique, and some creative activities for ensuring that the dinner hour is actually enjoyable. My favorite activity so far is having everyone at the table do an impression of another family member's laugh. We were all in hysterics almost immediately.
On the more serious side, David echoes what I've heard elsewhere. She notes,
The research is in! Children who do well on school achievement tests are the ones who eat meals and snacks with their families. Those who eat dinner with their families four or more times a week are more likely to score better than those who have dinner three or fewer times a week. (169)One of David's chapters focuses on reading as a way to liven up the dinner conversation. She doesn't suggest that everyone bring their favorite book and bury their noses in it -- instead she offers the idea that a few minutes of snippets from speeches by influential people, newspapers, the Internet, poetry books, and the like can lead to some lively dinner conversations that go well beyond, "how was your day dear?" I'm quite taken with her idea because how better to learn about each other and continue to learn together than to talk about the goings on in the world often and a lot -- and what better time than during dinner? Practically speaking, it is just a lot more interesting than begging a four year old to try something, anything you've cooked, and idealistically speaking, it is just the kind of family I'd hope to be a part of ... one that explores ideas together and naturally gravitates toward the pursuit of learning.
One idea that David offers highlights a series that she started in collaboration with The Huffington Post called Family Dinner Downloads. You can click here, or go to www.huffingtonpost.com and search for "Family Dinner Dowloads" to check it out. Essentially, she suggests gathering "around the laptop or smartphone -- or pass around a printout -- and check the Family Dinner Download of the week, which will end with a question or two that will get everyone thinking and sharing their thoughts, feelings, and opinions" (177) about a relevant, age-appropriate current event.
Right off the bat, I can hear the objections ... 1) Dinner time should not include any electronic devices and 2) The Huffington Post has a political bias that not everyone may agree with and thus their topics and questions may not jive with every family's perspectives and opinions. Totally valid, and if you can suspend your objections for a moment, I think you will find that the idea of spending a few minutes at the table with your children reading about a current event and then exploring each person's thoughts on the matter is pretty compelling. What is not to like about a little reading practice in an unexpected place AND the opportunity to expose our kids to the world beyond Moraga? David's partnership with The Huffington Post happens to be a prepackaged, easy-to-access way of doing just that, but it can also be modified to suit your family's interests, perspectives about current affairs, and the age of your children.
You could, for example, scan the day's news, select a topic, write up a brief synopsis of the event/issue, and throw in some questions, and you've got yourself your very own Family Dinner Download... and while you are at it, you could crown yourself Super Mom or Super Dad for your heroic parenting efforts (right after you apologize that there is no dinner to eat because you were busy preparing the Family Dinner Download instead). All facetiousness aside, you might easily use what The Huffington Post has to offer, and if you heartily disagree with the way the topic is presented, use that as a teaching moment!
However you decide to start off the dinner conversation, I could also see, for the more ambitious, how each dinner's topic could be easily complemented by coordinating bedtime reading selections. For example, the Family Dinner Download about Egypt, Leadership, and Freedom might be paired up with a post-dinner reading of "Ten Amazing People and How They Changed the World."
I could also see, for a family with children in the lower grades, how picking up a set of The Ungame
cards or Table Topics for Families
would accomplish the same ends -- a little reading and an engaging conversation.
No matter which way you do it -- Turbo Topics or Topics Light -- I can't help but think that David is on to something so right. I am inspired by and in complete concurrence with her idea that through reading together, we all have greater opportunities to connect and enjoy our time together.
I might just have to get started tonight. It is almost dinner time.
5.16.2011
Summer Reading at The Storyteller in Lafayette
If you've heard the very true (and not so nice) adage about kids getting "Dumber in Summer," you might already be thinking about your summer plans for helping stem the tide ... you know, the tide that seems to carry out of their brains everything that the teachers and you worked so hard to put in to them this past year? Whether it's practicing math facts, spelling words, or reading, there is a ton that parents can do, but wouldn't it be great to have a trusted resource to help guide you a little?
Enter The Storyteller in Lafayette. When it comes to children's literature, The Storyteller is a fantastic local resource and their summer reading program helps parents take a bit of the guess work out of what children should or could be reading. Their tailored reading lists have a mix of genres and the books are updated from year to year, so even if you did the program last year, there will be new books to explore this summer.
This morning I received the below email from Melissa Manlove at The Storyteller, which tells you more about their program and I highly recommend it.
Enter The Storyteller in Lafayette. When it comes to children's literature, The Storyteller is a fantastic local resource and their summer reading program helps parents take a bit of the guess work out of what children should or could be reading. Their tailored reading lists have a mix of genres and the books are updated from year to year, so even if you did the program last year, there will be new books to explore this summer.
This morning I received the below email from Melissa Manlove at The Storyteller, which tells you more about their program and I highly recommend it.
Summer Reading Program! |
KICK-OFF DAY IS June 1st STARTING AT 9:30am! REGISTRATION is open from June 1st to June 30th |
OUR PHILOSOPHY:
|
HOW DOES IT WORK? First, we talk to your child about what he/she has been reading and enjoying. Together, we decide on a reading list and an achievable number of pages to read over the summer. Every reading list is designed to offer breadth in reading difficulty and subject material. |
HOW DO WE SIGN UP? Come to our kick-off day: Wednesday, June 1st (starting at 9:30am). Or come down to the Storyteller anytime during our registration period: June 1st through June 30th. Registration hours are 9:30 am to 5:00 pm Mon-Sat. Children must sign up in person with an adult. Please allow 20 minutes per child for registration. |
5.15.2011
eBooks and Books: A Necessary Debate?
Over at Big Think, Scott McLeod blogged about the future of print and his top 21 eBooks for kids in honor of Children's Book Week. I was initially struck by the irony of that because as many of us know, the debate between those who love eBooks and those who abhor them is quite contentious. In fact, for some, an eBook is no book at all ... particularly when it comes to children's picture books. Why? Well, as McLeod points out, "the lines between electronic books, videos, animation, interactive games, and learning software are blurring" and they are doing so in a hurry.
His post, which features YouTube videos of his favorites definitely includes some books with gratuitous moving parts. I was happy to see Beatrix Potter represented, but I wondered what the catchable leaves and berries add to the story -- and I couldn't help but feel that static illustrations and a parent's warm lap might do the story greater justice.
I guess it is only fair to confess at this point that I am not without biases when it comes to the eBook vs. Book debate. I am one of those people who lament the day that books (the real ones with lots of paper pages, carefully illustrated images, and ink) go the way of eReaders. I adore books ... the smell, the feel, the weight, the texture... you get the picture.
Not surprisingly then, it was with some glee that I opened The May/June 2011 issue of The Horn Book Magazine* to see that they too were celebrating children's picture books -- the printed ones. In the article, authors Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee took the high road and instead of "offering any opinions about whether it's an exciting, scary, sad, or wonderful time" in the print publishing industry, they simply wanted to sing the praises of picture books.
One thing that they appreciate about picture books is the way that they inspire/require "the young child [to be] an active viewer." Instead of being "passively mesmerized" by animated images, children who read and are read to from picture books are "motivated to expand [the images they see] and interpret what perhaps came before and what perhaps will come later." Johnston and Frazee point out that "If with a click, buzz, or beep, the image changes, moves, or spins -- as it can already do and certainly will continue to do in many dynamic new formats -- it becomes another kind of experience for the child. A valid experience, yes, but not a picture-book experience."
Indeed, it is a different experience -- and, yes, I have to admit that it can be a valid one. And therein arises a question that is tied to one of my other biases ... how do we as parents define "valid" when it comes to the use of technology in the pursuit of education. Is technology robbing children of their ability to focus, imagine, and expand their internal worlds? Or can technology contribute meaningfully to the educational pursuits of our offspring? Ironically, maybe one can answer "yes" to both of those questions and therefore the real answer is for parents and teachers to actively engage in bringing the best of both worlds to bare for our kids. The past of printed books and the future of interactive books both have best practices to offer. Perhaps that is why Johnston and Frazee were hesitant to say whether or not this was an exciting or terrible time in the history of the printed word.
I hope as the debate about eBooks and books continues, the question will shift from being about print vs. technology, to questions about what we should champion from each realm.
*Pages 10-16
His post, which features YouTube videos of his favorites definitely includes some books with gratuitous moving parts. I was happy to see Beatrix Potter represented, but I wondered what the catchable leaves and berries add to the story -- and I couldn't help but feel that static illustrations and a parent's warm lap might do the story greater justice.
I guess it is only fair to confess at this point that I am not without biases when it comes to the eBook vs. Book debate. I am one of those people who lament the day that books (the real ones with lots of paper pages, carefully illustrated images, and ink) go the way of eReaders. I adore books ... the smell, the feel, the weight, the texture... you get the picture.
Not surprisingly then, it was with some glee that I opened The May/June 2011 issue of The Horn Book Magazine* to see that they too were celebrating children's picture books -- the printed ones. In the article, authors Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee took the high road and instead of "offering any opinions about whether it's an exciting, scary, sad, or wonderful time" in the print publishing industry, they simply wanted to sing the praises of picture books.
One thing that they appreciate about picture books is the way that they inspire/require "the young child [to be] an active viewer." Instead of being "passively mesmerized" by animated images, children who read and are read to from picture books are "motivated to expand [the images they see] and interpret what perhaps came before and what perhaps will come later." Johnston and Frazee point out that "If with a click, buzz, or beep, the image changes, moves, or spins -- as it can already do and certainly will continue to do in many dynamic new formats -- it becomes another kind of experience for the child. A valid experience, yes, but not a picture-book experience."
Indeed, it is a different experience -- and, yes, I have to admit that it can be a valid one. And therein arises a question that is tied to one of my other biases ... how do we as parents define "valid" when it comes to the use of technology in the pursuit of education. Is technology robbing children of their ability to focus, imagine, and expand their internal worlds? Or can technology contribute meaningfully to the educational pursuits of our offspring? Ironically, maybe one can answer "yes" to both of those questions and therefore the real answer is for parents and teachers to actively engage in bringing the best of both worlds to bare for our kids. The past of printed books and the future of interactive books both have best practices to offer. Perhaps that is why Johnston and Frazee were hesitant to say whether or not this was an exciting or terrible time in the history of the printed word.
I hope as the debate about eBooks and books continues, the question will shift from being about print vs. technology, to questions about what we should champion from each realm.
*Pages 10-16
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