Search Results for: blog the reading game

Summer Reading Programs for Kids

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It has been said that kids can “lose” some of what they learned during the school year if they don’t practice those skills while on summer vacation. Summer reading programs can inspire kids to read books during the months when school is out. Your child could benefit from participating in a Summer reading program. Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program This Summer reading program began in May and will end on September 5, 2017. Children need to fill out a Summer Reading Journal (which can be printed from the Barnes & Noble website in English or in Spanish). Kids must … Continue reading →

Finding Fantasyland Website Mini-Game

Now that Fantasyland is about to debut, I received an email in my Inbox: an invitation to take a Hero’s Journey to discover the new Fantasyland.  This was per my sign up from the New Fantasyland website. Taking the Hero’s Journey doesn’t tell us a lot about the new Fantasyland, but it’s a cute story nonetheless.  Visiting the site sucks guests into the story, telling about how the villains came to Fantasyland, stole powerful talismans, and obscured them with their magic (which just so happens to take the shape of a big puffy purple mist, just like in Disney-ABC’s “Once … Continue reading →

Choking Game Death

I wouldn’t be a responsible blogger if I failed to correct something I addressed in my last blog, “You Just Never Know.” I mentioned the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy at my son’s middle school, from what was believed to be suicide. Yesterday an automated message was sent to every family from the school. It has been ruled an accidental death caused by the “choking game.” In spite of this, many children still claim the poor boy was the victim of bullying. So I had to ask myself, “Which is worse?” A young boy taking his own life or … Continue reading →

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Reading: Family Bonding

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Do you want to get your kids excited about reading? If so, get ready for the countdown: ten days of ideas that will get you and yours into reading! Today’s challenge? Make reading into a family event. While all of the past suggestions that I’ve made apply to families, today’s ideas focus on reading as a family bonding time. Make a book of family stories, or collect memories from family members. One of my favorite school projects involved collecting stories from my grandfather. I’m sure that you have some family stories floating around. Even if they’re newer stories about what … Continue reading →

Mockingjay: The Hunger Games Book 3

I have to say that despite reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (Book 2 of the Hunger Games) I was not looking forward to MockingJay. While the story line and the characterization is intense, the violence was a little hard to take. From the way the series was going, I knew that it would probably only get worse. And it did. There is no ultimate happy ending here. Favorite characters die, and they do so in horrific ways. The faith and the hope that Katniss Everdeen would find her heart and finally get rid of President Snow to stop … Continue reading →

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Reading: Get Vocal

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Do you want to get your kids excited about reading? If so, get ready for the countdown: ten days of ideas that will get you and yours into reading! Today’s tip? Get vocal about reading. Blah, blah, blah. There’s a lot of talking that goes on in a house, and sometimes we tune it out. Turn some of this talking into gripping reading, and you’ll increase your children’s ability to listen carefully. The ability to create images in your head is key to reading success. Craft a cumulative story. Get one family member to start out telling a story, then … Continue reading →

The Reading of the Mind

You would think after nearly 21 years of marriage, I would learn that my husband can’t read my mind. Yet how often do I expect him to? Maybe it’s just me but I tend to do this often. I might be stressed about something or rushing to get something done and think, “Doesn’t he see that I need help?” or “Doesn’t he know I need this or that?” I had one of these crazy mornings early this week where I was swamped with work but mistakenly planned to make two pans of three cheese stuffed manicotti shells. I didn’t think … Continue reading →

The Reading Game

Teaching a child how to read is precious. It can also be exhausting and frustrating for both the student and the teacher. In my homeschooling experience I have taught one child how to read at a normal pace, one taught himself, and one is a reluctant reader who wishes letters did not exist and finally a three year old who seems more interested in letters than my six year old. So we run the spectrum of types of readers. Each child has different needs so I used different sources to reach those needs. With all the reading curriculum on the … Continue reading →

Family Game Night: Tricross

Product: Tricross Age Level: 10 to adult Format: Board Game Price: $24.95 What is Tricross? Tricross is a strategy game. It is far more fun than checkers but not as stuffy as chess. The appeal is equal to both boys and girls. Tricross was named Dr. Toy’s 2009 100 Best Children’s Products to Creative Child Magazine’s Creative Toy Awards 2008 Game of the Year and earning the National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval. It’s the new Chess! What did we think of Tricross? The age range on the game is on target. My six year old needed help playing but … Continue reading →

Reading, It Just Clicked!

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My daughter has got it figured out. No, she can’t read perfectly just yet, but she is DYING to be able to read. It all started about a month ago when she came home from preschool and told me a boy in her class could already read. I responded saying that she will learn too, very soon. She just has to keep practicing her letters. Then, it was like one day it just clicked! She just figured out that letters made sounds, and put those sounds together, and voila! You have words. So, now she is unstoppable. She wants to … Continue reading →