Mom It Forward Online Book Club

With all of this reading going on, I’m surprised that it’s taken 2 1/2 years to start a Mom It Forward Book Club, but the good news is that the first one will take place tomorrow in the Mom It Forward Forum. Here’s the Skinny:

• Topic: Improving Your Relationships
• Book: The 5 Love Languages by Gary
• Time: 9 a.m. (8 CT, 7 MT, 6 PT a.m.) to 6 p.m ET (5 CT, 4 MT, 3 PT p.m.)—one question will be fired off each hour. Come any time throughout the day and chit chat about the book.
• Place: Mom It Forward Forum: http://momitforward.com/forums in the Book Club thread.
• Moderator: Angie Lee of Seven Clown Circus.
• Requirements: Nada! You don’t even have to have read the book.

Photo used with permission from Shutterhacks.

The story, written by Seumas MacManus, came from Vol. I of The New Junior Classics and kept me spellbound time and time, and time again as my mother read it to me.

Now that I’m a mother, I’ve found that although my children don’t necessarily love the same books I loved as a child, they are drawn to the same basic elements.

3 Tips to Teaching Kids to Love Reading

1. Repetition. From toddlers to tween, repetition is an element that stands the test of time. Beginning stories like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? eventually make way for more complex stories that can be enjoyed again, and again. Like the Harry Potter Series for my tween, or Little Women for me.
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2. Scheduled Time for Reading. For me, there is nothing quite like watching my children stop wiggling, talking, jumping and moving in order to be read to aloud, to do the reading aloud or just spend some quiet time reading silently something that captivates them.
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3. Variety. They love it when I substitute silly words for the real words or read with extra gusto. In return they mix things up for me, which is always an adventure.

I’ve been trying hour upon joyful hour to make the sort of memories for my children that my mother made with me. I’ve also been attempting to make my children bookworms.

Just like me.

I think it’s working.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Thanks to Kabongo for bringing reading games to 4-7 year olds and for sponsoring this post.

Angie is a word loving, sunshine hoarding, book devouring, organizationally devout mama to a lot. When she’s not juggling the tasks requisite of a mother of 5, you will probably find her trying to steal time for her not-so-guilty pleasure of reading and writing, or promoting literacy within her home, community and on-line. She originated and hosts the meme Wordful Wednesday and
shares her “Tales From Under the Big Top”, on her blog, Seven Clown Circus.

The push for parents to read to their children is increasing. Why? Is it really worth taking the time to read to your child? Is it really worth the effort of stopping their play or TV watching? Is it really worth repeatedly trying to keep your 4 year-old on the couch so he’ll listen? Yes! Study after study shows that reading is one of the best ways to increase a child’s attention span, improve parent-child relationships, and increase the odds of success in a child’s life (again, see Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook).

So how can you make reading to your child easier and funner? I suggest the following:

• Buy a Hallmark recordable book. This product enables parents to read to their children, even if they can’t be right there with them, due to work or deployment or other factors. It’s a recordable storybook. You record yourself reading the book, into the book, then lock in your recording, and when your child opens the book, your voice is played back, reading each page as it is turned. It’s available in five titles: Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, The Very First Christmas, All the Ways I Love You, and My Little Princess. The instructions provided are clear, and the process of recording is intuitive and easy. Check out Hallmark.com for more information.

• Make home-made “flash-pages.” When my oldest was learning to read, I printed out simple pictures on 8 ½ x 11 white cardstock, with each letter of their three-letter word spread across the bottom of the page. I would cut the picture into 3 different puzzle pieces, each piece containing a letter. He would put the puzzle pieces together, and in so doing, would put the letters together. That was his first real reading. Later, we would tape the puzzle pieces together, and I would read a simple story with, say, a dog in it, if that was the picture/word, and every time I read the word “dog,” he would hold up the picture and laugh.

• Buy Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook (Penguin Books, 2001). This invaluable resource contains everything you need: lists of good titles, suggestions on how to get your husband to read to your child, and all sorts of data confirming the need to read to your child.

These are not techniques for teaching your child to read, that is the subject of many other posts, websites, books, and products.  These are a few suggestions to help you make reading to your child an enjoyable habit, one with which positive memories are associated and one that will help him or her for many years to come.

What tips do you have for reading aloud to your children?

Happily Ever After…

Encourage your child to write an alternate ending to a favorite story. Was she hoping for her favorite character to say something different? Does she have creative ideas for how a problem could have been solved? Perhaps she might add a humorous plot twist. Provide pencil and paper and be sure to be present for the reading of the new, final chapter!

Lights, Camera, Action!

When I overheard my daughters parroting popular television commercials while in the bathtub, it gave me the idea to have them come up with advertisements for their favorite books. I let each of them choose their favorite kid’s story and challenged them to come up with an original ad campaign to “sell” the book to their friends. They had a blast with the project and it was reassuring to see how well they were comprehending character and plot as they “sold” both to their mock audience! I daresay their commercials were more convincing than most of what I watch on TV!

Try This Jacket on for Size

When my younger daughter picked a library book with a torn cover, my first thought was, “Uh-oh…we’re going to get the blame for this when we try to return this book.” My second thought was far less paranoid and a whole lot more fun! I asked my four-year old if she might like to design her own book jacket. After looking at me, puzzled, and asking why I called the paper cover a “jacket,” she got the idea of what I was going for and set off to work. Using simple paper and markers, she created a colorful and creative depiction of her favorite scene in the book. She even shared it with the Librarian, who ended up using the idea during the weekly Children’s Story Time.

Even children who love to read can find their reading time at home gobbled up by school work, extra curricular activities, and time outside. All those things are crucial, but making sure our kids enjoy reading—reading for fun at home and not just at or for school— is a goal we, as parents, should work toward with them and can achieve.

Four Tips to Helping Your Kids Learn to Love Reading

Here are some tips and great fall books to get your kids reading for leisure this fall.

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1. Get squishy with bedtime. I know bedtime is sacred in my house too but … by just adding 15 extra light on minutes a day with the rule that it must be spent reading will make a world of difference. If your child isn’t a reader yet you can still do this just cuddle up next to your child and read to them.

2. Get familiar with your public library. It’s free and it’s full of awesome books. Talk to your child about what sort of books they want to check out, help them find a stack ( not one or two… more like 5 or 10) and get excited about what they found. Repeat every 2-3 weeks. Also, sign up for email reminders for late books if you can, it saves us a lot of money!

3. Get them into a series. Books with sequels naturally offer a continuation of reading and you get a child excited about the next one.

4. Have a family book club. If your children are reading independently make deadlines, plan a family evening with treats and talk about the book. A quick internet search will usually produce book club questions. Make it fun.

Recommended Fall Books for Kids of All Ages

Baby and Toddler

Fall by Roger Priddy is a perfect book for your youngest readers. This board book will keep your little one’s hands busy exploring fall textures as you read, something many wiggly toddlers need.

Preschoolers

When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey is a stunning look at all the things that fall this time of year not just leaves from the trees.

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington is such a great book for preschoolers. I can’t recomend it enough, especially this time of year!

School Age Series

Eric Wilson Mysteries. This author was a favorite of mine growing up and his very readable but also very age appropriate mysteries will keep your 3rd-6th graders reading and wanting more.

Harry Potterwith the final movies about to be released parents can leverage excitement about reading too!

Hunger Games. Have you read these yet? The final book in the trilogy Mockingjay  has just been released and getting rave reviews from kids, teens and adults a like!

Join the #gno Twitter party this Tuesday, March 9 from 9-11 ET (8 CT, 7 MT, and 6 PT) to chat about and celebrate reading and children’s literature!

• What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
• When: Tuesday, March 9, 9-11 p.m. EST (8CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
• Where: Party with us here on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #memetales.)
• Topic: Let’s Play—Getting Our Kids to Love Books and Reading
• Who: @ajpassey @booksbyTara @carissarogers @cindyhopper @Gyldenege @inevergrewup @memetales @momtriedit @noflashcards @reneeAtShens @seanplatt @simplekids @teach_preschool @thinkmaya
• Party Favors: Click here to enter for a chance to win this week’s giveaway. Deadline: 3/10
• RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.

Note: Mom It Forward accepts paid sponsorships for most #gno Twitter parties. During the parties, brand sponsors provide tips, techniques, expert advice, and information on party topics. Mom It Forward is grateful for the giveaway prizes, coupons, and discounts that sponsors also provide to the Mom It Forward community in conjunction with #gno Twitter parties.

Prizes

• One Grand-Prize Winner—will receive:

1 Lifetime Membership to Mindbloom—online goal-setting and tracking services

1 $100 Gift Card to Barnes & Noble

1 $100 Gift Card to Lucy Athletic Wear

1 Year Subscription (10 issues) to Body + Soul Magazine

• Four Runners Up—will each receive a lifetime Mindbloom membership.

Entry Requirements

Please do the following three things to enter for a chance to win this week’s giveaway:

1. Follow @mindbloom on Twitter.
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2. Visit http://mindbloom.com and leave a comment on this post, identifying one branch you’d like to add to your Mindbloom tree.
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3. Post these two messages on Twitter and leave comments here with a link to your tweets:

GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win $100 Barnes & Noble gc, $100 Lucy.com gc & @mindbloom goal-setting membership http://bit.ly/7DpaDO #gno PLS RT

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Wanna make ur NY Resolutions stick this yr? Check out @mindbloom’s goal-setting & tracking services: http://mindbloom.com PLS RT

Extra Entry Requirements

The following five entries are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry each. Simply do any or all of the following and leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

1. Sign up for a 14 Day Trial Subscription to Mindbloom and be on your way to achieving your New Year’s Resolutions.
2. Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
3. Become a Friend of Mom It Forward’s Google Friend Connect (see box in right sidebar).
4. Subscribe to the Mom It Forward RSS feed (click on orange heart at the top of the right sidebar).
5. Join the Mom It Forward Flickr group and leave a picture here of how you plan to “Mom It Forward” during the New Year!

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Mindbloom and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Wednesday, January 6 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older. One entry per person.

Starting this month, Cheerios is again distributing 6 million children’s books inside boxes. The books, which Cheerios had specially printed in both English and Spanish, are five different titles from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. There is a cut-out window on the front of the box so you can see which book is inside and select the book you want. In addition, Cheerios is also making a financial donation to the nonprofit organization, First Book, to help get brand new books to children from low-income families—many of whom have no age-appropriate books for their children in their home. Over the past 8 years, Cheerios has distributed more than 40 million books free inside boxes and donated $3.2 million to First Book.

The Story About Kids and Reading in the U.S.

Here are some statistics about  kids and reading:

• Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school.
• Across the nation just under half of children between birth and five years (47.8%) are read to every day by their parents or other family members.
• Dr. Marilyn Adams (Beginning to Read) points out that a child with 15 minutes of read-aloud time each day from six months to six years benefits from 500 hours of “reading” exposure, three times what a first grade teacher can provide with an hour of reading instruction each day.
• 41% of fourth grade boys, and 35% of fourth grade girls read below the basic level, and in low-income urban schools this figure approaches 70%.
• For America’s poorest children, the biggest obstacle to literacy may be the scarcity of books and appropriate reading material. In fact, in a recent study of low-income neighborhoods, there was only 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.

Why Is Cheerios Doing This?

Reading with your child can be the quiet moment in the day that you and your child both look forward to the most: the opportunity to snuggle together and explore the pages of a great book. Just as important as the bonding time that reading together provides, studies continue to show that read-aloud time is important to children’s reading development. Yet, for many families, books can be expensive or are not readily available. Cheerios is committed to helping parents provide their children with a healthy, nutritional, and educational foundation. They believe good nutrition and mental development work better together. With just 1 gram of sugar and 100% natural whole grain oats, Cheerios already is a staple in many households; it’s also the first finger food for many children. Through this program, Cheerios is using its place at the family breakfast table to help make books more accessible to families, both with books inside boxes, and through the annual donation to First Book.

What You Can Do?

To help get more books to kids and make reading a priority, you can:

• Pick up a box of Cheerios with a book inside to read with your child.
• Donate directly to First Book through www.firstbook.org.
• Learn more at www.spoonfulsofstories.com.

Prizes for 10 Lucky Winners

Each of the 10 winners will receive the following:

• A box of Cheerios
• A set of the five Spoonfuls of Stories children’s books
• A $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble

This giveaway has an approximate retail value of $65.00.

Entry Requirements

To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do three things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries).
Note: Entries that do not follow all of these requirements will not be considered.

1. Leave a comment here, sharing your favorite children’s story either that you liked as a child or that you love reading with your children.
2. Follow @cheeriosbrand on Twitter.
3. Post these messages on Facebook and/or on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:

Join #gno Tues 10/13 (9-11 ET) 2 discuss children’s lit 4 #Cheerios #SpoonfulsofStories prog RSVP http://bit.ly/cvM8S PLS RT

GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win #Cheerios #SpoonfulsofStories gift basket! Fun 4 whole fam! 10 Winners! http://bit.ly/EpBEb PLS RT

Extra Entries

You can earn up to two extra entries for this week’s giveaway.

1. Join the Mom It Forward Google Friend Connect. (See right-hand sidebar.)
2. Follow @momitforward on Twitter.

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. General Mills, Cheerios, and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, October 18 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older.