Well, summer vacation has arrived. There is relief from waking up early and getting dressed before 7. No need to make breakfast and lunch simultaneously in a 15 minute period. (Unless I forget the lunch part until 1 minute before we have to run out the door! Then I could win the fastest lunch making contest with the most amount of swearwords uttered in a 1 minute period while shoving lunch boxes and bags into the arms of my turtle-like children who see no urgency of the situation.) I don't have to stress about leaving at 7:32 instead of 7:28 because leaving 4 minutes later means I still arrive on time but avoid a traffic backup.  I don't have to make sure homework is done, projects underway and tests studied for. Ahhhh. 

Now, I will just enjoy summer lazy.... for the next couple of days. 

Then comes, summer reality! 

Summer Rules!!

Sleep in as late as possible. If the clock says 7, go back to sleep! We're Team Housey so every day, we must: 

Make our beds and make sure the floor is picked up.

Brush our teeth (summer mouth not allowed).

Dress by 10. Neighbor kids start-a-knockin' and we don't want them to know we wear super hero undies.

School practice (math facts, spanish, etc) before any video games or play.

No more than 1 hour of video games a day. Sorry. I suffer too because you are more contained and quiet playing but I know it is not good for you and I want the best for you.

DEAR time once a day or more for EVERYONE! Drop Everything And Read

If you aren't OUTSIDE playing with your friends and family, you can help with chores. 

Pool everyday if possible.

Movies on rainy days. 

Walk the dogs. 

Each day, one person picks a dinner and helps prepare it. 

Those not making dinner set the table. 

No leaving any dishes in the sink and empty dishwasher when full.

You can stay up late if you are having fun playing outside and you sleep in the next day. 


This may seem like a lot but kids need structure and need to know what is expected of them. They need some organization and need to know the value of time.  If they want a sane mom who takes them to do fun things, then I need help. We are a team and work together. They know that if they don't help then I have to do it all by myself. While having a fun summer, they can still learn, help and be productive.  

Time for fun in the sun! Have a great summer!

How do young children become good readers? Well, of course they need to learn the basics like phonics (letter sounds) and learn sight words or high-frequency words (and, the, from, etc.- words that appear most frequently and should be known automatically by a reader)
but...

Reading (and being read to) makes you a better reader. And that means reading anything and everything from signs on the road to comic books and novels. The more you read, the better reader you will become and the more fluent reader you will become.

As young children read, they become more familiar with patterns in the text and in words themselves. They begin to notice the words that appear more frequently (sight words). When they listen to someone read to them, they learn about expression and how words and sentences should sound.
 
Many people tell me that their child (of all ages) doesn't want to read and they show no interest in reading. It is important to figure out what inspires or interests your children no matter what age. If they like sports, give them sport magazines or books. If they like cartoons and comic books, let them read those. Another option if they aren't confident readers is to buy books on tape.Let them read along in the book with a tape. They will be able to hear another reader using expression while they track the text on the page. A great series on tape is Harry Potter. The reader on the tape does a great job changing his voice to match the characters. It is a fun read on tape. My son started with that and began reading the rest of the series on his own.

Books on tape are great for older children (middle school and older) as well. Many older children claim they are too tired to read and there may be truth to that. They do sleep a lot. Or, they are just not interested in reading. So a book on tape is great on the go or while laying in bed while they read along. Be sure it is not the abridged edition if they are reading the full-length book. Hearing someone else read it can make it a little more interesting. I think it is important for the reader to have the book in hand when they can to read along. This strategy may be helpful by opening them up to books they didn't know they would like. Obviously, the best option is for them to read on their own, but we are trying to inspire those kids who don't have an interest in reading.

Other ideas,
Give your child a recipe to read to you while you are cooking.
Find an (short) article in a magazine or newspaper that they might be interested in like about   
   an athlete they like, an event you might attend or a place to visit.
Have your child read to a younger child (make them feel like they are helping not practicing reading).
Have your child read directions for building something or putting a toy or game together.

Let them choose the books they are comfortable with and offer them opportunities to read all day.

Let me know if this was helpful to you. Feel free to ask questions. I have degrees in Early Childhood, Elementary education and a Masters in the Art of Teaching. I taught preschool through 2nd Grade for many years. I have been trained in Orton Gillingham.

More reading advice in future posts... When should I start teaching my child to read? Is it ok if my child  wants to read the same book over and over?


The more you read, the better reader you become. So, READ!

Hi! I am trying to decide if I want to start over here with my blog or continue on amberhousey.blogspot.com. I am not sure how to transfer over my blog following from there to here. I have placed a feed reader to the right for my "On the Flip Side" blog. Check it out.

My kids are on summer vacation, so it has been difficult to find time to sit down to update my blog. I love having my kids home and I love when it's time for them to go back to school. It's the flip side to summer vacation. Fun and craziness. I love not having to race out of bed and out of the house in the morning. I love hanging with the kids. I love seeing the kids having fun in the neighborhood. I love casual breakfasts. I love mommy school. Now, the flip side. It is going to be hard waking up early again in the fall. I can't go work out at the gym when they are home. The house is a mess. Food disappears. I become a short order cook and I can't just run to the store without "buy me this, buy me that, mom, moooom, maaaa." This leads me to Target! My Target.

My Target experience is my life therapy. Let me explain. It's a place where I can buy a lot for less ($100 minimum), wander aimlessly without getting lost and run into people I know who can relate and look as bad as I do. With kids? I get nagged, I'm the no-man, the bad guy. I spend more and at the speed of light to get the hell out of there and hope nobody sees me yelling at my kids or worse, sees me running away from them. I am kidding...for the most part. I love my kids and they are really good but they know how to wear me down. Wimp. 

Summer... it's a love/ hate relationship.