Books with Benefits!

If you're a book worm like me, you will already have that inate sense of value that books bring. They are like rectangular treasures filling your world, piling up in corners of your rooms and spending money on books is as necessary as buying milk or bread.

But for many people, they just don't feel the same way. Strange to say, but there are lots of families out there who really don't own many books at all, and just don't find reading an enjoyable past time. Now there's nothing wrong with this at all, we are all different and people find joy and interest in various activities and past-times...if we were all the same the world would be a pretty boring place.

However, reading is a really important part of life, especially for our kids. The skill of reading benefits us in all walks of life, being able to read instructions, read contracts, read letters, read forms and understand how our world operates. Reading comes naturally to some people, but others struggle to grasp the concepts and take more time to learn, which can hinder their development in other areas.

So encourage kids to read books from an early age can be a really easy way for parents to instill a love of reading in their children, even before they head off to school. Great books can be found all around us, in libraries, at friend and family places, in discount stores, book shops, on the internet and now with the increase in eBooks you can even read and view them on your computer or eReader for the kids who are so technologically minded.

The one thing I like to remind people, is that books can be SO MUCH MORE than "just books". There are books you can hear, books you can feel, books you can smell, books you can write in, books you can relate to, books you can act out, books that come with toys and so much more.

Here are 5 of my favourites from the bookshelf at home. Books that are more than just books and make reading time fun!

FAIRYOPOLIS - is a beautiful big book for late primary age through to adulthood. This is MY book and it's just magnificent. With all the gorgeous illustrations, little scrapbook type items you can touch and take out to inspect it gives you a sense of discovering the world of fairies. With such a fabulous cover this a treasured item on my shelf.

DANCING QUEEN - part of the Australian "Go Girl" series; I love these books! Aimed at the "tween" age group they are an introduction to chapter books that are easy to read, and easy to relate to. The characters in this series experience the same things as the reader, this particular one relates to self esteem, fitting in, making new friends and being self conscious. I picked these up at a second hand store and have loved each one of them. I believe there is a new set out more recently.

THE JOLLY POSTMAN - an aboslute classic! This was the anniversary edition of the Christmas Postman, but it is just the most fabulous interactive book! Through the journey of mail delivery you get to experience the goings on of each residence along the way. Opening the letters, reading the christmas cards, even a small puzzle to complete. I loved this book as a kid; it was one of the most popular books in our school library and you would have to wait months to borrow it! Still a must have for primary aged kids.

THIS DINOSAUR IS SO BIG - for pre-school aged boys, this book is brilliant! It has big bold colourful pictures, is about dinosaurs and has magnetic pages and magnets to stick on! Every time you read this it is different depending on where you place the magnets! "This dinosaur is so big it can eat a CAR/HOUSE/PLANE/TREE for breakfast!" It's got great repetition to remember the words, goregous illustrations and is just a whole lot of fun!

WRITE & WIPE - again for the younger kiddies, I love these books. The pictures are bold and colourful, the words are simple and repetitive but with the added bonus of a board marker they can learn to write the letters as well as recognise them. They can trace pictures and refine their writing skills....just be sure to keep these ones away from fabric furniture!

So next time you are looking for a gift, or wondering what you can do to encourage your young ones to read think about a book...but think about a "book with benefits".

Find more ideas like here to make learning fun for your kids!

The Reading Hour

2012 happens to be The National Year of Reading! So what better chance to get your kids excited about books? Better yet, what a great chance to get yourself excited about reading books?

Some of us are book worms; I am reading 3 books at the moment, a comedy novel, a drama novel and a professional development book. But others of us aren't so interested in reading. My husband would not say he is an avid reading; but he is absolutely fascinated by Australian history and brewing so he actually reads quite a lot of books about history and beer. He will tell you that over the past 10 years his reading his improved dramatically just from reading books about topics he is interested in.

So why don't we use this theory more often with our kids? If they are interested in science or nature, how about we encourage them to read books about bugs and animals and technology? If they are mad keen sports fanatics, encourage them to read books about sporting heroes, famous teams, chronologies of sporting history and so on. You would be surprised how much you can learn from sports - maths, statistics, averages, countries, cities, cultures and so much more. If magazines are more their style provide them with good quality magazines that have age appropriate content and puzzles, games, articles, glossy pictures to attract their attention.

Basically, no matter what they are reading, so long as they are reading, they are learning! Encourage them to read the back of the weeties box at breakfast time, read articles from the newspaper, read advertisements, catalogues, signs and posters.

But Saturday the 25th of August 2012 as part of the National Year of Reading there is a special event that you can have in your own living room for free! The Reading Hour. This week, try to spend 10 minutes a day reading with each of your children. And then on Saturday grab some fabulous books that your kids will love and set aside 60 minutes to snuggle up together and participate in the national event! Put on your best voice and get excited about the books you have chosen. You could even choose to read some chapters from a book that also has a movie...and finish the night with the movie version? Harry Potter, The Witches, Narnia, Charlotte's Web and the list goes on.

You've got one week to head down to the library and grab some great books or find some to borrow from a friend. Get some snacks and set up your special spot in the house and let the kids know that this fun time is coming up. Ask at your school if there are any events that they are running that you could also be a part of?

To find out more about the events through out the year, competitions, ideas for schools and families head to the National Year of Reading website:
http://www.love2read.org.au/

And for more information about The Reading Hour head to:
http://www.thereadinghour.org.au/

Happy Reading!

When Opportunity Knocks

Over the next few days have a think about the little things you do with your kids that have an impact on their learning. While they are getting ready for school are they reading, counting or learning times and days? On the way home from school in the car are they singing little tunes to help them remember? During dinner time are they practicing their maths from your recipes or they glued to the tv? At bed time, on the weekend, in the car, at the shops, in the bathroom, on a walk....there are learning opportunities everywhere you look! Get your kids to help you run you errands and involve them in the process, make the boring things in life interesting by turning them into games and spend time being together having fun!

Here are some great ideas to get you started:

READING

·     Send notes to your children. Get them to send them back. Use sticky notes on the fridge. Or make a letterbox from a tissue box or milk carton.

·     Plan a special place & time in your house just for reading. This is not for their homework reading; this is quality time together for sharing exciting stories. Perhaps a cubby house, out in the garden, a beanbag in the corner, or make a special place from blankets and cushions.

·     Visit the library as a family. Most libraries are free to join and have a wealth of resources for everyone! History, cooking, fiction, medical, self help, automotive, building, CDs, DVDs, magazines and so much more. Libraries usually also have a variety of free activities for all ages like pre-schoolers story time, school holiday programs, poetry readings, community groups for special interests. Head out to your local library for a free fun filled afternoon with the kids.

·     Get your kids to to help you write the grocery list. It will encourage their spelling and hand writing.

·     Have your children write letters or emails to family members. Grandparents will absolutely LOVE it and other family members or close friends might enjoy it too. Handwriting will help them to improve this skill, but email can be just as effective in their spelling and grammar. The kids will then need to brush up on their reading when they receive responses!

·     Next time you have a special occassion coming up ask your kids to write on your greeting cards. Have them write out your Christmas Cards, fill in cards for birthdays and special occasions. It adds a personal touch to your greetings and helps with their hand writing and spelling.

MATHS

·    Take the kids Widow Shopping. Give them a catalogue from the mail box assign them a budget, and let them loose to choose products that amount to their limit. It will be like Christmas for them, but best of all it won't cost you a penny! No calculators!

·     When you are out with a trolley full of kids trying to do your weekly grocery shop, ask them to help you keep track of your spending as you go, or have them work out which items are best value for money.

·     At home you could play "shops" with items from the cupboard set up in a supermarket and pretend money from your monopoly game.

·     Cooking is a fabulous activity for maths as well as fine motor skills. Recipes have lots of fractions and measurements and the success of a finely baked cake or a delicious home cooked meal can have many benefits other than just a happy tummy.

·     Spend some time to create a poster timetable of their week. Note down the important events that occur each week and encourage your kids to learn the times of day and days of the week.

·     Similarly create your own calendar of the year on a poster or multiple pages. Note down the important events and have them cross off each day as it passes. This will help them to learn the months and years.

No matter what you are doing, or where you are, there are opportunities for learning in all aspects of life. Education doesn't end at 3:15pm on Friday afternoon; it is a 24/7 event. So why not make the most of the opportunity to Make Learning Fun!

Find more ideas like this here to make learning fun your kids!

Get FREE Tutoring!

Have you ever thought about getting some extra tutoring for your kids to help them with a subject they are struggling at, or just to help them get ahead? If you've looked into professional tutoring organisations or answered newspaper advertisements, you would know that it is NOT cheap! Depending on the age and needs of your child it can be anywhere up to $60 per hour! 

But there's a way you can get extra tutoring for your child for absolutely FREE! Networking! Not the technical computer kind, but the social kind. Networking goes back to the old saying of "It's not what you know, It's who you know". It's something that job seekers and business professionals get told to do this all time! Build your network! Get out and talk to people, ask questions, make connections. And it really works. So why not use the same principles for your kids learning?

So go on, get out a sheet of paper, write your name & your kids names in the centre, then start to jot down all the names of people you know who are “good” at something. Start with your close family and friends and work your way out from there. For example, I have a brother who is great at maths, I have another brother who is great with hands on type stuff, my mum is a great reader, my uncle is fantanstic with computers. I have a friend who is a teacher, I have another friend who is really crafty and loves to make things.

From this list you can start to see what skills and qualities you have in your circle of friends & family, and you can start to think about how you could use those to help with your child’s progress? Perhaps you could ask the uncle who is good at maths to spend some time every couple of weeks with your child to do some extra maths related stuff or help with their homework and expand on the concepts they are currently learning in class? You could ask the friend who is really crafty to help with the school project your child has been working on? Their Nanna might like to spend some special “Nanna Story Time” with them. A special dedicated hour on a weekend to share fun and exciting stories with Nan?

You never know unless you ask! You could spend thousands of dollars on expensive tutoring; or you could use the network you have in your life already to strengthen the bond between your children and their family and save all that money for something rewarding (and educational of course)! People are usually flattered to be asked for their help and will most often go out of their way to find time to offer what they can. But if you don’t ask, they may never even think about it. The worst they could say is no, so if they aren’t able to help at that time, just look for the next name on your list and keep networking.

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