School started for me on Monday.
My days are spent getting the Media Center in my school ready for those excited young faces who will arrive next Tuesday morning.

I’ve been reading all the fun “Back-to-School” posts that show all kinds of crafts, teacher gifts, posters, etc.
That got me to thinking……there seems to be a lot of interest in “Back-To-School”

Well….since I have been “going back to school” for a whole lot of years, I thought I would do a series on “Back to School” too.

Now I love crafts, fun recipes and cute school clothes as much as any of you…but that is NOT what this series is about.
This series will focus on ways to help your child (and you) connect school and home….sort of your own little Parent Information Night….except you can come in your jammies and you don’t have to sit in those little chairs!

Two of the most popular posts I wrote this summer were about children’s books…..
Read-A-Loud Recommendations and A Great List of Picture Books

We all want our students to be readers!

We know that the more kids read the more they know!

Some kids naturally LOVE to read….if you are a parent of one of THOSE kids….you don’t have too much to worry about.

Kids who love to read will read all the time and get better and better at reading!

Some kids DO NOT LOVE to read….if you are a parent of one of THOSE kids….you worry ALL the time!

And I bet all that worrying doesn’t help much….
What you need are some concrete suggestions!

1. ….STOP worrying, fussing and begging….making reading a battleground just defeats the purpose!

2. …. DISCOVER your child’s passion and look for books, magazines or Internet sites that are about the things your child loves.

Soccer, Earthquakes, Wars, Legos, Skateboarding…..There are great books about all of these things.

This Reading List Works with Kids Who Love Reading and Those Who Don’t

Guys Read a great site with book lists on all kinds of subjects that GUYS (and some girls) will love.

3. …..REMEMBER that reading is reading! Your child does NOT have to read stories or novels!  If YOU are reading this….you are READING and it isn’t a novel!

If your child likes the computer….try these sites:

StoryLine On-Line

Celebrities read favorite books to your student….then go to the library and check the book out.

James Earl Jones, Betty White and others…you will love them too.

KOL Jr. Stories 
Lots of stories….listen and read along to lots of favorites including some of the Arthur books

National Geographic Online Edition

Read Articles, play games and enjoy photos from on this high quality site.
The articles are short non-fiction snippets that kids will enjoy!

4. ….Let your child SAMPLE a book using Amazon

This is something that kids LOVE to do….log into Amazon Children’s Books

Look through the colorful illustrated book suggestions or search a topic that your child likes and use the LOOK INSIDE! feature….your child will be able to read a few pages of a book to decide if it something worth reading…then off to the library to check it out….if it isn’t a favorite….sneaky you….you still got some reading time in.

5.  …..WRITE something for your child to read!

Many of you READING this are WRITERS!  Many of you WRITE on your blogs every day!  Write a personal story about your child or something you remember from when you were little….Read it out loud to your child….add some pictures.

You can even publish it using any number publishing tools like Snapfish, iPhoto, Walgreens! I PROMISE you that your child will read it over and over again!

Now…I have to get some things ready for my last workshop day before kids come to school next week.
AND
I am one of those people who LOVE to read….so I need to find some time to read some of your wonderful blogs….
Coming Soon…#2 in the Back to School Series!

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