McGraw-Hill Summer Reading Tips & Children's Books Giveaway{Closed}

My oldest son, Caleb, just graduated kindergarten. He has learned to read, and loves it! We want him to keep the reading up during the summer, and have a few tips to help from Wright Group/McGraw-Hill’s author Charlene Cobb.

- Create a summer escape in your home perfect for reading. Make sure there is good light and comfortable seating to entice your kids to spend time there. We have a corner by the boys bedroom filled with pillows and a basket full of books I rotate often.

- Even if your children can read by themselves, take turns reading to each other. This helps build their skills as they listen to your tone and inflection throughout the story or article. Before, during and after you read, talk about the material. Ask you child questions and encourage you child to ask you questions. My son loves to read to his brother and sister. And, in the evenings, we all gather around to listen to a book that I read that they want me to read.

- Whether you are reading to your children or they are reading themselves, plan an event or activity that ties to the reading material. For instance, book reading can lead to picnics, museum and zoo visits, ballgames, or even family vacations. From his school, Caleb has gotten into this huge fascination with birds. So, we'll all look at the book we have with pictures and descriptions of birds, and go out and see if we can find them. We live in the country, so we can often see a variety of birds. Their favorites are the big eagles and hawks.


- Look for opportunities for your child to read. If you have a manual for a new DVD player, ask your child to read you the directions. Grocery lists and “to do” lists are also good items to help kids practice reading in “real life.”

- Even if you are not reading the same books as your children, talk to them about what they are reading. Ask them questions such as what happened in the story or what might happen next, who is their favorite character, or who is the villain. This builds summarization and recall skills, and your interest can help increase their interest.

- Suggest your child read a popular series that has been turned into movies like the Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia books. When your child finishes reading the book, rent or go see the movie and discuss how each differed from the other and whether the book or movie was more enjoyable. Or, if your child has a favorite movie, see if you can find any titles about it in a book!

-Try to set aside at least one TV/video-game-free night per week for family reading. Make your family’s favorite snacks, get new books at the library and make it fun!




And, now for the giveaway!

I'm happy to announce that the awesome people at McGraw-Hill Education are letting me giveaway to one of my lucky readers a gift set which will include 3 books of your choice! This giveaway will end July 1. Here's how to enter:

Initial Entry: How do you keep your kids interested in reading during the summer? Leave me comment for your first entry!

Extras:

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4. Tell me what your favorite children's book to read is. How about your children's?

5. Blog about this giveaway (5 entries)

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