Each summer, we enjoy a summer reading project.  It seems a little out of place, I suppose, as we school year round, and I think the intent of summer reading programs at the public libraries was to help prevent summer brain atrophy.  Call it a vestige of my youth if you will, but "summer" and "extra reading" are inseparable concepts for me.

Each summer we try something a little different.  When I had only one reader, I set a goal of a certain number of pages, and we kept track of his progress on a big chart in the dining room.  One summer we set a family goal of a certain number of books. 

This year I wanted to challenge my 3 readers.  It is a blessing to have voracious readers, but it carries with it the burden of keeping them well stocked with reading material while trying to keep that reading material confined to themes and issues appropriate to their ages.  A friend suggested a couple resources for me to help find books for the children: The Well Trained Mind (the reading lists), and this website.  I have copies of these lists and have assigned a point value to the books listed. Each child has a weekly goal of a certain number of points.  This should help us make better use of our public library, as we can bring the lists along.

This summer I also changed the reward format.  For the past few years, our family would enjoy a trip to an amusement park 3 hours away as our reward for meeting our goals. It has become such a fun family tradition that we are unwilling to allow its recurrence to depend upon our children's diligence!  So we're doing smaller, more frequent rewards this summer.  The first prizes will be awarded in a week to any children who meet their weekly goal for 2 weeks.  The prize?  A new book, of course!

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Posted by gardensong

Some of my happiest childhood summertime memories are of my many walks home from the library with an armful of books. I loved reading outside on a blanket in the shade..... and I still do it now with my kids. Thanks for the link to the book list! I homeschool my two girls with a classical approach and I have been using the Well-Trained Mind book as a guide. This fall, I'm deviating from the WTM suggestions a bit because we will be covering American History and I really want more of an emphasis on our Christian heritage.
God bless you!

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Posted by Anonymous

As the Mickey Mouse Club groomed the children of the 60s for the 70s revelry cycle so is the Disney-production that is Hannah Montana grooming the children for the next revelry cycle, 2010-2020. The incest photo was a clue.
Similarly, as guitar strumming was a very activity sociable back then so is Guitar Hero the training tool used to gain male interest today.
Osama struck a "deal" with a record company executive in 2007::::With this Democrat in office I suspect we are going to witness an intense revelry cycle like we experienced in the 1970s.

It's children who go to heaven, not old people. Old people became corrupted, fell for temptation and will be reincarnated.
Your children are the ones with the opportunity now. You must sacrifice to give them the best chance possible. You must bravely face god's tests and do the right thing.

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