Posted in Information and Ideas

Simply right click and save it to your computer.  Then, be sure to link it back to this blog - http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SummerReadingSplash. 

Thanks!

Posted in Information and Ideas

Posted in Information and Ideas

TOS SUMMER READING SPLASH! May 2009                                          Greetings! It's hard to believe that so many months have passed and it's time to kick off our SECOND ANNUAL SUMMER READING SPLASH!  We had so much fun last year and hope that you and your children did as well.  We're looking forward to another summer filled with lots of reading and great books!  (This reading program is open to ANY homeschooled student - you do not have to be a TOS magazine or E-newsletter subscriber in order for your children to participate.)  As a matter of fact, we are so passionate about getting children to read, we'd love for you to share this information with EVERYONE you know!  Please forward this e-mail to all your homeschooling friends and share the news about the Summer Reading Splash!   Over the next 3 months, we'll provide lots of great information and creative ideas for encouraging your children to read.  Below, you will see (in more detail) what all we have available to you NOW.  As the summer progresses, we will add more resources to Splish's blog.  You'll want to check back often!  In the coming weeks and months, we will be offering several freebies and downloads to enrich your family's reading fun! Summer is a fantastic time to promote reading to your child(ren).  Take a break from your regular studies and just spend some time reading to and with them.  We are looking forward to another fun summer and hope that you will encourage your children to participate.  Please continue reading below to learn more about some of the awesome things we have planned for the summer.  Then, go pick up a book and READ!

Set Reading Goals     We will be providing you with downloadable record-keeping sheets; these are available in two formats- for younger students and older students.    We encourage you to help your children set attainable reading goals this summer. Let your children take an active role in helping to set their own goals;  they will be more eager to read if they are doing it for themselves! At the end of our 10-week program, you'll have opportunity to share your child's reading logs and he/she will automatically be entered in a drawing for free books!   Reading & Literacy Statistics   Students who reported having all four types of reading materials (books, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias) in their home scored, on average, higher than those who reported having fewer reading materials.   Studies of out-of-school reading habits of students have shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year.     Statistics provided by The Literacy Company.   Reading Fun for Parents   We're excited about our upcoming Summer issue!  We have lots of great things to share, including: Motivating articles about the Charlotte Mason approach, including nature and art journaling Inspiring interviews from eight homeschooling experts Many articles about areas related to special needs education, including dyslexia, speech pathology, and Down syndrome A special feature on adoptions A unit study from Amanda Bennett Our Storytime Writing Contest Winners will be announced, and the winning stories will be shared More frugal family ideas from Molly Green And much more!  Treat yourself to a subscription and read along with the kids this summer! Click here to subscribe.   Kick-Off Contest This year, we have decided to kick things off with a fun coloring contest!  We have two coloring pages - both featuring our mascot, Splish the frog - one for older kids and one for younger kids. To enter the contest, click here. Download the appropriate coloring page(s) and print. Then, follow the rules for submitting your entries.  (Be sure to read the entire page.) The winning entries will be "popping up" throughout the summer on Splish's blog.  And, the best part ... we've got a great prize package of summer reading material for the winners as well!  So, get those crayons, markers, and colored pencils out and get to work!  All submissions due by June 16th. Scavenger Hunt Fun   Throughout the Summer Reading program Splish invites you to join him in his scavenger hunt with great freebies given away each week.   Climb aboard and join the fun, The adventure is about to begin, Follow the clues along the way, To see what you will win. Look around and you will see, Splish's favorite place to read. Hop upon his lily pad, And let the hunt proceed. Be sure to visit Splish's blog   If you are repeat participants in our Summer Reading Splash program, then you already know about Splish's blog.  This is the "hub" of the summer reading program. If you have not already subscribed to follow this blog, or if this is your first year to read along with us, you will want to subscribe to the blog ASAP (sign up in the sidebar).  You won't want to miss any updates. Throughout the summer, we will be sharing about some wonderful books that you will want to read and authors you may want to learn more about.  We've had donations from some great authors and generous publishers.  At the end of the program, we will be having a drawing to give away ALL these books! We may even throw in a surprise contest here and there.  So, be sure to keep track of EVERYTHING you read this summer!  Splish wants to know all about it.

We hope that you will encourage your children to participate in the SECOND ANNUAL SUMMER READING SPLASH, not only by reading books this summer, but by playing along in our weekly scavenger hunts.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Sincerely, Splish  and the rest of your friends at The Old Schoolhouse(r) Magazine

Posted in Information and Ideas

Posted in Information and Ideas

Jessica (14) sent me some interesting facts about reading that she has discovered in her research.  I thought they were worth sharing with you:

A FEW INTERESTING STATISTICS ABOUT READING IN THE U.S.

56 percent of young people [public school kids] say they read more than 10 books a year, with middle school students reading the most. Some 70 percent of middle school students read more than 10 books a year, compared with only 49 percent of high school students

15% of all 4th graders read no faster than 74 words per minute, a pace at which it would be difficult to keep track of ideas as they are developing within the sentence and across the page

The educational careers of 25 to 40 percent of American children are imperiled because they don't read well enough, quickly enough, or easily enough.

Posted in Information and Ideas

On our Summer Reading Splash! website, we have a document that you can download that is full of fun book report ideas.  I remember back to when I was in school - we would receive a form to fill out about each book we read.  The forms were all the same, the only difference was the book information that we would put on it.  These got very repetitive and boring after awhle.  When I first started homeschooling my oldest daughter, I remember searching for some book report alternatives.  Some of the ones listed on that downloadable form are ones that I found.  Wow - book reports really can be fun! 

Sharon, from PA, a homeschooling mom of 2 girls (ages 12 & 17), sent me the following book report ideas and I wanted to share them with you: 

Book Report Sandwich

Cut out large shapes to represent all the ingredients of a sandwich.

Top slice of bread - create a book cover type picture. 

Mayo - Title and author

Cheese - Write a paragraph about the setting.  Where does the story take place?  What era?

Lettuce - Describe the plot of the story.

Tomato - Paragraph describing the main character

Ham - Write a summary paragraph about the book.

Pickles - What was the climax of the story?  Don't give away the ending!!

Bottom slice of bread - Why would you recommend this book to others?  What was your favorite part of the story?

You can create the layers and copy onto colored printer paper for younger kids or have older students make their own.  Paragraphs can become sentences or be dictated to a parent to make this idea something all ages can use.

Stack the layers as if you were making a sandwich and clip or staple together.  Makes a great report to share with the family on a picnic or over lunch!!

Another fun idea is to create a book jacket to fit around a coffee can.  Include pictures, title, author and student name.  Write a brief summary paragraph to cover the lid.  Fill the can with things that were part of the story.  For instance, plastic or beanie animals, insects or people, toys, balls, plastic food.   (Please remind the children not to put anything perishable in their can - TRUST ME ON THIS!)  After they have gathered 6-7 items to put in their can, they can present an oral report about their book using all the things in the can to help describe the book. This is great for those who don't like to write or need the comfort of holding something in their hands while talking to a group of people.

A variation on this would be to have the child create a scavenger hunt with the things in their can providing clues to lead to the next item.  When all the items have been found, have the student tell everyone about their can and how the items relate to the story.   Or, the can intro could be given before the hunt and as each thing is found the child could tell about how it is part of the story.   

Sharon says: Hope you enjoy these report ideas!  We sure did!!  As a matter of fact, I've enjoyed remembering about these activities so much I think we'll do them again!  I'll just up the requirements to challenge my high schooler!