Do you like to play Hangman?

I frequently use Spelling City to help with spelling words. One of our favorite activities on that site is Hangman. My daughter received a magnetic Hangman game last week and I realized it would be a great tool to work on spelling words. When the spelling words are first introduced, you could allow your child to keep the list out. He could even refer to the list during the game. Think about it: your child will repeatedly scan the list to find the correct word. You could also progress to removing the list. Another great way to play Hangman would be to tell your child the definition and have them "guess the correct word. Again, they could have the option to look at the list. Last week we played Hangman for hours. It was a great game for the 4 of us. We each tried to find clever words that were also very common. I got my family on the word "Hangman". It was a hoot! They couldn't believe I got them with the name of the game.

Happy spelling,
Susanne

Free Rice

I'm always looking for educational internet-based games. I'd forgotten about "Free Rice". How could I? It's educational and it's linked through a program that gives out... you guessed it! Free Rice! I'm going to let my son (age 9) play it this afternoon. In addition, I've played it a little this morning and am disappointed by my performance. However, I LOVE seeing those grains of rice accumulate! The vocabulary is my favorite, but they've also got Art, Chemistry, Grammar, Geography, Foreign Languages and Math. Have fun!
http://freerice.com/index.php

Are you looking for some parent-led educational acitivities this summer?

I love the Scholastic website! There are so many fun activities! Check out the link below to find some interactive learning activities:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/learn.jsp?lnkid=TNav:SA:home&ESP=SA/ib//acq/main_tnav_SA///nav/txtl////

While you're reading to your kids next time, give 'em a big ole kiss! I love to snuggle while reading~ such a precious time with the little ones (that aren't so little anymore!).

Media and Our Children

The integration of media into our children's lives can be overwhelming for parents. How is it impacting your child and how can you monitor it? Check out Dr. Albert Mohler's article: http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/01/21/like-the-air-they-breathe-the-online-life-of-kids/

Happy reading,
Susanne

Do you have a picky reader?

We've all heard of picky eaters ~ I have one in my house ~ but have you heard of a picky reader?  A picky reader only wants to read about pirates, princesses, or some other specific subject/author/series.  As a librarian, I am sometimes frustrated by these picky readers.  However, it's best to step back and be thankful they want to read!  How can you find books on the appropriate reading level that are interesting to your little reader?  Check out this link:  Advanced AR Book Finder.  Obviously, this site is affiliated with Accelerated Reader.  I use it for my kids as well as students I tutor with Raising Readers.  You can enter a reading level with a subject, title or author.  Here's an example.  My daughter is in the first grade and she l-o-v-e-s pirates.  I'd go to the book finder and type in "pirate" in the title.  Then, I'd select the radio button beside "Contains".  These two little steps are going to find any book that have the word pirate in the title.  Next, for interest level I will select, "Lower Grades".  Finally, I'd put in the ATOS level.  Since she's in first grade, I could do "1.0 to 1.9".  If they're not reading on grade level, you could enter a level higher or lower.  For these purposes, I put in "1.0 to 1.9".  When I hit "Go", 6 books came up.  I can look through these books and see if they look interesting and figure out if my local library has them.  Play around with this a little.  You will learn how to get more specific or broad.  Alright, gotta run find "A Band of Dirty Pirates" for my daughter! 
Happy Reading!
Susanne

A Book and a Hug

I'm always on the lookout for new websites that share book recommendations.  I've found a great website called, "A Book and a Hug".  http://www.abookandahug.com/  The author, Barb Langridge, has 30 years experience in the book industry.  Her goal was to create a website that helps parents find books for their kids.  She has books grouped by genre, reading levels and various keywords.  I found this site extremely easy to use and quite informative.  In addition, under "Books Alive" she has taped interviews with authors.  One of my favorite features is that she doesn't stick with the typical genres.  She also has poetry and short stories!  To me, it's easiest to search by category.  She gives a reading level, keywords and a summary for each book.  The optimal way to use this website is to search through the different books with your child.  It would give y'all the opportunity to look through the books together.
Happy reading,
Susanne

Another great website

Some of you may be familiar with James Patterson. He writes fiction for adults and children. He sold more than 16 million books in 2007. (I do NOT recommend reading his books about mutated children while you're pregnant... but that's another story.) James is one of the creator's of the website "readkiddoread.com". The other creator is Judy Freeman. She is an amazing children's author and former librarian. As you can imagine, I'm a big fan!

James and Judy joined forces to create a website that recommends and reviews books. As you'll notice, they are divided into age groups, as well as genres. For instance, if you look up "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", you will find recommended ages, a book description, themes and a listing of similar books. What a great resource for parents, children and educators. It's great to find a "safe" website that allows children to look up their books. It's fun for parents, too!

So, the next time you're stuck at home on a rainy day, sit down with your children and rummage through this great website.

http://www.readkiddoread.com/

Happy reading,
Susanne

Great website!

There is a website called, “Reading is Fundamental”. It is fabulous! I recommend it for everyone: teachers, parents and students. Here’s the address: http://www.rif.org/. “Reading is Fundamental” is a childhood literacy organization. Through the website there are articles for parents on ways to motivate your kids to read, for educators there are lesson plans and for kids there are activities that encourage reading. Let me know if you check it out.

Happy Reading! Susanne