Big Changes!

This is my last week teaching Literacy Launchpad in my beloved preschools... at least for a while. Can you guess why?

That's right, we're becoming a homeschooling family. 

I'm entering a whole new realm of Literacy Launchpad-ness! It's not done, folks! I will be reading and reading and teaching and encouraging with my own three at home, and sharing with you all along the way! I also plan to continue visiting my schools for some special story times every few months.

I wish I could put on the homeschool mom hat without having to take off another hat that I currently wear, but I am no super woman. And if I'm going to do this homeschool thing, I want to make sure I can give it my all for my kids. 

We might try this homeschool thing and find it to be a no-go, but we're at least going to try. I'm excited and hopeful that it will be a really good thing for all of us. 

If you are a homeschooling family I would love to hear your #1 homeschooling tips! 

And you will still find me here, sharing ideas, tips, project ideas, and book suggestions! 

Snapshots of Summer Reading

This summer has been going by so fast. It's been pretty crazy, and feels a bit like a blur. We've been visiting our library in the midst of the chaos though and continuing to read. Here are a few snapshots I captured in some of those quiet, still moments.

O.K. this moment wasn't so quiet, but it was at least pretty still. We had some of our cousins staying with us and did Madlibs as bedtime stories. My kids love Madlibs and are really good at telling you what a noun, or verb, or adjective is.

This one's not necessarily a reading moment, but I wanted to share my cute little bulletin board I posted at my schools for our summer reading!

Did you know some LEGO sets come with little comic books? So fun!

The kids wanted to share some of their photo books they made with their aunt and cousin that were visiting. They felt so proud as she sat with them and each of their books aloud. 

We got the kids' cousin hooked on reading in bed with a night light while she was here visiting. So fun!

We visited a used bookstore and my sister grabbed some Shakespeare and challenged Mel to read some of it aloud. Here's him trying. Ha!

Finding Space for Reading

Summer never feels like a time when things slow down and life is a little less crazy. Our summers are busy, for the kids and for me. When I see these book lists on Pinterest titled things like "10 Best Beach Reads," I laugh. What mom is able to actually read at the beach (If you are a mom that does get to read at the beach, please don't tell me, or I might cry)? I'm always busy making sure my kids don't get pulled out to sea by a rip current.

... Or I'm burying kids in the sand!

Not only does extra reading hardly ever seem to happen, but I struggle to maintain the little bits of regular reading time we normally observe. Travel and late bedtimes mean we sometimes miss our bedtime stories.

My Little Reader hasn't done much napping this summer and I only just realized today that no nap means we haven't been reading our normal pre-nap stories.

My kids love to stay up and read with their book lights at night, and even that has been falling by the wayside as they are so often zonking out as soon as they hit the pillow, as of late.

When there are lulls in their days and they get bored, I have seen my kiddos pick up books and read... from time to time.

They begged to do the summer reading program at the library, and have happily been picking out books that interest them on our regular trips.

They are slowly learning to read for the pure pleasure of it. So all is not lost.

But as we creep toward the start of another school year, and I look toward days containing some kind of routine again, I realize that I need to really be intentional with our reading times. I need to guard our established reading routines, perhaps reinstate some that have been lost, and I hope to work more reading time into our routine wherever I can. We will be homeschooling in the fall, so I'm excited about getting creative with how we find time to read, and simply having the control over our routine to give reading the prioritization that I crave.

Finding space for reading turns our to be easier said than done, even for those of us that understand its value and enjoy books. So how to you find space to read in the craziness and busyness of summer?

Our bedroom floors are always covered in books, so we've at least got that going for us!

Happy Reading Moments

I wouldn't call my kids avid readers. One or two of them might be heading that direction, but I still have to encourage reading, or bedtime might be the only time it happens. And life has been busy lately, and there have been plenty of days when it only happens at bedtime. Oh, and naptime too!

Yes, my kids like books. But like most kids (and adults), they can often be pulled other directions by life's busyness and distractions. I savor the moments I find my kiddos reading with little to no prompting from me. 

... Like at Chick Fil A. I love when there's a book in the kids meal, and my son begs me to read it to him instead of playing on the playground. This was one from the Franklin series. And he also still pulls his Chick Fil A Cowborg comic books from his bookshelf for me to read to him (his big brother is getting sick of them). 

We visited our local used bookstore and spent a fortune on all the books the kids carefully selected from the shelves. 

I cracked up when I found these books on our used bookstore visit. The top title is my 4 year old's excuse for not doing what I ask, and the bottom title is my 9 year old's excuse.

This is where I can find My Little Reader on the day his Lego Jr. magazine arrives in the mailbox. 

When my 9 year old is bored, he will resort to reading aloud to his little brother. Love catching them in these moments. 

My 4 year old also enjoys his Turtle magazine subscription!

The TV is right there, and yet she's curled up with her Nook! Yay!

She told me this past week that reading has become like watching TV to her. She says she doesn't want to stop reading. Have I mentioned she's gone up almost 2 reading levels since November? Very proud of her. 

Caught him reading a book from his Easter basket behind a chair. 

And just to keep it real, I will add to all this that my kids are total screen enthusiasts as well. We put limits on screen time, but could stay glued to it all day if we let them. There sure is more and more stuff competing with reading time now, isn't there? How do you encourage reading at your house?

Which Picture Books Should I Keep?

I'm a bargain shopper to the max, even (especially?) when it comes to picture books. I spend a lot of time haunting yard sales and thrift stores, looking for a diamond in the rough. Honestly, it usually doesn't take much digging or searching to find great picture books for a steal. And I can't help but wonder why people get rid of some of these great books I find.

Granted, I teach books, so I hardly ever toss any picture books from my collection. I suppose not everyone has that same inclination, eh? So unless you're aiming to be featured on an episode of Hoarders someday, how do you sort through all those books that your kids have outgrown? Do you get rid of them all? Should you save some? If you save some, how many and which ones?

My in-laws recently came for a weekend visit and brought along two big boxes of books from my husband's childhood. It was like Christmas for me! I had so much fun looking through them all, seeing vintage editions of some classics, and hearing my mother-in-law tell me about where they came from and which ones were most treasured. I've been reading them with my kids and delight in telling them, "This was one of Daddy's favorite books when he was little!" That is gold! I am so thankful that my MIL hung onto those books all these years.

You don't need to save all the picture books on your shelf, but I think you should save some. Here are a few reasons why:

•  They make wonderful family heirlooms.
•  What are you going to read the grandkids   if you get rid of all those picture books?
•  It's great reading motivation for kids to be able to hold, and feel, and experience a picture book from their parents' childhood. 

You probably can't, or don't want to, save them all though. So here are a few things to ask yourself, as you consider each book in your personal collection, that might help you decide which ones to keep and which ones to pass along.

• Was this one of my child's favorite books? Did they ask to have it read to them often? Do I know it by heart? Was it special to them for some reason?
• Was this book special to me as a mom or dad? Did I particularly enjoy reading this one to my child? Does it remind me of my child for a particular reason? 
• Is there special meaning or significance to this book? Was it a gift from someone special? Was it received on a special occasion? Does it have a personal inscription penned inside the cover?
• Is there a personal story that goes with this picture book? Was it the first book your child ever read themselves? Did it get them through a difficult time? Did it help them grasp a difficult concept?

Answering "yes" to any of these questions means it might be worth keeping that book. Even if a book is not a classic, or perhaps not even that good, if it's special to you or your child, it could be worth keeping. Write down on a notecard what makes that book special, why you kept it, and paperclip it into the book. You'll be glad you did, and likely your family will be too!

I'm probably preaching to the choir here when I ask you to not to throw away your unwanted picture books as you sort! Pass them onto friends, family, schools, or Goodwill! I've also seen these bins pictured below that you could drop them in!

My mom was great about saving books from my childhood too. I wrote this post  about one particular book that I was so glad she hung onto for us kids! 

Have you hung onto picture books your children have outgrown? How do you decide which ones to keep?

Our Favorites At Christmas

We all know there are about a zillion Christmas picture books out there. Some are wonderful, and some... not so much. But every family has a stack that stays in regular rotation year after in their family; maybe because it's an awesome books, or maybe because it holds some special meaning for their family.  So today I'm sharing my family's favorite Christmas books, and why we like them so much.

If you have kids that love Legos, than you need to check out the Brick Bible series. My boys and I both love the cool Lego illustrations that bring a fun freshness to these Bible stories. And the text comes straight from scripture, so my kids aren't just getting some cutesy little re-telling.

This one is such a sweet story of friendship, and of giving a gift that truly has a lot of thought behind it. My kids love it, and it give me the warm fuzzies every time I read it... without being cheesy.

This is one of the more cutesy Christmas stories, but I like the way it talks about what the creche/nativity set is all about. It's a good discussion starter, and fun to read right next to the nativity set where you can play and discuss as you read. I like the message of it, but it's light and fun too.

I've been reading this one at Literacy Launchpad for several years. All the fun of The Jolly Postman with a Christmas twist on it. It's an especially fun read with kids that are familiar with their fairy tales, but could also be a good way to introduce some - read this book, then read some of the fairy tales it talks about. Maybe write a letter to one of your favorite fairy tale characters when you're done reading!

The message of this book is sweet and subtle. A Christmas tree that is too big for Mr. Willoughby gets trimmed at the top to fit his home. But instead of the top being thrown out - it gets recycled and passed on to someone else that needs a tree. This continues all the way through the book till a mouse family ends up with the teeny tiny top of the tree at the very end. So sweet, and I like that it starts a good discussion about not wasting, and maybe even about reusing and recycling things at Christmas time. 

 

I think The Night Before Christmas can sometimes be a tough classic story for kids to get into and enjoy these days. But this pop-up version makes it so much more fun and interesting to read through, at least with my kids. It's beautiful, of course, and I like just having it out as part of our Christmas decor!

Santa Mouse is a cute little book that my mom read to me and my siblings growing up. And it's a fun little tradition you could start with your kids of Santa Mouse leaving a present on the tree each year. This is much more my speed than the time-consuming Elf on the Shelf tradition!

And of course, who doesn't love The Polar Express? I remember my dad reading this at my house growing up every Christmas Eve. I can still hear his voice every time I read it to my kids or students. And now we have the version with Liam Neeson reading it, which is really beautiful to listen to as well. I like to have it one when we're just sitting around Christmas-crafting or eating our lunch. 

Now tell me your favorites! I love to add new ones to our collection!

Ideas for Encouraging Literacy at Home

A short list of ideas for encouraging literacy, from my family to yours. 

1. Give your pre-reader some wordless (or almost wordless) books and ask them if they'll read it to you. Mine can't get enough of this, and thinks it's great fun. He sat down on the couch with a stack of books yesterday while his older siblings were doing homework, and "read them. I asked him to take the recycling out and he told me, "Not yet, Mom, I'm right in the middle of my book!" 

2. Let your big kids read to your little kids. A win-win-win!

3. Keep your writing center stocked and available. You never know when the writing bug will bite! My little guy likes to have his in bedroom. He lovingly refers to it as his "office."

4. Be willing to drop what you're doing and read to your little ones when the urge strikes them. I know it's not always possible, so remember tip #2!

5. Turn regular toys into literacy-learning tools. This week we made alphabet letters out of Legos. It kept my little guy busy for quite a while on and off all week.