Summer Reading

Have your kids started their summer reading assignments yet?

I've only got one who's excited about doing his summer reading, and that's my seven-year-old. He doesn't have a book list to complete for the fall. Instead, his teacher reminded the children to read 15 minutes per day. And our local library gives out prizes for every four hours the children read, so he's motivated! He can win books, free fast-food meals, pencils or toys. (He usually picks the toy, which immediately gets forgotten about in his library bag.)

My daughter, who will begin eighth grade this fall, has three books to read. One of her teachers lent classroom copies of one book to the students, so we only have to purchase two. But that one book has become a real obstacle for her. All I hear about it the tiny print, the many pages, the boring topic. I'm not sure whether requiring her to read 15 minutes a day will get her through this book, never mind the other two, by the time school starts. Instead, I may need to have her try the method one of my grad-school professors had us use: count how many pages are in the required books, and divide that by the number of days until the deadline for reading the books. The result is the number of pages you must read per day in order to finish on time. (When I was in grad school, that number was 50--for just one class.)

She'll get a break next year, though, when she goes to high school. The high school has a "one school, one book" program going. The entire student body and faculty read the same book over the summer, and it will be incorporated into the work for every class. I'm sure that gets a little challenging for math and phys. ed. teachers, but my high-school student is just happy that he only has a single book to read this year--and there's a movie to go along with it. Knowing him, he'll wait until the weekend before school starts before he sits down with his book. But he'll get it done.

As for me, I'm reading as many books as I can fit in during the summertime. It's one of my favorite things to do.

A very happy birthday to my mom, who shares (and always encouraged) my love of reading!

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