The plan for this summer is to build up reading and writing skills through some simple activities. For better writing skills, the kids will be blogging, tweeting, e-mailing and hand mailing letters for a variety of reasons: from blogging about the Imagineering project, to scanning book reports, mailing our prayers out to our favorite Nuns and e-mailing gardening questions to area experts. We'll also copy favorite recipes into scrapbooks and journal the growth and care of the plants in the garden.
I hope to build up the kids' excitement towards reading by earning money the good old-fashioned way, hard work around the neighborhood, using it to purchase brand new books and building up a personal listening library for my struggling reader. We'll see if we can wash cars and windows, collect recyclables, hold a garage sale, try a lemonade stand-or go all out with a bubble stand at the summer street fair, something that required effort and elbow grease. I figure, if the kids worked to earn the money for their books, they'll appreciate the books more and be more compelled to read them, and I know our neighbors will be very supportive of our intentions.
The goal is to earn enough money to purchase the entire Magic Tree House series for each child, hardcover, along with the books on CD-a very expensive but worthwhile goal. We will also try to buy brand new copies of our library favorites along with a listening library of Amelia Bedelia, Henry & Mudge, Dr. Seuss, Bernstain Bears and Fly Guy. The kids have their favorite picture books from favorite authors; Robert Munsch, Cornelia Funke, The Clubhouse Series to read for fun.
Once we complete the Magic Tree House series we will graduate to Beverly Cleary books (Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse) & Judy Blume (Fudge). Once the kids complete those with the help of a listening library, plus young reader classics (Mother Goose, Curious George, Beatrix Potter, etc.) we'll move on to Roald Dahl and Robert C. O'Brien. I have no idea what kind of a timeline that will look like, but at the end of these readings, I will bring out 'the big guns', the books they REALLY WANT; a hardcover box set of Harry Potter complete with a nifty trunk! Each! And each book on CD. I imagine it will take from a year to a year-and-a-half to read through the 'requirements'. The kids won't even believe in their Fairy Godmother anymore (the one who is currently promising to bring this set to the kids if they pass the prerequisite readings), but I doubt that in a year they will want to read Harry Potter any less than they would like to now. I'm hoping to stock up on Harry Potter Lego sets, a DVD collection and costumes, so when the time does come we will have a reading experience like none other. Build a Lego set, read a book, watch the movie after. Repeat 8 times (since the last movie is a two-parter) My daughter can be Hermione, and my son can play Harry Potter.
For each book read, the plan is to have the kids write a report, scan the handwritten report onto the blog and post a video review on YouTube. This is how their Fairy Godmother will know that they are reading the books, and will know by the amount of books read, just how hard they worked to buy them.
We will also post clips of each Wonderson taking a turn reading a story for young children to practice fluency and speech. As a reward for participating, we'll YouTube skits of our absolute favorite reads-Charlie Brown and Garfield comic strips, try our hand at Shel Silverstein, and act out our own strips.
Ambitious, yes, but whatever it takes to get everyone reading.
