Posted on: Saturday, June 3, 2006
SATURDAY SCOOPS
Rise, shine, read
By Doug Worgul
Knight Ridder News Service
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Reading is in many ways an ideal activity for summer, when kids have more uninterrupted free time and the heat keeps them inside.
Photo by DEBORAH BOOKER | Illustration by JON ORQUE | The Honolulu Advertiser
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BOOK BUDDIES
Take advantage of state libraries' summer programs. Here are just a few: A performance by slam poet Kealoha, 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Kaimuki branch. 733-8422. He will visit various branches through July 12. Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales is a five-week reading program for youngsters who will be in preschool through grade 6 in the fall. The animal-themed program happens from June to July. Creature Feature @ Your Library is the theme of the young adult reading program, for those entering the 7th through 12th grades in the fall and 2006 high school graduates.For more details, go to www.librarieshawaii.org or to your local library branch. BUYER'S BONANZA The annual big book event of the summer is the Friends of the Library book sale, now in its 59th year. More than 100,000 books in every category and for every age group will be offered at the McKinley High School cafeteria. There'll be CDs, DVDs, videos and collectible books, too. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 8-9; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 10-14; and 9 a.m. to noon July 15. Admission is free. Want to volunteer to help? Call 536-4174.
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Tiana Branton, 6, was browsing through the pages at the State Library last summer as mom Marlene Branton gathered an armful of books for Tiana to read.
ADVERTISER LIBRARY PHOTO | July 5, 2005
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As parents prepare to roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, many are hoping to find ways to make them a little less lazy.
About this time every year, parents and educators devise strategies to keep reading levels high for good readers and improve levels for remedial readers. Reading is in many ways an ideal activity for summer, when kids have more uninterrupted free time and the heat keeps them inside.
Some creative tactics for keeping kids' minds and reading skills sharp during summer:
Be cool: Hang out at the library. It's air-conditioned, kid-friendly and packed with books on every conceivable subject.
Give your child a book allowance/budget — perhaps in the form of a bookstore gift card. As he finishes a batch, take him to the store to replenish his supply.
Give kids as much leeway as possible in making their own choices about what to read. They'll be more enthusiastic about reading books they've chosen.
Place books around the house where kids are likely to welcome a relaxing diversion.
Introduce kids to many kinds of books, including biographies, mysteries, fantasies, literary novels and poetry. Some readers may find age-appropriate comic books and graphic novels especially engaging.
Encourage kids to view a variety of materials as "reading," including magazines, newspapers and reference books.
Challenge older children to undertake a special summer-long research project (low-intensity, long-duration, no pressure) such as a family genealogy or the history of the Barbie doll.
Pack a "booknic." Add some books to a picnic lunch. Reading outdoors is a great way to spend an afternoon.
Form a kids' book club. Encourage your kids to meet with friends over ice cream to talk about what they've all read.
Form a "movie and book" club. Encourage kids to read books that have been made into movies. When they've finished the books, rent the movies and talk about the differences and similarities and which they liked better and why. Examples include "Holes," "Because of Winn-Dixie," "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Hoot," the "Princess Diaries" series and, of course, the "Harry Potter" series.
Make it a contest. Let siblings, cousins or friends challenge each another to see who can read the most books over the summer. Variations on this theme might include who can read the most or who can be the first to finish a specific series.
Put on a show. Help your kids and friends stage a play based on a book they read together.
— Sources: Scholastic and Woman's Day
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