Still here, reading

I hope you are enjoying the summer that finally arrived in my neck of the woods, where we call it our "neck of the woods." Summer is one of my favorite times for reading, probably stemming from a childhood of school vacations that allow for seemingly endless, uninterrupted hours to get lost in a good book. With all the summer activities available my kids, I have to be careful to guard their uninterrupted reading time. This week, after an especially fruitful trip to the library, during which I stumbled upon a chapter book entitled "Bug Boy," my son spent a solid three hours finishing the book cover to cover! (If you know my son, he plans to be an entomologist when he grows up, so this work of fiction about a boy who can turn into a bug was right up his alley.) If you have a Bug Boy or Bug Girl in your family, they may be interested in these titles by Carol Sonenklar. Or they may like a non-fiction book about bugs, which my son would typically read.

I also like summer for all the summer reading programs available. My kids can earn a free book at Barnes and Noble. They enter to win prizes at the local library. I'm sure there are many other summer reading programs that people could share in the comments. Incentive programs are wonderful, especially when they recognize the value of time spent listening to an adult read as equal to the time spent reading independently. Incentives can be just the ticket to get a reluctant reader motivated to put in the time necessary to discover a love for reading. But parents beware: incentives programs can just as easily squelch a spark of love that is ready to leap into a flame. If we make reading about an external goal and not about the enjoyment of the act of reading, we may be defeating the purpose. Two reading programs is really more than my kids want to do. They read a ton, but need reminders to fill in their time sheets and recording titles. And I'm okay with that. It means they get the point - reading is fun!