Gimmicks

How do you feel about gimmicks? Gimmicks are often thought of as low quality, fleeting, trendy or even evil. On the other hand, the rules of the natural world and the growth of our bodies and minds are real and lasting. When these two forces collide, it can be incredibly powerful. Case in point:

National Geographic Angry Birds

I can't tell you how long my dear son spent looking at these books in Barnes and Noble yesterday and he didn't even think he learned anything despite the fact that these books are full of information about animal identification, habitat, geography and behavior. Thankfully, our local library has several books from this series in circulation. I will definitely be recommending it to gift givers this holiday season.

I am generally not a fan of gimmicks, but when used well, they can be great tools for helping children build important skills. I recommend that you check out trendy books and see if they meet your standards. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Always time for reading

My kids didn't win any prizes with their summer reading programs. They never turned in enough time sheets. But they certainly spent time reading! I treasure the moments when they are sitting side by side behind the couch with my son encouraging his sister to try new words. It sounds something like, "Do you want to be a teenager and not be able to read this?" I get a good chuckle out of his frustrations and appreciate his overall patience and honest encouragement. I'm often frustrated myself by having to pick up mountains of books for the thousandth time. Or when I need to say, "This really is the last one," my arms loaded with library books. On those busy days, when I need to be working on something or when we can't mess up the house because we just finished cleaning it, we turn to our trusty friends, books. I'm thankful for them. They are always waiting there on the shelf with plenty of time for us, even on the busiest of days.