Cultivating a Garden of Bookworms

It is that time of year - the tree is decorated and glowing and the lists of wishes and dreams are growing. Not all of our children can write yet, but the elder children help the younger ones create lists of thoughtfully chosen gifts. Even the youngest now knows how to say "book" and there are several books on each child's list this year. The younger children enjoy looking at picture books and being read to, the older children enjoy reading independently and discussing books with one another or with the adults in their lives. Teachers and other parents often ask "how do you spark that love of reading in your children?". I certainly am not taking all the credit for their literary passions, but here are a few tips and tricks I think have led them down the path of becoming bookworms:

4K Reading Log

Read for Fun - Most schools send home a reading log (older children can complete on their own, and younger children count each book read to them and tally up the total each month) of one sort or another. We consider this required reading. When the log is filled, we still continue reading - just for fun! We don't want reading to be a 'Have To' - at our house it's a 'Want To'!

Christmas Wish List 2018

Keep Books Handy - We have books in the bathroom that can be read while in the tub. We have books in the car to read while we wait or on our way to different activities. We have books in the diaper bag to read in the waiting room at the Doctor/Dentist/Chiropractic Office. We have books in our bedrooms to read before bed or read before breakfast. We don't have much technology in the house, but it's safe to say there are books stashed in every nook and cranny.

Discuss the Books - You don't have to be part of a book club to discuss a book. You don't even have to have read the book - just be prepared to ask questions and listen to the answers. Once in a while I'll read a book one of the older children has recommended to me, but I usually just enjoy their enthusiasm as they tell me about the adventures of this character or that one. Likewise, they enjoy listening as I highlight a particular book I'm reading, or introduce them to a new author friend. In fact, I recently told them about Fiona Ingram's blog tour with WOW! and they were so excited they asked if they could put her books on their Christmas list.

A B & C visiting with Bev at LaDeDa Books 2017

Visit the Books - Some of my favorite childhood memories were had at the local libraries and bookstores. I want to pass that joy along to my children. We visit LaDeDa books and beans quite often and they agree it's the most magical bookstore in Manitowoc County. Some of our best friends own bookstores, work at the library, or meet us at the library for events and fun! That isn't to say we don't enjoy a good walk around the zoo or frolic at the park, but we absolutely adore our books and local booksellers!

I've also included my children in my love of book reviewing - they get really excited when they are asked to read and review a book that will appear on my blog. I understand that's not something everybody can do, but if you happen to have a blog, it's something to consider.

And now we need to discuss the downside to cultivating a garden of bookworms...

Bed Time

Delphine Reading in Bed

Bedtime with bookworms can be quite a challenge. If you turn out the lights, they'll find a flashlight, or lay in the doorway to catch the glow of the hallway light. A quick trip to the bathroom turns into an extra few chapters. There are no feet quite as quiet as that of a bookworm sneaking out of bed in search of a few more pages and more adventures! I laugh at the irony of it, but I've actually said some of the following out loud:

"If I catch you reading you'll have extra chores tomorrow"

"Absolutely no more reading today - hand over those books before you go to bed"

"There had better not be a book under those covers - if there is, you're grounded"

I keep a straight face with the children, but I laugh on the inside about punishing them for the very thing I'm guilty of doing. Once you bite into a great book, it's so hard to stop - says this mommy bookworm!

That begs the question(s):

--Who helped cultivate your love of reading?

--How have you inspired your children and family when it comes to reading?

--How do you get your littles to stop reading and go to bed on time?

--What's the name of your favorite local bookstore? (feel free to give them a shout out - or post a link to their website)

Thanks for being here today & always!

Hugs,

~Crystal

Crystal is a secretary, council secretary, and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children (Carmen 11, Andre 10, Breccan 5, Delphine 3, and baby Eudora who somehow turned 1 this fall), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at her personal blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!

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6 comments book love, bookworms, children reading, cultivating love, love of books, love of reading, sharing the love of reading, young readers

Book Club for Kids - Your Input is Needed!

Good Saturday Morning Ya'All!

Do you recall the great Saturday morning cartoons you watched as a child? If you're anything like me, you recall the sound effects much more vividly than what was on the screen. That's because I had my nose in a book. My daughter and her friends are quite the same. They can deal with a punishment of "no television for a week", but if you take away their books it's as if the world was coming to an end! In fact, I don't think I could possibly take away her books. She has several under her bed, between the mattress, under her pillow, in the laundry room, next to the couch, in the bathroom, in the back of the van, in the barn, and the list goes on and on. Her brothers are quickly picking up the same habits and I'm finding myself smiling as I think about the importance of books in our family.

I shouldn't have been at all surprised last evening, when my daughter and the eldest daughter of a dear friend devised a plan to create a book club for kids. The adults were wrapping up our book club meeting. We checked our calendars to schedule the next meeting, and the new books were distributed. This was just too much excitement for the young readers as they started talking about holding their own book club. They had plenty of ideas about how the meeting should be facilitated, what books should be considered, and who would be invited. What parent could say no when the girls politely asked if we might help them form their own book club for kids?

PBS has some great articles about how to start a book club, forming rules for the club, etc...so I'm not going to get into that. I would like to ask some questions and explore some ideas with you dear reader. What are your thoughts about book clubs for kids?

*Should the club be facilitated by a young member or by an adult?

*What type of rules are absolutely necessary?

*How often should the club meet?

*How do you chose the books? Is Harry Potter too long? Do you chose a book based on length?

*Are there any resources with questions like there are for adult clubs?

*If discussion questions are provided ahead of time, should an adult prepare them or one of the children?

*How many children should be included?

*Is this type of meeting best held in a library setting or a home?

*What question should be asked that I haven't thought of? What am I missing?

I really want this to be successful for the children. There are all sorts of ideas and questions running through my mind. I love having children who love reading and writing. Fostering their love is important as I know they will be heading up the adult book clubs in the future. A bad experience now may have a lasting impact. I sure would appreciate your thoughts and ideas. If you are a children's author and would like to provide book suggestions, feel free to leave those in the comments as well.

Thank you in advance for your assistance! You're the best!

Crystal is a church musician, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger as well as a dairy
farmer. She lives in Reedsville, Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 8, Andre 7, Breccan 1, Delphine 5 months), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, and over 200 Holsteins. You can find Crystal and her children blogging and reviewing books and all sorts of other stuff at: http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

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3 comments book club, book club for kids, children book club, children books, children reading, kids book club

Building a Love of Reading through Storytelling

I dedicate this post to my father who was the best storyteller I know. It was his stories that became the building blocks for a lifetime of reading and writing.

A friend recently asked “what’s the key to making your children love books so much?” I suppose until that moment I hadn’t given it much thought. I love books, our children love books. I thought that was the simple correlation. I love seeing things through the eyes of a child and our older children were able to tell me a little bit about their love of reading. After a few conversations with them, I realized the answer was a little more in-depth than I had originally imagined. The first stories our children fall in love with are stories we tell with our own voices and their first works are found scribbled on pieces of scrap paper and may not contain a single recognizable letter. I now firmly believe it is the art of oral storytelling that helps build a love a reading and ultimately a love of writing because children want to share their own story.
My youngest daughter loves to hear my voice. I began talking to her while I was pregnant and she hasn’t tired of the sing songy way I tell her about my day. I may be singing the recipe for banana bread, making up a song about her beautiful blue eyes, or belting out the latest Taylor Swift song. My daughter doesn’t care what it is; as long as it’s my voice she is soothed, pleased, and entertained. Similarly, my youngest son who is nearing two really enjoys learning through song. He is beginning to recognize the rhythm of the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle, and other standard children’s tunes. He also can say simple words like “book” and his favorites are by Dr. Seuss. He enjoys the rhythm and rhyme whether it’s being sung or read and his love for physical books is already apparent.

The older children who are 7 and 8 were the ones who really brought me to my theory about storytelling and a love of reading. They love making up their own stories; give them an object they’ve never seen before and they’ll give a lengthy explanation about what it is and where it came from. The story will change if they play long enough and one minute the long stick will be a telescope on a pirate ship and the next it is a walking stick for an elderly woman on her way to catch a train. They love telling stories as much as they love having them read to them. Now they are reading as part of their school work and they are flying through the reading levels because they can’t wait to hear the next story or find out exactly why a deer’s eyes make a reflection when the headlights hit them.

My theory is this: A child’s curiosity leads them to love a good story and a good story encourages the love of reading and a good storyteller encourages a love of writing. My father traveled as a young man. He worked for the Manitowoc Company (a local company building large cranes) and his position was to travel to customer sites and help oversee the building/re-building of the crane after it arrived. The crane had been put together at the manufacturing plant but was disassembled for transport to the customer. My father would help the customer’s workers to put all the pieces back together again. Sometimes this took several weeks. He had quite this job by the time I was born, but he still recalled the stories with plenty of enthusiasm.

I loved hearing about the pilot who would fall asleep during a familiar flight, the snobby restaurant staff who wouldn’t seat a gentleman unless he was wearing a coat and tie, the flirty stewardess who looked forward to the handsome business men, and the stories go on and on. The first book I remember falling in love with was “The Secret Garden”, but the first stories were the ones my daddy would tell me during a bath or just before bed. Even if we as parents are not writers or avid readers, we can help our children love reading and writing if we share family stories with them. Even a quick story about our day at the office is interesting to our children and helps them understand a world that may be completely foreign to them.

What was the first story you fell in love with? Was it written and published or just a familiar family story? Who or what do you credit for your love of reading and/or writing? Please share your thoughts in the comments – it’s always fabulous to hear from YOU!

Photo Credit: Oh! Photography 

Crystal is a church musician, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger as well as a dairy http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
farmer. She lives in Reedsville, Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 8, Andre turning 7 next week, Breccan 20 months, and Delphine 11 weeks), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, and over 200 Holsteins. You can find Crystal blogging and reviewing books and all sorts of other stuff at:

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2 comments a love of reading, a love of writing, children reading, children writing, love reading, reading, storytelling, teaching children, the art of storytelling, writing