Summer Reading

Elementary Reading During the Summer

Author: Maria O'Keefe
I\'m a very hands-on mom to say the least. I\'m protective of my kids, always running around with a bottle of sunscreen during the summer and hats and mittens during the winter. And since the kids have been out of school for the summer, I was not about to let them slack off and not participate in educational activities. That\'s where Reading Rainbow came to play.
They have great episodes correlating to my kids\' elementary curriculum. I\'m not sure how many other parents are as worried about elementary reading skills as I am, but I wasn\'t going to let my kids fall through the cracks. Elementary reading is so crucial. If kids don\'t develop a love for reading when they\'re young, they won\'t really enjoy it as they progress through their academic careers. And I want my kids to love school enough to stick through eight years of medical school if they want.


So as soon as school was out for the summer, I did some hunting for reading materials correlating to my kids\' elementary curriculum. My friend is a teacher in the district so she gave me some pointers. She recommended I start with Reading Rainbow. Although they haven\'t been on air for a few years, they are selling their episodes on DVD—all 153 of them. And they happen to have a website, shopreadingrainbow.com.  I took a gander and realized that 1) they are affordable and 2) there are even teacher guides corresponding to each episode. I could have the kids participate in activities after they watch an episode and they won\'t even realize they\'re learning.
So I ordered a few episodes to start off. I like the Behind the Scenes series because they explain art. We are a pretty artistic family so I was more than okay with my kids watching these DVDs. I picked a few more random episodes. My daughter is into dress up so 'A Three Hat Day' was perfect. 'Beegu' was a hit too with the boys since they like space and aliens.
I was thinking about Mathnet, but I was afraid the kids might see through my plan. So instead, I managed to get them to count, add, subtract, and even multiply with me while I was making snacks and dinner.
Overall, I have to say that Reading Rainbow was a hit this summer. I have a few more years left so I can get through all 153 episodes. I figure once I\'m done, I\'ll donate the DVDs to my church daycare for their after school program.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/parenting-articles/elementary-reading-during-the-summer-5100748.html
About the Author
Maria O\'Keefe is a mom and freelance writer from Peoria, Illinois. She writes about anything and everything, particularly all things Irish and sunscreen lotion concerns for her fair-haired babes. She\'s one of those moms who are particular about her children\'s education so she got some elementary reading material from Reading Rainbow to keep her kids busy over the summer.