One of the tricky things about having children in school, is having children home for summer vacation. Suddenly, old routines are changed out of necessity, and new routines are born.
The trickiest thing I have found so far, is trying to keep my little readers interested in reading.
Not only interested, but able to keep up their pace, so they won't be lagging in the coming school year.
So, I devised a plan.
During the final book fair of the school year, I bought two sets of books that were Sissy's reading level. A total of 32 books, that Sissy enjoys reading.
To make sure she is not only reading them, but also comprehending them, I decided that I would read every book before her, and write a 10 question quiz (similar to an A.R. test, if you know what that is) about the story.
What I was not anticipating was the fact that I would inadvertantly become the world's foremost expert on America's favorite Kindergartener...Junie B. Jones.
I can tell you her favorite color, her favorite kind of head, her opinion of THAT Jim, and about her undying love for Ricardo.
There was a week or two when I fell behind Sissy's pace. When I finally got around to writing more tests for her, she commended me with a "Good Girl". I'm sure if she could reach, I would have gotten a good ol' pat on the head as well.
Don't worry. I make sure to play the martyr when discussing it with Roon.
"I'll take your turn writing a test, if you get me a treat".
Just don't tell him I enjoy it...
That would ruin everything!
8 comments:
LOL. I loved Junie B. Jones...such a funny quirky character! I miss those days!
good idea btw. :)
Here is what we do for Shorty to keep her motivated. First of all up until the summer started she watched MAYBE a movie a week and no TV time otherwise. She is very much TV deprived. So we made a deal. For every 3 books she reads she gets to watch a movie we rented from the library. It works very well. She also earns a gem (our reward/punishment system) for each book.
We have also visited ALL the area libraries/book stores and signed her up for their reading programs. To date she has completed 3 different programs and is working on the fourth. I especially like the book stores programs because they give her a book of her choice.
But I have been wondering how to improve her comprehension- I think I will follow your lead.
I will also admit: I love reading books from my past (like the Junie B. books) they seem to wrap around a blanket of memories and sunshine long forgotten.
Isn't it fun? We've been doing the same thing with Hailey,and signed her up for the summer reading program at the library. The trick is, she has to read the book to us for it to count on her sheet so we've been reading LOTS of kids' books.
I LOVE Junie B. Jones.
LOVE.
When I was a kid it was Ramona Quimby and now they're gonna have a Ramona movie! Yay!
I ADORE Junie B Jones!! She cracked me up! My daughter and I read her together lots! Of course, my son has completely forgotten how to read, and I can't get him to read anything but the start button on the Wii. Oh well...1st grade may be a bust! Love your blog and I am a new follower!
You & your quizes... I think you just can't resist giving multiple choice questions. Bitter no, not at all bitter that I sucked on all your multiple choice questions. I kid :)
We never get too old for this stuff right? I tried to deny Harry Potter for the longest time...I am weak. I can't wait until my little readers are reading this stuff! That new Ramona and beezus movie is coming out and I am itching to get my hands on a copy of the book.
Junie b Jones books remind me of the Ramona books or the book Are You there God its me Margaret from when I was a kid...loved those books!
Post a Comment