Brains – especially young brains – benefit from exercise. Here’s an exercise that Bernadette Tynen (the brain researcher) does with her students. She says that if you do it with your child once a week, it will help to make his thinking more flexible and creative. She gives the child […]
Month: August 2009
Respecting the reading bubble
I can tell when my son is reading – and I leave him to it. There’s a certain hush that falls over the house, over his room. A certain intermittent squeak to his armchair. A kind of quiet that I can’t explain, but which I know means that he’s upstairs […]
Kids’ writing contest (note: Americans only)
Here’s a little gift for our friends to the south. Unfortunately, only Americans can enter this contest. (I’ve got an e-mail in to one of the contest judges to ask why-oh-why they’ve limited it. But I digress.) It’s such a great-looking contest, that I want to point it out to […]
Reading extensions work
You may be wondering why I’ve been pushing the Disney movies. It’s because extending reading beyond books — into movies, soundtracks, games and toys — gets kids reading. Of course, it all has to start and end with the book. Which is where parents come in. You make sure the […]
Summer reading program
Is your child collecting library stickers? The other day, my son and I went to the library to report four books and get stickers for his poster. (The stickers are the rewards in the library’s summer reading program.) Unfortunately, the librarian would only give my son one sticker. He said […]
Internet word game
Once again, I’m going to help you be a cool parent. You want your kid to read. Your kid wants to play computer games. Allow me to introduce: Blocks With Letters On and More Blocks with Letters On. The website promises, “64 levels of mind-numbing word action.” Mind-numbing – well, […]
Books for boys
One of our recent posts listed stuff boys like. Here’s another look at those categories, with some reading choices for each one. I also encourage you to post your own suggestions in the Comments. Gross stuff Here are some suitably gross books boys love. Walter the Farting Dog, by William […]
Reading the paper on the floor
Life imitates blog.Having recently reminded myself what boys like (in terms of their reading material), I’ve been on the lookout for something to encourage my son to read during these busy summer days. This afternoon, I found it. The Toronto Star newspaper ran a great story on what Toronto was […]
