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 […]
Activities
Summer reading tips
How’s your summer going? Have the kids been reading? It’s mid-summer; now’s the time to encourage them to pick up a book. You know the research – kids who don’t read during the summer experience a big slip when they get back to school in September. Let’s make sure that […]
Alice in Wonderland – the trailer
Click on this image for a larger version. (It’s worth the click.) Disney has put its trailer for Alice back on YouTube. (They musta read my blog post telling them to put it back…) The trailer is quite something. Very exciting and Burton-esque, dark and whimsical, with that heart-pumping music […]
Willy Wonka to the rescue
Willy Wonka has been a huge success. As you may remember from a previous post, my son and I were looking for a book to read aloud, and I stumbled upon Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Raold Dahl. We read it in the course of about five nights and […]
Getting boys reading
I know what boys like.* I’ve been following the website and tweets of a librarian whose speciality is helping boys become great readers. He’s definitely an expert in what appeals to boys. Here, I’ve distilled (*cough* ripped off) some of his best ideas about how to make reading fun for […]
Potter Puppet Pals
Here’s something cool you can share with your child. It’s unique, cool and fun – and it’s related to reading. And maybe your kid already knows about it, or maybe you’re about to be the coolest parent ever. It’s Potter Puppet Pals. It’s a series of videos on YouTube, and […]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Robin Hood didn’t turn out so well. Too many thees and thous. It was all, “Robin thou doest” this, and “thou hast not” that. Too much for a seven-year-old, no matter how many bloodthirsty deeds there are. We got two chapters in and had to stop. In desperation, I went […]
Trampoline – for your brain
Want to create a smart reader? Get your child on a trampoline. According to brain researcher Bernadette Tynan, trampolines are so good for the brain, “even NASA astronauts use it to boost their brain power.” Trampolines improve your meta-cognative ability – your ability to “think about thinking.” That’s because on […]
Kanye West disses reading
This is what we’re up against. You know Kanye West, the rapper. (Don’t tell your kids if you don’t because he’s huge. Like HUGE. And amazing – as a rapper, that is. He’s also the one who blurted out that surprising and awesome statement in the middle of a Hurrican […]
One-Page Wonders
A fun, one-page book your child will want to read. Here is an awesome, one-page book you make. There are three simple steps: 1) Download the .pdf of instructions. 2) Download and print the .pdf of the book (colour). 3) Fold the book according to the instructions. OK, a fourth […]
