I often let my son break the rules by reading. When I tell him, “it’s time for bed,” he knows that if he grabs a book, it’ll buy him an extra half-hour or so. As long as his teeth are brushed and he’s in his jammies, I’ll extend his bedtime […]
Other News
"I’m bored!"
We said it to our parents – your kid says it to you. You’ve hated hearing it in the past. But the next time he says “I’m bored!” you’re going to love it. Here’s what to do: The next time you’re in a book store or a corner store, check […]
How to foster a "reading culture"
Kids who live in a “reading home” will be readers, it’s as simple as that. What does that mean, and how do you create a reading culture in your home? Here are some key things you can do to create a “reading home”: *Read to your child every day. *Have […]
Use words, not pictures, for labels
This is kind of counter-intuitive, so bear with me. Let’s say you’re labelling bins in your young child’s playroom. This one is for cars, this one is for balls, this is where the action figures go. It can be really tempting to draw a car, rather than write the word […]
Dogs help kids read
It makes sense, when you think about it.Dogs enjoy any story you read to them, they don’t judge when you get a word wrong, and they have an enormous attention span. A non-profit organization in Chicago, Sit Stay Read!, uses trained dogs to help children read. The kids read to […]
How will we read our Christmas books?
Let me count the ways. It’s important that children discover that books can be used many different ways. Here’s how we’re using the books we got for Christmas. *My husband and our son had a great time going through his new Guiness Book of Records, giggling over the disgusting records […]
Scrabble time!
The holidays are perfect for Scrabble. Turn off the TV, get out the board, pour the adults some red wine. Crack open a bag of Doritos. And create a new holiday tradition. Here’s the Scrabble board from our game last night. Because our son’s seven, he gets to double his […]
Thank you for the Children’s Book Bank donations
Thank you to John Rahme and the CBC for the generous donation to the Children’s Book Bank. After hearing about our book drive, the CBC donated a huge box of brand-new Mr. Dressup books, including school workbooks. By that afternoon, the Book Bank had already sent the books along to […]
Donate your gently used children’s books
Give the gift of reading. Your child is surrounded by books, but just doesn’t want to read. (Don’t worry – we’re working on that.) In Toronto, there are thousands of kids who love to read, but can’t afford books of their own. Fortunately, the Children’s Book Bank gives free books […]
What are kids into these days?
I spent last week helping to staff a fundraising book fair for my son’s school. It was a great way to get a sense of what the kids are interested in these days. By far, the book that flew off the shelves the fastest was Diary of a Wimpy Kid […]
