Summer Reading

Prefer knowledge to wealth; for the one is transitory, the other perpetual. —Socrates.

On these hot Summer days - why not take a break from the heat and enjoy a few minutes or so with a good book. Reading has been the road to knowledge for many a successful, happy and wise woman and man. 

"When I get a little money," said Erasmus, "I buy books, and if any is left, I buy food and clothes."

"Reading is to the mind," says Addison, "what exercise is to the body. As by the one health is preserved, strengthened and invigorated, by the other, virtue (which is the health of the mind) is kept alive, cherished and confirmed."

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. —Franklin.

The Electronic Babysitter

On the drive into the city this morning I heard a disturbing statistic. The average child today is spending 45 hours each week playing video games or watching TV or sitting in front of a computer. I don’t know about your children – but mine aren’t exactly using their computer to learn! They like to play games on their PC – or watch cartoons on the cartoon channel web-site.

These same researchers are suggesting that all this time spent in front of video and TV screens is partially to blame for childhood obesity and behavior problems both in school and down the road. You THINK?

What happened to playing outside? Sometimes I wish I had never bought them that silly playstation. Or that other $125 babysitter – his Nintendo gameboy. Last night I had to threaten taking away his game time on his computer before the eldest son would sit down and read with me. I imagine I’m nowhere near the first parent to encounter some resistance when it comes to homework time.

This summer we picked up new bikes for both the older boys. They had outgrown last year’s models. Neither new bike saw much use this past Summer. The gameboys on the other hand… Well, you get the picture. What will their lives be like when they get into FaceBook or MySpace or wherever else youth spend their online time?

Maybe this Christmas I’ll buy them both basketballs – or soccer balls. Maybe I’ll get them a couple of fishing poles and tackle boxes. Or a good book to read!

Or, maybe I'll get them something good to watch while they do watch TV -
VeggieTales DVD Library - The Complete Collection

Learning to read

In the United States, the school year averages 180 days; in other nations, the school year can last up to 240 days and students are often in school more hours per day than American students. Clearly, the hours and days that a child is not in school are important for learning.

What we, as parents and mentors, do in those hours each day when our beloved children are not is school is critical to their success in the classroom - and in life! I recently asked my son's teacher ( 3rd grade ) what I might do in the evening to help improve his education. Her answer was simple and firm - "read, read, and read some more" she replied.

Helping your child become a reader is the single most important thing that you can do to help the child to succeed in school—and in life.

The importance of reading simply can't be overstated. Reading helps children in all school subjects. More important, it is the key to lifelong learning. Helping our children learn to read is one way to better grades!

Help your child learn to read!

From 3rd Grade to College

“I’m practically in college, you know - I’m in the 3rd grade now, Daddy!” he reminded me as we drove home last night. He wants to grow up so fast. Just 12 hours earlier I had dropped him off in front of the school for his 1st day of this new school year. And once again, I found myself fighting back tears as I offered a quick prayer of Thanks for the greatest gift the Good Lord has blessed me with – a son!

Slow down the bus – Didn’t I just last week watch his kindergarten graduation ceremony? Wasn’t I just filling a sippy-cup with his favorite orange drink the week before? I swear I picked up a diaper from a corner of his bedroom just last month!

Where did those years go? Why must his childhood fly by so quickly? Later, as we settled into a big chair together for some reading, he handed me the book he’d picked out for the evening. A book about dinosaurs and a magic bus. His fascination with dinosaurs has outlasted Barney ( Thank the Good Lord ), The Wiggles, and the Power Rangers ( a triple Thanks to the Big Guy upstairs ).

I know our reading time together will someday – far too soon for my liking – be yet another pleasant memory. Meanwhile, I hope I can instill in him a love of reading and a yearning for more. I hope he will always have a fascination with something! I hope we can sit down together and do his homework for the evening without even the slightest objection or complaint. I hope he will settle into a habit of studying a little each day. Of reading and writing a little each day.

I hope he will grow to accept daily homework as a normal part of growing up. I hope he will succeed at learning whatever sparks an interest in that wonderful little mind of his. If your little one is just embarking upon his or her journey in education you might enjoy some simple and easy homework tips!