Written by 
Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehensive, accessible information on how to teach kids to read and help those who struggle. Rachael began her career in children’s literacy at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), has also served as a consultant to the NEA’s Read Across America campaign, and was most recently the Executive Director of Reach Out and Read of Metro DC.
I know that in many parts of the country, kids have already started the new school year, but in our house, we still have a few weeks of summer to enjoy. So while I planned to blog today about back-to-school resources, I just couldn’t make myself do it! I just need a little more time to mentally prepare for the return of the daily packing of lunches, the establishing of the homework routine, and the morning scramble for shoes and backpacks.
There are still so many items left on our summer to do list. You may want to think about some of them for your own last days of leisure or incorporate these activities into the new school year:
- We’ve got a few day trips for book lovers yet to take: Manassas, for both my husband who has spent the summer reading Battle Cry of Freedom and my son who enjoyed Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run. We’ll also make a trip to the National Museum of American History and check out the Toying with Invention exhibit as my youngest has been enjoying Steven Caney’s Invention Book and working on many of his own creations this summer.
- There’s lots of writing still on our list. Everyone in our family has summer birthdays and there are a few thank you notes still outstanding. I’m not getting many volunteers for letter writing. When it comes to writing in the summer, a few rounds of Mad Libs seems to be the favorite pencil and paper activity, though I also recommend the online version to help build up a good Mad Lib vocabulary.
- We have certainly done quite a bit of it this summer, but reading never leaves the to do list. Alex Rider has fired several imaginations in our household as has the 39 Clues and the Warriors series. Summer always gives us more time to read aloud so my husband hopes to finish up Cornelia Funke’s Inkdeath before the school year begins and I have just started reading aloud Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy to our youngest in the hopes that he’ll better appreciate the state fair this year.
Must add to the to do list for the kids: finish the summer math packet. Summer reading loss I don’t think we’ll have to worry about.
