Include Summer Reading Programs in Your Children’s Summer Plans

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Please do not let the summer go by without having your children be a part of a summer reading program.  There are many everywhere at no cost whatsoever, so search for the best ones for your children.

Typically, children enroll in a reading program and then read a certain number of books.  If they reach the required reading goal, they are awarded some sort of a prize.  This helps children continue to improve their reading skills, set goals that are both short term and long term, actually accomplish goals, and then receive a reward.  

Usually, the public library where you live will have a good summer reading program.  Many companies now offer them as well – such as HEB, Barnes and Noble, Scholastic, Chuck E. Cheese, Pizza Hut and even Pottery Barn.  Again, research what programs are available.  Your children may be able to enroll and participate in more than one.  They’ll be surprised how fast the summer passes while reading good books.

Let Your Children Help Plan Summer Vacation

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As with any and everything having to do with your children, I highly recommend planning your summer vacation with them.  Are you considering traveling with them or just taking time off from work to spend a few days with them?  If your children are old enough, allow them to assist in planning.   
    
An article on the website www.schoolfamily.com actually recommends that parents let their children do the planning because they will learn many life skills.  First, sit them down and explain to them what is involved.  Give them a budget and have them come up with the plans.  Will it be a family road trip or a cruise or something else?

Second, give them a deadline within which to come up with their plan and then have them present it to you.  Third, have them get travel brochures and maps or print off the internet information about the various destinations and types of trips.  At the destination they select, ask them to develop an itinerary – what will the family do each day?  After the trip is selected, assign tasks to each child.  For example, have one child be the photographer and another child keep a written journal.  

There are unlimited ideas that parents can adopt to help make this summer vacation memorable. To read the article, click here.

Choosing a Good Summer Camp for Your Children

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As summer vacation approaches, many parents are searching for a good summer camp for their children.  First, you must decide if you and your child are ready for an overnight camp or just a day camp nearby.  And, then, what type of a camp should you send them to.

It is recommended that children under 12 years should not attend an overnight camp away from home. I fully agree with that.  We sent our older son Zachary to an overnight camp at the age of 8 for 2 weeks.  His father and I thought he was mature and independent enough to enjoy it.  He told us that he did enjoy it, but did not want to attend an overnight camp again.  Of concern to us was the bullying stories he told us about after the camp concluded.  He certainly had some adjustment issues being so young.  

In regard to a day camp, I encourage parents to spend time investigating the camp and its counselors and supervisors.  Also, speak with other parents and get their recommendations.

Importantly, visit the camp location.  Find out what is on the daily schedule.  Just do not put your children in a day camp because they need a babysitter.  Look for camps that will accentuate your children’s gifts and talents.  Zachary is very athletic, so we often put him in a sports camp.  Our youngest son James is artistic, so we tried to put him in a camp that would help him develop that gift.  

Take the time to research and investigate what is the best camp for each of your children.  You will be happy that you did. 

Cook with Your Children and Promote Reading at the Same Time

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What does cooking have to do with reading?  A whole lot because reading recipes is involved!  Encourage your children to help out in the kitchen with cooking and have them read from recipes and other items at the same time.  And, have a lot of fun while you are doing it too!

There are a variety of excellent cookbooks for children available.  Or, you may have family recipes that you have collected over the years and written down on index cards or typed out.  The goal is to have your children read.  Start with the ingredients.  Let them read and then collect the items that are needed.  After that, continue on to the instructions.  What is step 1?  Step 2? Ask them questions about what they have read to make sure they understand what is involved.

Above all, be patient and understanding.  If egg shells get in the bowl, show them how to remove them and what to do in the future.  Help them read the numbers and then set the temperature on the oven.  Then, set a timer on a clock for the correct cooking time.   I guarantee that if you involve your children in cooking, you will create life long memories!

The Importance of Speaking Blessings Every Day Over Your Children

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

Proverbs 18:21

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One of my favorite Bible verses is this Proverbs 18:21 verse.  It essentially means that the words we speak each and every day are critical forces in our lives and in our children’s lives.   The power of a parent giving a child a blessing can be seen early in the Bible in Genesis 27.  Isaac gave his son Jacob profound blessings of riches and power.   

The blessings set forth in Numbers 6:24-26 are an excellent example of blessings that you can speak over your children: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."  The blessings contained in this short verse are extremely powerful because they establish God’s love, protection, favor, grace, and peace upon your children.

Also, put your hands on your children when you bless them.  Make the times of blessings affectionate and loving times, ones that your children will always remember and pass down to the next generation. 

Teachers Play a Critical Role in Advancing Literacy

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

― Henry Adams

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My blog centers around promoting literacy.  Most of my writing is geared toward what parents, grandparents and other adults can do in the home.  What about outside the home?  Teachers are the ones who spend approximately 7 hours a day, Monday through Friday, with our children.  They not only teach, but also are role models and motivators and as such, they are vital to our children’s ability to read and development of the love of reading.

When did you last speak to your children’s teachers about the importance of reading?  When was the last time that you visited your children’s classrooms? What type of books are in the classroom?  How often do the children visit the library?  What can you do to help these teachers to promote reading more?
    
Teachers often are overworked and have many different lessons to cover during a school day.  However, they understand the importance literacy plays in a child’s education and overall life.  Try volunteering at the school to assist.    Donate books to the classroom, especially books that your children have already read.  Then, they can be the ones to tell their friends about the books.  Helping your children’s teacher to be better teachers benefits your children and others. 

Children Playing Video Games – The Pros & Cons

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I’m certain that many parents purchased or friends and relatives purchased video games for their children or other young relatives as gifts this past Christmas.  As the mother of two sons, I know well the desires that children have to play video games, especially boys.   

Many parents ask – can playing too many video games really hurt my child?  According to developmental psychologist Douglas Gentile, the answer to that question is “Yes”.  He gives the following reasons why:

• Kids who spend too much time at the computer are missing out on other activities fundamental to their physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development. Time spent in front of the computer or game console is time taken away from playing with friends, reading or doing a project with you, and other activities.

• Kids usually play video games alone, and too much time spent alone can foster social isolation.

• Children who watch more than ten hours of TV a week don't do as well in school as kids their age who watch less. When setting limits, it's important to consider the total amount of time your child spends in front of all electronic screens — TVs, computers, movie screens, etc.

• Bad habits can become ingrained and are more difficult to change as children get older. (According to research, the average American 4th-grade boy spends 9.5 hours each week playing video and computer games, in addition to other screen time.)

• If your child regularly plays games with plots based on violence and aggression, research shows he is at risk for increased aggressive behavior.

There are pros to video games, though.  He recommends quality games that give children the opportunity to practice problem solving and logic skills. They help the development of fine motor and coordination skills and also help children become familiar with information technology.  He strongly suggests playing these games with your children as special bonding time. 

As Christian Parents, Should We Allow Our Children To Go On Sleepovers?

As a mother of two boys, I know all about sleepovers.  You have a house full of kids, who don’t want to sleep and who eat continuously through the day and night.  Sleepovers are fun times for children. But, be cautioned.  You need to protect your children from other children and even their parents who may have a bad influence on them as well as anyone else who may be in the home when your children are there for the sleepover.

I did not welcome invitations from parents whom I didn’t know. Random sleepovers were not permitted.  If I knew the parents and children, I would inquire as to what types of activities were planned; who would be supervising the children; what would they be eating and drinking; and what types of games were they going to play.

    Even after so much scrutiny and diligence though, something slipped by.  I remember picking up my oldest son from a sleepover late one morning.  He was about 10 years old at the time.  As I arrived at the house, I walked in the front door to the living room.  I then observed my son playing a video game with another boy.  As I looked closely, to my shock and dismay, the video game involved hitting and kicking women all over their bodies (including their heads, stomachs, and private parts) in fight scenes.  This was a family who attended church regularly, but the parents were not monitoring the types of video games in their house.  On the drive home, I explained to my son about the problem with that video game and that men should not hit women.  During the following week at church, I even spoke with the parents about the game.    When I observed their nonchalant attitude, I knew my son was not going to spend time there again.

Children Are Precious Gifts From God So Treat Them As Such

“Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

— Psalm 127:3 (NASB)

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We just finished the Christmas season with gift giving being an important part of the celebration (of course, with Jesus at the center of it all).  Many of us gave or received beautiful and expensive gifts.  But did you know that your children are also precious gifts from God? 

What have we done with those gifts we received this Christmas that were “precious” to us?  Of course, we made sure that the gifts were well taken care of, safe and protected because we certainly do not want anything to happen to them.  They are too important to us.  We also spend time with those gifts, whether it is wearing them or driving in them, or going somewhere special with them.  Since the gifts are so valuable to us, we want to make sure we spend significant time with them, not just a few minutes. 

As gifts directly from God, don’t your children deserve such treatment, and even better?  Think about ways that you can make your children feel that they are such precious gifts too you each and every day.   Please don’t skip a day, though, because their memories can be short. 

Author Soraya Diase Coffelt

Laughing and Reading at the Same Time

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What do children love to do and is very natural for them?  To laugh!  Also, we have all heard about how good laughter is for us because it helps reduce stress.  

According to the website for the Women’s and Children’s Network on Kids’ Health, some children did a survey of what made the people in their class laugh.  Here is what they found:

• "My little brother makes me laugh because he does such funny things - he's only a baby."

• "Knock knock jokes."

• "Watching funny movies."

• "My friend - because he is really funny."

• "My favorite comedians."

• "Hanging out with my friends because we have fun together and laugh a lot."

• "Watching home movies, especially when mom and dad look so funny with their hairstyles and the clothes they had when they were young."

Since my passion is to promote reading, I would like to connect the dots between encouraging reading and laughter. One of the types of books we had at our home for our sons to read were joke books.  We loved to laugh and our sons seemed to be natural at laughing and joking around.  The joke books were a special family treat on occasions.

Today, with the expansion of the internet, there are all sorts of websites that have good, clean jokes and riddles for children to read and enjoy.  So, spend some time laughing and reading with your children.  Those will be very special times indeed!

Author Soraya Diase Coffelt