Summer Reading Part 2

As I said last month in my Summer Reading part 1 post, I knew there would be more summer reading ideas popping up after May 1st. Here are a few places you can go to find some ideas to help you and your kids have fun READING this summer!!

The Family Education website has some great reading lists and activities to do this summer. The quiz section is a challenge for adults (I didn't do so well on the fiction into movies quiz!)

Reading Rockets has some great articles and reading lists on fun things to do this summer that involve reading. My favorite article is the Day trips for book lovers.

Many public libraries have announced their summer reading programs. My local library system, Gwinnett County, GA has announced theirs. Check out your local library website to see what they are doing this summer.

NEA had teamed up with Major League Soccer for Get A Kick Out of Reading a site full of reading lists and fun stuff. Click on the resources page for reading lists of soccer related books.

Franki Sibberson of the blog A Year of Reading has a great article up at Choice Literacy about things to get kids jump started on their summer reading. I love her idea of having the kids write down books they want to read throughout the year. I do this on my libraries website, where you can create a book list and then when summer comes and the time is right for devouring lots of books, I have a list right there to choose from.

Monica at Educating Alice has a great poem on the subject of required summer reading (something my Catholic school has and the public school I am moving to does not). But while on the subject of required summer reading, the only time in my life I can honestly say I HATED to read, was reading those required summer reading books during my years at a Catholic high school. I still have nightmares about reading Watership Down (HATED that book!)

Not so much a reading activity, but something fun for your kids that are into video, check out the Postcards From Buster website. This is a PBS series that is looking for one minute video postcards that kids film and edit themselves.

As for what I am planning to do with my own kids (ages 6,9 and 11), I am planning on making some trips to the public library. I am planning on attending a Harry Potter party (but not sure where, since I might be in Georgia or I might be in Massachusetts), I am still planning on getting a few kids together in the neighborhood to read Hoot and then screen the movie some hot summer night and I am going to try and have tv/computer free zones this summer. Times (maybe in the late afternoon before dinner but after spending the day at the neighborhood pool) when there will be no tv/computer and they have to spend some time reading whatever they want, could be the newspaper or Sports Illustrated, but reading something.

I would love to hear if you have anymore reading ideas or know of any activities going on this summer!