Comments on: A new school year begins

By: Joel

Joel — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:02:46 +0000

My lovely and talented daughter grew up with Harry Potter and read little else that wasn’t required for school. She has read some of the books seven or eight times over. Of course I wished she would read something else every now and then.

Next month, she’ll start college as a National Merit scholar ($42,000 in scholarships) with over a year of college credit from AP exams and summer college credit.

Take-home message? There are worse things, IMO, than reading Harry Potter. Relax.

By: The Bosphorus

The Bosphorus — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:15:45 +0000

Indeed– H. Potter is excellent. As it turns out she reads quite a bit more than H.P.

Yep, this is a post about me relaxing. Sometimes it takes me seeing a book in a desk to make it happen.

By: VA Bluebelle

VA Bluebelle — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:13:54 +0000

Bos, I love kids lit, and I have a girl who was a reluctant reader unless she had just the right books, too.

For October’s age group Try:
Judy Blume - Fudge, SuperFudge, Fudge-mania.
the Judy Moody series, Junie B. Jones series, Wayside School series by Louis Sacher,
of course all Laura Ingalls Wilder, anything by Beverly Cleary, especially the Ramona books, anything by Betsy Byars.

A trick that worked wonders for us when Bratface (13 almost 14) was her age was to roll back bedtime by a half hour. Then say that she can stay up til 9 (or whatever) if she is wants to read in bed, otherwise it’s lights out at 8:30. Guess who almost always ended up asking for ‘just 5 more minutes to finish this chapter’ at 9 p.m., and now reads on her own without provocation?

By: VA Bluebelle

VA Bluebelle — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:26:19 +0000

Another thing I did when all of my kids were younger, (the boys are 20 and 17 now) was to sit on the floor between their two rooms and read wordier “chapter” books, that they probably couldn’t/wouldn’t read on their own, out loud for that half-hour on some nights. Just yesterday my middle son told me that he has fond memories of Ms. Piggle-Wiggle, the Giving Tree, and Shel Silverstein directly because of this.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:47:03 +0000

You forgot the lesson Wingnut taught you a few months ago (somewhere between the refrigerator and the washing machine)?

By: sumgirl

sumgirl — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:58:43 +0000

we can’t get kay to settle down with a series and she completely turned her nose up at harry potter. (fear of commitment? i dunno.)she reads anything you hand her unless it’s a series. however, she finally picked up the narnia books this summer but sat the 3rd one down when school started and she again has access to the school library full of new choices. oh well, at least they are reading, huh.

By: Atomictumor

Atomictumor — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:36:13 +0000

I got the point, Bos.

By: vixen

vixen — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:36:54 +0000

I remember each of the three moments (kids are 23, 20, 16) that I discovered “proof” that my kids had stuff in their life I didn’t know about. Its an odd mixture of fear and accomplishment you feel. I trusted myself and them, but maybe not the world? I was maybe the opposite of you…that is when I stopped relaxing.

By: VA Bluebelle

VA Bluebelle — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:01:34 +0000

D’oh. I am a little slow sometimes. Sorry, Bos.

By: Bosphorus

Bosphorus — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:54:20 +0000

Vixen, I don’t have control over it, so I try not to worry. Sometimes I’m more relaxed than other times.

I’m slow too, Bluebell. :)

By: Allisone

Allisone — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:46:21 +0000

Dang, I feel like my kiddo had a life of her own from the get-go.
Of course, Monkey didn’t know she was a baby. She thought she was just a really short college student, who was denyed pizza for no good reason.