Seeking suggestons on how to get our kids to enjoy looking through non-fiction books that are very interesting and educational.
We are book collectors.
We're avid book readers as well, but we seem to collect books faster than we can read them.
We have hundreds of fantastic books with great information in them—from science to history and everything in between—and I'm looking for a way to get my kids to read them. As part of our homeschool schedule, I already assign them books to read on a daily basis—usually historical fiction—but it's more difficult to assign a natural history encyclopedia or an illustrated science book to read.
So, should I set aside a certain amount of time each week where I require the kids to pick a couple books off the shelf to look through, reading here and there as they go? I really want them to get familiar with these books so that maybe later they'll take them off the shelf to read on their own!
Both Jaden and Jerah like picking up books like these to look through them, but they need to be pushed a little bit to pick up these particular ones. So do any of you have any other suggestions? Anything that's worked for your family?
All comments are welcome!
Well, I use a couple different things that end up working really well together.
First, I do a LOT of my book shopping at thrift shops and yard sales. I try to find books that are in really great shape. I look for three different "types" – – 1) Books specifically for homeschool; 2) Books for me and 3) Books to list on book swap sites.
Second, I encourage Boo to read with two different programs: 1) http://www.bookadventure.com and 2) My own version of "Book It!." At Book Adventure, she is able to test over books that are included in their system (not all of the books she reads are "testable" – – so for her, it's a crap shoot; however, when she DOES test, she is awarded points IF she is able to score 80 percent or above on the tests. She can use the points for website specific prizes OR parent specific prizes. So far, she has earned almost 1,000 points (and spent them on a 6 month highlights subscription, an educational CD and a book autographed by the author).
Then, when she is done with books that I purchased specifically for her/homeschool, I list those books on different book swap sites. I also list the type 3 books, as well. I use http://www.bookmooch.com; http://www.whatsonmybookshelf.com; http://www.frugalreader.com and http://www.paperbackswap.com.
Each site is specific with its rules; however, the premise is: Send a book, receive a book.
The, I am able to order LOTS and LOTS of additional books for both myself and her/homeschool.
In addition to Book Adventure, I also use a modified version of the Book It program. I use the printables provided at the site – – right now we are using the ten slices of pizza on one page. Her goal is to read ten chapter books ON HER OWN, per month. If she succeeds, I will take her out for a personal pan pizza.
I am also trying to expand our reading list a bit – – so I assign picture books on CD for her to listen to and we listen to CD's when in the car.
Also, I have checked out and listened to almost all of the stories at http://www.storylineonline.com. Excellent stories, read by much better readers than I. 😉
I hope that helped a little – – and I look forward to hearing what others do!! Thanks for the great topic!
This is what we have done. I try to coordinate their reading to what we are studying. So if we were studying the Revolutionary War I would pull all the books about that time period off our shelves. I might also supplement with library books. I put all these books into our "book basket" which is really a rolling cart. Then during their assigned reading time, they are allowed to read books from the book basket. If it is a reference book then I would tab the pages I wanted them to read or look at with post it notes. The basket contents change almost weekly with what we are studying.
Toni
http://thehappyhousewife.com
I would give them a specific time, maybe every other day, to sit and look through the books, maybe 30 minutes each time, but more if they're enjoying themselves.
I just had a thought. What about a treasure hunt? You could list a chapter name, or key points of the book, etc. Then they have to find each one. They'll have to actually look through the books and get exposed to them in order to figure out which ones are on their list. I would do maybe 5 or so at a time. And as an additional incentive to really get to know the books, you could make them a prize. Perhaps whoever finds all 5 books first gets to choose one of those 5 books to read in a special spot, or maybe take to bed to read. That might be fun!
I give our children 15-30 minutes of reading time every day. I make a selected book list for them to read. They have to read each book on the list but they get to choose in what order. That way I get to have the word on what they need to read and they get to voice their opinions on what order. They also read other books they choose above and beyond the list.
The curriculum we use recommends a daily 15-minute book reading time where you provide a basket or box or shelf of books related to the topic you are studying. The student selects a book or two or more then spends that time slot reading, or just reading photo captions, or thumbing through the book for items that might be of interest to him or her. This has enhanced my child's study because she gets to pick something she likes and will generally remember it. This is a great time to stick in those type of books that you mentioned such as a natural history encyclopedia or an illustrated science. You can even mark the specific pages in these books with a flag or sticky note. You might also want to occasionally add a book to their basket or shelf that is off-topic from what you are studying, but something you think the student might enjoy.
I hope this helps!!