The fruit of summer reading is panic. Panic! Once your hard work has paid off, and your child is reading, what do they read? Where do you start in helping them find great books?
A sage woman once said, and to keep her identity secret I'll just call her Cheryl, that once your children start reading for themselves, you'll want to invest in series. Series are amazing: read one and you get the flavor for the entire set! Ahhh, load off!
So I've read a couple of American Girls: it's a win. And now that they have mysteries, that's an entire other series my daughter gets to explore. They have brought up some historical topics I have approached with Ellie: true, and therefore invaluable conversations. For example, we have loved the entrepreneurship of Kit Kittredge contributing to her family as they dealt with poverty. We've also discussed how poverty took them - and America - by surprise. We've discussed the different lives of Marie-Grace and Cecile in New Orleans (especially when we visited New Orleans!), because of their skin color and their family situations in 1850. This series has spawned research and more research - not in our original lesson plans. They have been RICH conversations, and hard, and good. Their series has been an amazing American journey - for me, too.
I've also read a Bobbsey Twins book so she's cleared for those - win, because there are about 62 of them. I wish I could find the picture of my daughter and Oma with her own childhood collection she let her borrow: a unique connection there! The bookworm gene picture, I call it.
Hardy Boys are next, thanks to the advice of another secret wise woman I'll call Jeni. I remember reading Nancy Drew but I think they are a bit too scary for mine just yet.
Magic Tree House - we discussed the elements of magic in them prior to trying one, and while she enjoyed that one book, the "looking upon the tree and feeling the magic" was a bit odd to her, as it was to me as well, and so we decided to put that series on hold. No rush! Ever.
Never did Junie B. Jones after the once. The language left a crass taste on the story, and just wasn't worth repeating. Anything with Wimpy or Dork in the title makes me sad. Rant: schools pour money into programs to boost kids' self-esteem and use the same source of money to buy books calling kids all these awful things. I don't get it, especially the Junie books :)
But behold. The last neutral territory in America: the Amish. Has someone written an Amish series for children? Can this be true? I just discovered them at the library last week. I want to share! The Double Trouble series is written by Wanda Brunstetter. Her many other books appear to be Amish or old country in nature, and geared toward adults. This seems to be her second foray into the children's world.
My daughter started with What a Pair! by Wanda Brunstetter and it quickly became a best friend. Twin siblings have adventures on the farm and get in trouble - a recipe for belly laughs and mischief. Sometimes they don't get along, and other times they do. It's real.
I am pleased to say she is begging for the sequel!
What's the take-home, Wendy? Are you dumbing down your kid by escaping magic and name-calling? No. I just don't think they are worth our time; rather, adventures, teamwork, and real historical topics get us going toward the positive. My old boss once told me, "Remember, you are raising adults, not kids." That's just about the most inspiration I could need.
This series by Wanda Brunstetter is gleeful SUMMER READING. Joy, summer, freedom. Life lessons.
The fruit of summer reading!
A sage woman once said, and to keep her identity secret I'll just call her Cheryl, that once your children start reading for themselves, you'll want to invest in series. Series are amazing: read one and you get the flavor for the entire set! Ahhh, load off!
So I've read a couple of American Girls: it's a win. And now that they have mysteries, that's an entire other series my daughter gets to explore. They have brought up some historical topics I have approached with Ellie: true, and therefore invaluable conversations. For example, we have loved the entrepreneurship of Kit Kittredge contributing to her family as they dealt with poverty. We've also discussed how poverty took them - and America - by surprise. We've discussed the different lives of Marie-Grace and Cecile in New Orleans (especially when we visited New Orleans!), because of their skin color and their family situations in 1850. This series has spawned research and more research - not in our original lesson plans. They have been RICH conversations, and hard, and good. Their series has been an amazing American journey - for me, too.
I've also read a Bobbsey Twins book so she's cleared for those - win, because there are about 62 of them. I wish I could find the picture of my daughter and Oma with her own childhood collection she let her borrow: a unique connection there! The bookworm gene picture, I call it.
Hardy Boys are next, thanks to the advice of another secret wise woman I'll call Jeni. I remember reading Nancy Drew but I think they are a bit too scary for mine just yet.
Magic Tree House - we discussed the elements of magic in them prior to trying one, and while she enjoyed that one book, the "looking upon the tree and feeling the magic" was a bit odd to her, as it was to me as well, and so we decided to put that series on hold. No rush! Ever.
Never did Junie B. Jones after the once. The language left a crass taste on the story, and just wasn't worth repeating. Anything with Wimpy or Dork in the title makes me sad. Rant: schools pour money into programs to boost kids' self-esteem and use the same source of money to buy books calling kids all these awful things. I don't get it, especially the Junie books :)
But behold. The last neutral territory in America: the Amish. Has someone written an Amish series for children? Can this be true? I just discovered them at the library last week. I want to share! The Double Trouble series is written by Wanda Brunstetter. Her many other books appear to be Amish or old country in nature, and geared toward adults. This seems to be her second foray into the children's world.
My daughter started with What a Pair! by Wanda Brunstetter and it quickly became a best friend. Twin siblings have adventures on the farm and get in trouble - a recipe for belly laughs and mischief. Sometimes they don't get along, and other times they do. It's real.
I am pleased to say she is begging for the sequel!
What's the take-home, Wendy? Are you dumbing down your kid by escaping magic and name-calling? No. I just don't think they are worth our time; rather, adventures, teamwork, and real historical topics get us going toward the positive. My old boss once told me, "Remember, you are raising adults, not kids." That's just about the most inspiration I could need.
This series by Wanda Brunstetter is gleeful SUMMER READING. Joy, summer, freedom. Life lessons.
The fruit of summer reading!
