Reading, Riting, 'Rithmetic

So we are readers at this house. All my kids love books. I remember hating to read when I was little and I remember this was very upsetting to my grandma. She one day showed up with a new book series and told me "They all say these books will get any girl reading" First of all, who exactly is "they all"? Anyways - my cute grandma was worried enough about my reading to get me the first four books in the Babysitter's Club series. Well, it did the trick. I couldn't get enough. I ended up having something like 44 books in that series.

I am now a major-reader. I compare myself a little to my mom now. My mom has a notebook where she keeps track of every book she's ever read - then she goes to the library and adds to that list like weekly or something. She's always reading. I know there was a vacation to Hawaii or something that she took with my dad and grandparents one year and they still joke that she had her nose in a book the whole time they were there. She is a reader.

I too have a notebook where I keep track of books. My notebook has an aiuthor on each page, and then a list of all the books they've written. When I've read one of the books I check it off. I don't read near as much as my mom though (at least I don't think so) I'd love too - but I RARELY have down time that could be used as reading time. (Kids, a job, homework, the wii...). I read two kinds of books (give or take) They're almost always a factual book (random facts, how to books, how it's made, etc.) (I one time bought a set of encyclopedia's at the D.I. and read them all cover to cover... can we say geek?) or they're silly foofy who-done-it murder mysteries with some goofball female slueth who happens upon a case and then solves it.

My kids love to read, I started buying them books and they got hooked. Morrissa reads The Babysitter Club books (good thing I kept all mine) and other girly-ish books. (Hannah Montana series, etc...)

Tyson is just like me and reads books of fact. He and I can never get enough trivia. He has books about Sharks, baseball greats, and The Guiness Book of World Records. He loves the stuff. He also reads scary books by R.L. Stine (which are the same books I read as a kid, after graduating the Baby Sitters Club) (Good thing I still have all of those books too)

Tate is by far the biggest reader in the house. He is 6 years old and reads 400 pages in 1 or 2 days. He loves "chapter books" and reading seems to keep his attention span far better than anything else. He reads cute books that I wish had been around when I was little they're a series called "Magic Treehouse" and they're fantastic - they are about two kids (Jack and Annie) who go to their treehouse and end up in other places, time periods, etc. He learns about things like the pyramids in Egypt or the Great Depression while reading these fictional books about these two kids. He also reads a series called "Bailey School Kids" that are pretty fun. Now here's one that doesn't make sense to me: Captain Underpants. He LOVES that series!! Must be a boy thing.

I love that my kids love to read (Kyndi and Oaklee love books too) (Kamron won't read a book if his life depends on it...) Anyways, alot of Saturdays when we are bored we venture off to the DI and check out their book selection. We are always able to find books there in each of their interests for like 50 cents a piece. What a bargain! It keeps my kids reading and they love it.

On a bit of a turn in topics (a little) - Let me give everyone a recommendation - My favorite series in the whole wide world - Uncle John's Bathroom Reader(s) - I know, title sounds a little off-ish, but seriously, they're awesome! They are factual books with all kinds of trivia to learn - from random facts at the bottom of every page to short stories about how tennis began, or how to fix a leaky faucet, or is it true elephants are scared of mice... etc. There's even chapters about the dumbest criminals and how they got themselves caught... In this series there are also ones specific for children (these are what Tyson reads the most of) there are music specific ones, sports specific...etc. They cool , just trust me, you NEED to check them out! Just go to your local library and pick one up - then it's free and if you make it through the first page, you'll be hooked for life. (Don't get these confused however with the books titled "Bathroom Book" not the same books, and not even a comparison in overall awesome-ness.

I realize this is quite a boring post, but I had to get that recommendation out there.