Kids and Books...Read Read Read!

We recently went out with some very dear friends, and the discussion turned to their 1st grader. They told us he is doing good in school, and got really happy when they told us he is one of the top readers in his class. They said he didn't used to be, but recently there was a reading challenge given to his class. As with most classrooms, there is a boy in his class who is somewhat of a nemesis on certain things. During one of the classroom reading minute updates, our friends' son saw this other boy had a lot more minutes read. That's all it took...he went home, told his parents about it, and told his parents he was going to get more reading minutes than the other boy. That night he began reading more than ever before!

Not only did he win the reading challenge, he greatly improved his reading skills, and was recently given the only speaking part from his class at a recent school event! I could just feel the pride as his parents told us this story :-)

For anyone who knows us, books have always been a large part of our lives. Our kids have always had books to read. The only downside is we have a hard time getting rid of them...still need to get some book shelves *sigh*

Some of our favorite places to get books:

• Barnes and Noble: we purchase the annual membership, and easily save more than that with the books and items we purchase both in store and online. I really, really love using the online site, especially at Christmas when our DD puts together her book wish list.


• Garage Sales: Another fantastic idea is to look for books at garage sales...summer is coming and there are sure to be many sales with books for all ages! I found many books this way for my kids when they were younger. And it was even more fun when the kids found them themselves...it was like they had found a secret treasure LOL


• Libraries: Many school libraries do a turnover once every 2-3 years and will have a book sale. The prices here are super on these books, and there is normally a large variety to chose from.

Don't forget that books make wonderful gifts as well. No child is too young to have a book -- I even give them for Baby Shower Gifts. Hey, Dr Seuss will never be out of style ;-)