25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets

25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets

This is a really great article about some ways for families to read together.  Some of it may seem obvious to teachers, but for busy parents, especially first time ones, it offers some great suggestions.

One of my favorites is the idea of sharing and even recording stories about grandparents and parents' lives.  Each Monday night, my husband and three kids gather after dinner for what we call Family Home Evening.   We have a little lesson, play games and spend about a half hour together.  Often our lesson comes from either my husband or I sharing a story about our lives as children.

Also, recently a brother of mine has taken upon the role in our family of preserving memories.  He interviewed both my parents about their lives, including childhood, dating, married life, having us children, etc.  He recorded it all and presented it to all his siblings and my parents as a book.  He also created an email thread about us children sharing our memories "Growing Up Manning (my maiden name)" and recorded this and presented it to my parents as a gift.  Such an invaluable treasure!

This idea could also be incorporated into the classroom.  One year, I had students enter a contest from Time for Kids.  They had to interview someone about a "historical event" that they had lived through.  I had to recruit quite a few people, but the stories and experiences for my students was amazing.  They got to learn about 911, the assassination of President Kennedy, putting a man on the moon, the Cuban "Operation Peter Pan", the Civil Rights movement, to name a few...very enjoyable and educational activity for them, AS WELL as the one being interviewed.