After watching Race to the Top last week, my colleagues and I had an impromptu discussion about homework at Prairie Creek. I realized that while I have talked to the students about the expectation they read 30 minutes a night I had not talked a lot about the many forms that might take. It doesn't always have to be independent, "just right" reading. In fact, this is a great time to establish a family culture of literacy. The key is that students should be involved in reading for at least 30 minutes a night. Here are some ideas to shake up the routine:
- Periodicals like newspapers and magazines make great at home reading. Studies show that having newspapers and magazines in the home correlates strongly with academic success. Time for Kids, Science News for Kids, Kids Discover, National Geographic, New Moon and Sports Illustrated are great options. Think about a subscription to Northfield News or the Star Tribune (many life long readers started out reading the comics and sports section daily!)
- Try an on-line periodical like Z.R.'s favorite: Dogonews. It has a few new, high interest stories every day (and has a very clean, simple layout without flashing banner ads).
- Have your child read to younger family members. This is great for fluency. If you don't have a younger child in your house, consider having your child make a book on tape (or YouTube) for a younger relative (or one of our K/1 classes)
- Read to your child — I can't stress how wonderful it is to continue reading aloud to your child. Well picked books can open the door to conversations, too. Reading aloud to your child "counts" as the reading activity for the evening. It is very valuable for children to hear adults reading.
The key is to create a habit of reading for your child. Set up some times when everyone in the house is reading without the distraction of television, make sure your child sees you reading often — this establishes that you are a family of readers, make a love of stories and together time the reward.
The Rookery 
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