Hello Book Bums families!
Lots of people make resolutions at the start of the calendar year, but any new beginning can be a good time to start a project or build a new practice into your life: the start of the month, the week, or the school year. This week in the newsletter we offer ideas for starting smart, including morning routines, promoting kindness, and of course, reading.
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Word of the Week
fortify (for-tih-fy) verb/ action word - to strengthen or secure
Many foods, such as cereal, are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals.
Literary Calendar
• August 9 is the birthday of P.L.Travers, creator of Mary Poppins.
• While many people are more familiar with the movie versions of Mary Poppins, this practically perfect character began life in a book in 1934. There are actually many books in the series.
• The 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks presents some of Travers' life as well as the story of how the Disney movie came to be.
• Both book and movie include that remarkable word - Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious.
From our Bookshelves
Are you looking for a book to follow your little one through those first 13 years of school - you know the ones - at the end of each year, your child’s teacher records a note and then the book is shared with your child on his or her graduation day? Well, if you’re feeling Oh, The Places You’ll Go is a bit overdone, we’ve got another book for you! The Blur by Minh Le reminds us that childhood really is a blur. This book would also be a great graduation gift! I’ve often said, “The days are long, but the years are short.” It’s true. I just read that, on average, more than 90% of the time kids spend with their parents is before high school graduation. Make the best of these busy, beautiful days!
The Postcard is not for the faint of heart, for within the pages the reader will find graphic violence as well as drug use, antisemitic language, and suicide. That’s to be expected when reading about the deteriorating safety of Jews in Europe as Hitler came into power.
Though The Postcard was translated from French to English and there were French words used that I had no idea how to pronounce, the story came through. Following is the review that resonates with mine.
“The story overall is poignant, tense, restless, and ultimately pivotal, as Anne not only solves her mystery, but, more importantly, gains her identity...The anguish and horror of genocide arrive with fresh impact in an absorbing personal account.”—Kirkus Reviews
Tips for Readers and Writers
As you read aloud to your kids (and as your kids listen to their teachers read aloud to them), try to categorize some books that made your kids feel something. Together, make mini posters (or simply dedicate a few pages in a notebook) sorting books into categories. Consider the following:
• Books that made me cry (at least almost): (Where the Red Fern Grows)
• Books that made me laugh out loud: (All About Sam)
• Books that made me want to be a better person: (A Week in the Woods)
• Books I didn’t like at all: (most any cartoon character book ever written)
• Books that I would recommend to a friend—add friend’s names: (My Life in Dog Years—Noah)
• Books that I learned a lot from: (The Trumpet of the Swan)
This would make a good social media post, because book recommendations are always welcomed by fellow readers! If you start it, tag Book Bums!
Tips for Families
How to Have the Best School Year Ever
1. Embrace a Growth Mindset.
• Believe your child can achieve anything s/he wants to (and help him/her to believe it, too.)
• High expectations yield high achievement.
• Avoid saying things like, “She’s no good at math."
2. Embrace a Morning Routine
• Invite the kids to help decide on a workable routine.
• Plan 2-5 things for kids to do independently after waking up. (e.g., brush teeth, make bed, get dressed, eat breakfast, get backpack)
• Commit to stick with it but modify as needed.
• No rewards are necessary. Just praise lavishly for great mornings.
3. Homework Help
• Have a calm, tidy place for kids to complete homework.
• Kids and/or parents should go through the backpack every day to help keep it organized, (and you’ll be less likely to forget events like picture day!)
• Consider playing some “Deep Work” music to usher your kids into work mode.
• Sit alongside your kids and take care of things you need to do, too. Your proximity will help. Just quietly get things done to show what that looks like.
• Praise the kids for getting things done. Do not get worked up over any undesired behaviors. Kids want our attention. Refrain from giving that attention for negative things. If the homework isn’t completed or it isn’t done well, give a kind reminder, offer to help, but it isn’t your homework. Your child will learn from logical consequences from the teacher, and that’s the good stuff.
4. Home/School Connection
• Find at least one way to become involved at school.
• Be diligent about reading school and classroom newsletters. At least give them a skim.
• Encourage your kids to participate in school events.
5. Support Teachers
• Teachers are some of the hardest working people on the planet. They give and give—far more than they’re required. Look for great things, and you’ll see great things.
• Never speak negatively about a teacher in front of your child—even if you’re sure the teacher made a poor decision. Our kids need all the caring adults pouring into their lives that they can get. Don’t let them count a teacher out.
6. Plan Some Family Downtime
• If you don’t plan some downtime in your schedule, you’re not likely to enjoy much of it.
• Extracurriculars are important, but so is downtime. Boredom is where creativity flourishes.
• Experiment with family media breaks. Isn’t it funny how kids are nicer when they haven’t been on devices? Maybe that’s true for us, too.
• Plan board game nights. Kids learn so much from this kind of play!
7. Family Dinner
• Keep it simple but commit to sitting down together at least a few times a week.
• Try to have some homecooked meals but remember that the time is just as important as the nutrition.
• Talk with one another as you enjoy the meal. You might want to go around the table and talk about the day’s highs and lows.
8. Promote Kindness and Talk about How to Spread Kindness
• Ask, “Who were you especially kind to today?”
• Ask, “What kind thing did you do for your teacher today?”
• Ask, “What is a kind thing someone did for you today?”
• Ask, “What kind thing could we do for you tonight?”
9. Bedtime Routines (Begin Now!)
• Start earlier than you think you need to.
• Plan 2-5 things for the kids to do, independently, before getting in bed. (e.g., put prepared book bag-with homework-by the door, get clothes out for the next day, put pjs on, brush teeth, read quietly until parent comes in for book reading, goodnights, and turning out lights.)
10. Praise What You Want Repeated
• Kids receive no energy (not even negative) from you for what you don’t want repeated.
• Choose to see the good and focus on that. Perfection is a myth. Let’s just strive for as many joy-filled moments as we can squeeze into each day.
• Remember, the days are long, but the years are short.
Wordology Workshop
• The Latin root fort means strong.
• You can find it in our Word of the Week, fortify, as well as other common words such as fortitude, enforce, and fortress.
• Notice in the word enforce the t changed to a c.
• How many fort words can your family think of?
Practical Grammar
Is it everyday or every day? Both can be correct, but they are used differently.
If you’re speaking about something you do (an action), it’s every day.
I try to take about 10,000 steps every day.
If you’re speaking about a thing that’s ordinary, it’s everyday.
I knew my mom had prepared a special dinner because we weren’t using our everyday dishes.
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