Hello Book Bums families!
The new year is often a time for resolutions and new beginnings. If your plans for 2022 include books and reading we are here to accompany you with book recommendations and great ideas for you and the young readers in your life.
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Word of the Week
eloquent (adjective/describing word) - an expressive, clear, and persuasive way of speaking
She is so eloquent; it is no wonder people listen to her.
Literary Calendar
- January 2nd is the birthday of author Isaac Asimov.
- He is famous for his many science fiction novel including the classic I, Robot which was made into a 2004 movie starring Will Smith.
Tips for Families
Tips for Families
If you’re like me, you have lots of gorgeous Christmas cards from friends and family; and you feel terrible thinking about throwing them away. What else can you do with them? We’ve got a great idea!
Place the whole stack of cards in a basket or another decorative container that you can store in an easy-to-reach spot near your dining area. When your family gathers at the table for dinner each evening, one person draws a card from the top and prays for the meal making sure to pray for the family who sent you the card. Then, the card goes to the bottom of the stack. What a lovely way to continually remember those who thought enough of you to send a card!
From our Bookshelves
From Our Bookshelves
Whether you make New Year’s Resolutions or not, this book is a “gentle but firm kick in the pants that might just help you accomplish more than you have any other year." The author says, “If you have a dream for a better life or accomplishing something big, but you struggle with fear, distraction, or procrastination, this is the book for you. I wrote Take the Stairs for people like me who have a strong desire for success and for making the world a better place.”
"Success is never owned. It is only rented—and the rent is due every day. Success means doing things we don’t want to do."
Wordology Workshop
At Book Bums we used to host Wordology workshops which explored Greek and Latin word roots. From time to time we'll explore some word roots here in our newsletter as well.
• The Latin root stell means star. You find it in the word constellation.
• Winter is a great time to get outside in the dark evening and look for constellations. You can check out a library book to read more about the stories told in the stars.
Practical Grammar
I’m not sure if you realize it or not, but there is something wrong, grammatically, with this sentence.
I’m going to go lay down.
• You see, lay means to place something in a flat position on a surface. It’s something you do to something else.
• Lie, on the other hand, means to recline in flat position. It’s done on its own.
You can lay your head on a pillow, but it’s best to do that when you’re lying down.
Tips for Readers and Writers
When reading with kids who are in beginning chapter books, try sharing the reading like this: You read a paragraph, and they read a paragraph. Alternate in this manner for an entire chapter.
This is a good idea, because:
• Kids discover why authors indent. Think of it like a conductor telling the musicians how to play the music.
• Kids don’t tire as quickly.
• Smaller chunks of text are less intimidating.
• You’re modeling good reading.
• Kids strive to match your pace.
• Kids tend to match your expression and character voice.
• Reading dialogue actually sounds conversational.
• It’s fun!
Show, on a page of your chapter book, where the author indented the text. You can draw arrows pointing to each indented line along the left margin. Kids don’t just “get” this intuitively. We have to show them.
Notice that authors indent to show there’s a new person talking or there’s a new idea. The indent signals a slightly longer pause than a period, and it prompts readers to change their voices a bit. It’s almost like taking a breath as we move on to a new but related topic.
Eventually, you’ll want to change over to “You read a page. I read a page,” so kids build stamina as they read for longer and longer stretches, but switching at the paragraph change, is a great way grow beginning readers.
Give it a try, tonight!
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