Hello Book Bums families!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and people who love like moms in our community. This week in the newsletter we're sharing ideas moms will enjoy. We have celebration ideas that are more than brunch; Dr. Christy's tips for decorating in the Book Bums style; and a reminder that reading is good for your body!
Thanks for all you do!
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Word of the Week
hardy (hard--ee) adjective/describing word - able to exist through tough conditions, robust
Some plants are hardy enough to survive a frost; others need to be kept warm indoors if temperatures drop.
Literacy Calendar
- May 12 is National Limerick Day.
- A limerick is a funny poem that has five lines and a familiar rhyme scheme of AABBA (each letter stands for a rhyming sound).
- Limericks often tell stories and sometimes bawdy jokes.
- Check out all kinds of limericks through the Poetry Foundation.
From our Bookshelves
I listened to a podcast where the host said Unreasonable Hospitality wasn’t just one of the best business books he read, but it’s the best business book he’s read.
I purchased it and finished it in a weekend. Now I’ve begun thinking about how we can do even better with moving kids forward and with equipping and inspiring parents to support their young scholars well.
What are some areas where we can step up our game? What are confusing or frustrating or awkward moments we can eliminate? How can we add more surprising and delighting to our sessions?
Unreasonable Hospitality is an excellent book. Author Will Guidara also shared about the joy that comes to those who deliberately create special moments for others. By simply listening to what people say and genuinely connecting with them, we can create spectacular moments for our customers. Then, with uplifted hearts, our customers are more likely to strive to delight others.
That’s why I’m thinking a lot about Unreasonable Hospitality.
Tips for Families
So, moms, if you don’t have one already, why don’t we start a Mother’s Day tradition that we’ll actually enjoy this year? Don’t wait for someone to try to make you happy on your day. Take charge and create the holiday you’ll most enjoy. (Frankly, dads aren’t always great at this stuff, and you may find yourself a little disappointed with the lack of effort—or the perennial problem of not being able to read your mind.)
Here are some ideas you might like:
On Mother’s Day, take a photo of yourself and any of your family who could be with you, and determine to take that same picture every year in the same spot.
Decide to cook a new recipe together each Mother’s Day. Everyone’s in the kitchen and taking part in creating a special meal—even if it’s simple. Yes, it’s work on your part, but you can choose to do as much or as little as you’d like with this meal.
Visit a garden store together and choose some plants to add to your landscaping/garden. Everyone helps to shop, load, unload, and plant. (It might help to have a sprinkler in the yard with you.) Don’t tell, but I purchased some gardening gloves, and I plan to add a Bern’s Garden Center gift card along with a flower for each of the beautiful moms in my life.
Take the whole family to Findlay Market. (That’s what we do!) Plan to buy fresh produce, gorgeous cut flowers, delicious sausages (blueberry maple flavor), fresh bread (cinnamon bread & salted rye), tiny frozen potato pancakes, excellent cuts of steak and chicken, Colonel De Gormet Herbs and Spices (One word: Parmageddon) and anything else you see that your heart desires. You’ll have an adventure and get some of your grocery shopping done at the same time!
Plan to go to the Springfield Antique Show with your girlfriends. It’s the week after Mother’s Day, and this antique show has just about everything you can imagine from over 2,000 vendors. Think: ferns, flowers, festival foods (including sweet tea and kettle corn), yard art, vintage clothing, and antique furniture. It’s not a craft show. It’s so much better! (I’ve purchased lots of furniture and décor for all three Book Bums locations at this show.)
Friday, May 15 • 12p–6p
Saturday, May 16 • 8a–5p
Sunday, May 17 • 9a–4p
Wordology Workshop
- The Latin root mater/matr means mother.
- You will find it in some words you expect, such as maternal, maternity, matron, and matriarch.
- You will also find it in some words you may not expect, such as matrimony, material, and matrix.
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
I know you’re probably just trying to end this school year well, and you haven’t likely much bandwidth for thinking about summer reading; but it just might be the perfect time for making big plans. If we plan for it, it’s more likely to happen, right?
Here are some tips to help YOU get motivated for reading this summer with the kids you adore:
Ask your child’s teacher about read aloud chapter books they recommend. Maybe there’s another book in a series they read in class or there’s another book by a beloved author. Ask, “Is there a chapter book you hoped to read to the class this year, but you didn’t get to it?” and read that with your kids.
Make it a point to read every single day. I have had the best luck getting kids to read when I read a book aloud to them and then invite them to do some reading on their own (if they’re independent readers). Even if they’re not, you can invite your kids to 1) read stories you’ve already read to them—remembering the story you shared. 2) They can look at the pictures and imagine what the words might say. And, finally, 3) they can look at the letters, make the sounds they know, and try to read what the words actually say.
Even when your kids are equipped to read well independently, you reading to them beyond their reading abilities continues to be important. Your reading with them grows their vocabularies, offers opportunities for you to ensure they’re understanding what’s being read, and enthuses them to love more and more books.
Remember not to incentivize reading. Let the reading itself be the reward! When we frame reading as a delight, it will more likely be seen as delightful. It is not something one must endure to receive a prize.
The most important piece is to always have the next book ready. Kids need stacks of books at the ready, so that when inspiration strikes there’s little to no resistance. Books in the bathroom, books by the couch, books by the bed, books in the car . . . You get the idea.
Practical Grammar
- Are you saying supposably for supposedly?
- Remember that the t is silent in often.
- February should be pronounced like there’s a /roo/ in there.
- Realtor has two syllables. It’s not real-uh-ter. It’s reel-ter.
- The word athlete has two syllables, not three. It’s not . . . ath-uh-lete.
- Nuclear is not /new-cue-ler./ It’s /new-clee-er/.
News from Book Bums
Let’s talk décor.
I love finding utilitarian things and using them for something completely unexpected. When I see a Blue Bird pie pan, I buy it if it has a BB (for Book Bums). When I see cool metal trays, I often buy them for signage. With a simple magnet, we can adhere our signs that say things like, “We Make the Sounds We See. It’s a No Guess Zone,” and “WIFI password: ilovebooks.” When I see an old bed springs thingmajig, I think, “That’d make such a cool lighted succulent display, right?” and my husband helps me to make it happen.
It’s not going to be finished before we host our first round of free assessments, but it should be feeling cozy soon!
Tips for Teachers
I had to do a presentation in a literature class as an undergraduate at UC Teacher’s College. It was there that my professor said, “You’re a really good oral reader.” I hadn’t considered what it takes to be a captivating oral reader, but I sure do know one when I hear one, don’t you?
Are YOU good at reading aloud with the kids you share books with?
Some people are undeniably captivating when they read aloud, but is that something we can teach everyone to do?
Reading with kids promotes connection between the reader and those kids, but what do the crazy good readers do that makes their reading so darn enjoyable? Here’s what I’ve got so far:
Good readers change their voices to represent different characters when reading dialogue; they adjust their pacing to match the text; and they can even use accents and theatrics. Good readers ask engaging questions, discuss what they’re picturing in their own minds, and challenge kids to make their own predictions and to continue adjusting those predictions as they receive more and more information from the text. Good readers clarify vocabulary words in such a way as to minimize story interruption, acknowledge crafting tools (e.g., use of simile, onomatopoeia, and repetition), and even relate to and promote empathy for others.
As you’re reading to your students, remember to do your best to enjoy the story yourself. If you’re having fun, they’re more likely to have fun too.
Challenge: Try recording yourself reading a book aloud. Listen to it with a critic’s ear. How might you improve your own oral reading?
One holiday season I took my (then, young) kids to see their cousin who was performing with Colerain’s show choir downtown. We were eating roasted nuts and watching the performance. I tapped one of my kids on the shoulder and said, “See that kid who’s not singing. He’s clearly miserable being here. It’s as though he’s too cool for this, but when I look at all the kids who are engaged and having fun . . . THEY look like the cool ones.”
Teachers, don’t try to be “too cool” to get into the stories you read.
To our Book Bums tutors, I know you’re reading the same books again and again. But it’s not for us. It’s for the kids. Do your best pirate voice when you’re reading How I Became a Pirate. Please do the eye roll when Wemberly tells her teacher, “I will. Don’t worry.” Make the “I blew it,” from Should I Share My Ice Cream sound absolutely miserable.
At Book Bums, our students aren’t just able to read. They love books—and it’s because of you!
Just for Fun
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