Hello Book Bums families!
Summer break is almost here! We hope you're cruising through these final days of the school year.
This week in the newsletter we've got our mind on summer. Dr. Christy shares how one of the best ways to grow your young reader is to get out in the world and have new experiences. From museums to antiques shows to trying new foods - we have ideas!
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Word of the Week
lax (laks) adjective/describing word - loose or open, not strict
The lax security meant the art thief had time to steal the figurine unobserved.
Literary Calendar
• May 18 is International Museums Day.
• The Cincinnati area boasts many family friendly museums to explore.
• The Cincinnati Art Museum has some hands-on exhibits and a dedicated space for making and displaying visitor art.
• The Cincinnati Museum Center is home to The Children's Museum and the Museum of Natural History and Science.
• The American Sign Museum is an educational feast for the senses.
• For older kids, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center offers a walk through history.
From our Bookshelves
A few weeks back, I had a chance meeting with an acquaintance from long ago, and we talked like long lost friends. I shared with her things I hadn’t talked much about with anyone else. It felt like a God moment taking place when I least expected it. She felt the same. We discussed our faith, our families, and our futures.
This book came up in the conversation, and I ordered it a few days later. Now this is a book I have not yet finished, but I have already found it inspirational.
There are a few sections discussing instances where people found bits of memorized scripture a blessing they hadn’t anticipated. Then, most of the book features a verse, shares what the verse means, and why it’s important to know and live by those words. The selected verses are organized by subject, and one scripture seems to lead beautifully into the next.
I like the way it begins with easy verses, to build confidence, and then gradually stretches into more challenging ones.
When I wake up, first thing in the morning, I do my Bible study. After that, I work on my memory verse. I’m just beginning, so I start with the first one and review the verses I’ve already memorized, and end with practicing my current verse.
I’m getting to the age where word retrieval is becoming an issue. Working on remembering inspiring words may just give me that cognitive boost I’ve been looking for.
Tips for Families
Many folks who come into Book Bums say kind things about the way our spaces are decorated. They like the hominess and love that it’s so cozy.
Many times, people ask where I find all the furniture, and I always mention the Springfield Antique Show in Springfield, Ohio. I’ve been going, multiple times a year, for close to forty years. The best days to check it out are the spring extravaganza (this weekend) and the fall extravaganza in September.
When I saw the photo (above) of the laundry room décor, I decided to share it because the photo features the kinds of things you can find at the antiques show. My trick to decorating is to imagine ways of using old things that speak to me in new and interesting ways.
If you like the Joanna Gaines section in Target, but you don’t want to spend all that money on stuff that’s probably been made overseas and will only go down in value, make the drive to Springfield and find the real items. You can shop ‘til you drop, getting lots of steps in for the day, because there are literally thousands of vendors at the extravaganzas! You’ll find iced tea stands around every bend, ice cream, kettle corn, and so much more to give you sustenance for your shopping experience. Here’s a link for the website.
I’m a seasoned antique show shopper, so I’m going to give you all the tips.
Location: Clark County Fairgrounds, 4401 S Charleston Pike, Springfield, OH 45505
Dates remaining for 2025:
May 16-18- Extravaganza
June 21 & 22
August 16 & 17
Sept 19-21 Extravaganza
October 18 & 19
November 15 & 16
Price: $20 for Early Bird Buying (7am-12pm Friday, May 16th), $12 for General Admission (12pm-6pm Friday, May 16th; 8am-5pm Saturday, May 17th; 9am-4pm Sunday, May 18th)
1. Wear and bring sunscreen. A hat or visor might be nice as well.
2. No one’s looking at you. They’re looking for treasures, so choose clothes with comfort in mind. Layer up so you can peel clothing off as the day warms up.
3. Comfortable walking shoes are a must. Bring an extra pair and an extra pair of socks to leave in the car. If it has recently rained, the ground can get squishy, and I always seem to find the puddles.
4. Cash is king, though they do take credit cards for larger, pricier items.
5. Many folks bring a cart or wagon, but everyone should have a large shoulder bag at minimum.
6. You never remember where you saw something. If you like it, buy it when you see it.
7. You can bargain with dealers on price. You can say, “Would you consider taking ____?”
8. When you purchase multiple items, you can often get a better price break.
9. If you’re with a friend, note what the other person is wearing. It’s easy to lose one another. A hat or bright colored top is helpful.
10. If you lose one another, have a meeting spot.
11. When you make a purchase, you can ask the dealer to hold it for you until you’re ready to pick it up. Be sure to take a picture of the item and the dealers space number, so you can find your way back.
12. Take a measuring tape if you’re looking for something of a specific size.
Wordology Workshop
• The Latin root ante means before or prior to.
• You can find it in the word antique, pointing us to the meaning that antiques come from a prior time.
• Ante also shows up in words like antebellum (before the war) antideluvian (before the flood), and the more common word anticipate.
• Note that sometimes the spelling shifts to anti. This is different than the root ant/anti that means opposite.
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
The end of the school year is quickly approaching. Lakota students have eight days of school left. Do you have a plan for keeping the kids you love learning this summer?
Here’s my suggestion: Build as many unique experiences into your days together as you possibly can. Strive to do lots of things you’ve never done before. Do things you have done before in new ways. Deliberately build into your kids’ background/prior knowledge or schema.
Go canoeing. Visit Keehner Park (wearing water shoes and old clothes) and slowly lift some big rocks in search of crawdads. Go to an antique shop (Ohio Valley Antique Mall) and explore some cool trinkets from the good old days. Take the kids to hear the symphony in the park and discuss the instruments you hear, how the songs make you feel, what instrument you play(ed), and what your kids might like to play one day. Visit a historical village/Heritage Village. Pull off the road near a construction site, and just sit for a while, watching the folks at work. Take a tray of cookies to the firehouse. See an outdoor dramatic play like Blue Jacket. Go horseback riding. Try new foods, as a family, that you’ve never tasted before (maybe at QBarbeQ next to our West Chester location). Have a cookout at the park. Get some binoculars and a bird book to learn what kinds of birds are in your neighborhood. Begin collecting the stamps from your family’s mail. Find a new bike trail to explore. Go get malts at an ice cream place. (Too many kids don’t know what a malt is!) Organize a family fire drill. Visit a berry farm and pick today’s dessert (Indian Springs Berry Farm). Stop at a yard sale. Give your kids a few dollars to spend and coach them as they manage their money. Make floats with a variety of sodas (grape, orange, root beer, etc.). Build an obstacle course in the yard and invite neighbor kids to do it with you. Go pedal boating. Make a fun photo album for the grandparents. Plan a ride on a train and/or riverboat. Explore a new museum or aquarium. Play charades as a family. Explore a new park. Go ice skating on an extra hot day. Host a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Follow a hot air balloon until it lands. Take the donut trail challenge. Explore the rock arch at Hocking Hills State Park. Visit the farmers’ market and try something unique (food, soap, candles, etc.). Go to a friend’s game and cheer him/her on with homemade posters. Have weekly family game nights where the kids take turns choosing the game and the snack. As a family, babysit a younger child. Take a trip to Trammel Fossil Park. Explore Jungle Jim’s. Go to see a professional sports team play. Walk around downtown and take a horse and buggy ride. Host your own kids’ book club. Enjoy a make-your-own-sundae bar. Rent a dunk tank and have the kids make invitations for the neighbors to come over and enjoy it with you. Visit a new church. Make a model of the solar system. Begin collecting all the US state quarters. Make something using mostly materials from trash. Visit the Ohio Caverns. Make your own pudding and/or Jell-o. Visit the county fair and the state fair.
While you’re doing these activities, make it a point to notice together the words you encounter.
It might be helpful to keep a simple journal or maintain a family calendar listing all that you do to uniquely experience the summer days.
The background knowledge playing field is not equal. Kids who have more diverse experiences fare better when it comes to reading comprehension and overall knowledge.
Parents who want to provide their children with an educational boost can do so by providing enriching experiences.
Kids can expand their worlds through books too. That’s one of the most gratifying things about being a reader! However, when kids become a primary source of information on a topic, the connections they make when reading are multiplied. Their vocabularies are expanded with their experiences. They can more easily make connections with topics when they’ve have had firsthand experiences. They are better equipped to express similarities and differences between two things. These (and more!) are skills that kids are required to demonstrate within typical school settings, so your role as a parent promoting lots of varied experiences for your children is very important.
We want our kids to have "been there and done that,” so they can thrive in their classrooms.
Practical Grammar
Have you ever noticed that the word cave is in the word cavern but that the pronunciation is different? Vowels can change their sounds as words change in form. Think: nation/national and judicial/judge
There’s a phenomenon called trisyllabic laxing that notes the tendency for vowels in unstressed syllables to become shortened—to move from a long vowel sound to a short vowel sound.
But what about comedy/comedian? That went from a short e in comedy to a long e in comedian. I don’t know exactly why that happens. There’s something about the Great Vowel Shift that took place between the 14th and 18th centuries.
We don’t have to know all that. We simply try making the expected vowel sound and, if that doesn’t work, all we have to do is “flip it” to the other vowel sound to see if that makes a word we know.
News from Book Bums
Remember that Book Bums will be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th.
We will begin offering summer hours beginning the week of June 2nd. Talk with your child’s tutor to make desired adjustments.
We’re still looking for volunteers for our summer school program for Lakota students in June and again in July. If you’re interested in volunteering, email Judy at [email protected]. The sessions run M-F from 8:30-11:00 a.m. June 2nd through June 20th and again July 7th through July 25th. It’s a “come when you’re able” situation. Even if it’s only for one day, you can make a difference for good! If you can smile, you’ve got what it takes to volunteer.
Tips for Teachers
Nothing is as motivating as observing our own progress. It’s the same for kids!
Classroom teachers will find it encouraging to pull out some of their students’ work from early in the school year. They’ll allow some time for the kids to notice just how far they’ve come, and it’s spectacular.
I used one-to-one student conferencing sheets for my students’ reading work, and I kept all my notes on a clipboard. Those notes were so meaningful as we closed out the school year. I could flip back to the beginning of the year and read aloud my notations including the title of the books the students read, the errors they made, the coaching I offered, how their comprehension was, etc. And then I shared my notes from the most recent conference. We could even put the books side by side to note the increased demands of the text and how well the students are navigating the more sophisticated stories.
I just met with a student who worked with me on the two sounds for o-w and the primary sound for o-u. The student breezed through each part of the lesson with no issues. As we were doing the spelling portion, I asked the student to write the three words he’d missed on the assessment—and he wrote all three correctly.
We both left that session feeling like a million bucks!
Book Bums tutors—you can do that too. Flip back to that initial assessment that’s in your students’ folders and show them the words they wrote, noting just how far they’ve come.
Just for Fun
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