By Mary Hill
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| http://byoungermanauthor.blogspot.com/ |
Today’s Prompt: Break
I have discovered this special blog hop today. It is sponsored by Brenda Youngerman. I really think this will be a great hop to participate in so here goes. The writing prompt is : break.
It is summer break for my daughter. She wants to goof off and do nothing. What pre-teen doesn’t: video games and rest. I’m a mean mom because I want her to read. So, I have to be a sneaky mom too. How are you encouraging your children to read over their summer break? Reading is so important because studies show that if you do not engage your children in educational activities they will suffer from the summer slide.
Many children actually lose half a grade level of learning over the summer. They forget important vocabulary words; they become rusty in their math skills; and lose ground on their reading levels. I guess I just have to be a mean mom. I have bribed, begged, and bartered to get her to read. She has gotten a subscription to her favorite online games and also gets to play her favorite video games if she reads. The follow through though is the problem: she reads but complains that she is bored. She hates reading. This response is the exact opposite of what I want. I want her to love reading.
We had an argument today. I felt video games are a waste of time, but to my surprise I discovered in quizzing her that she actually has learned some higher vocabulary terms from playing her favorite game: Halo. For example, she used “deployment” today in association with Halo. She learned the meaning of the word while reading the directions. Since learning this I have delved into the issue of video games and literacy. Some games actually do help children learn new vocabulary thus educators should not be so fast to downgrade their learning potential.
Even with the development of her learning some vocabulary from gaming, this summer break, I still want her to read and would appreciate any feedback on how to encourage her to read without becoming the “unhip” mommy. Is there room for compromise. What video games out there have a positive impact on learning?
In the meantime, I continue my personal challenge. How many hops can I find today that fit my niche and will grow my readership? I linked up with some below. I love hopping and hope you will find a new hop that you will enjoy too.
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| http://mnmrheinlander.com/2013/07/thursdays-connect-cafe-social-media-hop-711.html |
This hop is so worthwhile. It is my go to hop every Thursday. You should definitely hook up.
http://www.herandnicole.com/ I just found this hop today. It looks like it is a lot of fun and hopefully, I will get more readership as a result in joining it. The sponsors of these blogs write lifestyle and fashion blogs. Creatives like myself, however, are warmly welcomed.
these are some great tips! i’ll have to pass them on to my teacher friends.
thanks for joining our blog hop this week!
xx, alicia
river city chic
I have same situation with son. He doesn’t dislike to read per say, but he definitely enjoys his Wii games more! But we have just insisted on the 20 minutes per day (he’s only Grade 3) rule of reading. However, I pretty much count anything he reads; I find it much easier for both of us to play to his interests. So if he is reading the cheat sheets and tips manual to a particular game? Fine, allowed. He also loves Lego, so he can read his Lego books or comics. As much as I would love for him to get into Huck Finn, Treasure Island or even Charlotte’s Web ….he may be a bit young for the “classics” just yet. Although, I did catch him reading hubby’s The Hobbit the other day. And he loved it!! So if you just keep providing the material; you might just get a “hit” one day.
Visiting from Ahola Friday. I’d like to invite you to my Friday Flash Blog, where you can share your best blog entry of the week! The party goes on ALL weekend at thejennyevolution.com. And who knows, you may just get featured next week.
Jennifer, Thanks for the kind invite. Will have to hop over and check it out. Hope others who followe me will too.
Interesting Post! I have the same reaction to video games, but as with most things as long as you only do them in moderation it won’t kill you! =)
Thank you for spreading JOY and sharing at the Oh What a HAPPY Day party.
Holly at Not Done Growing