Bookmaking With Kids

I recently turned up a 2nd-grade homework log for my younger daughter (now 20!) and was charmed to see what she was reading solo, what her father and I were reading aloud to her and how her grandparents helped out, too.

During the particular week shown above (just in case you can’t read the handwriting), our chosen reading included The Math Curse, several Fractured Fairy Tales and six poems by Jack Prelutsky. But the best idea was my mother’s: taking turns reading the Chance and Community Chest cards from a Monopoly set that featured the city of London!

My parents lived there on several occasions, and I did, too, as a kid, so stories about London always abounded in our family. Reading the Monopoly cards was not only practice in reading for my daughter but no doubt also a prelude to hearing about family adventures in a great city.

What strikes me now about this entry in the homework log is my mom’s creative approach to reading practice. It was a brilliant idea! Thank you!