Reading and Writing for Kids

With summer vacation beginning for children across the country, kids and parents may be looking for activities to keep active young minds occupied. They'll want to enjoy plenty of outdoor sunshine, of course. For days when they must stay indoors, how about reading and writing, not only for something to do, but to keep them from losing reading ability.

According to an article in the Marshall News Herald, Formal research and common sense shows that summer reading retention is a key contributor to student success. Like any skill, reading is maintained and enhanced with practice. Students who don't read over the summer might see as much as two months of reading ability slip away. This reading loss is cumulative, and by the end of sixth grade, non-summer readers might be as much as two school years behind their "summer reading" peers. Reading as few as four books during the summer break helps children retain their reading levels.

Miranda's Book Club is one place that kids can go online to find reading and writing activities. This dynamic site explores ways to interest kids in reading and writing and provides rewards for doing so. Still under construction, more activities will be added daily.

Electronic publishing, the future of the book?

Books have always been close companions. It find it unthinkable to go anywhere without a book or several books along. I love the smell of paper, the feel of the book in my hand, the adventure awaiting on the next page I can turn. I go to bed with a book every night, reading until I fall asleep. I've been kept awake, reading through the night because the story was too exciting to put down. I can't resist buying books, nor can I bear to part with the ones I have. I need books for entertainment, enlightenment, inspiration, comfort, information, and education. What would I do without books?

I am delighted when I see young people, especially my grandchildren, have the same love and reverence for a book that I do. I am also in awe of kids who navigate the latest electronic devises with ease and comfort. They are growing up in a different age than I did, an age of exploding information and technology. My grandchildren have known and operated computers from toddler-hood. Cell phones, iPods, and all kinds of electronic reading devices are familiar to them.

With the variety of e-readers on the market and the ability to read a book on a cell phone, I wonder whether the book as I know it is on its way to becoming a relic of the past. I guess my biggest concern is that people continue to read, whatever method they utilize. If a child wants to take a Nook or a Kindle or an iPad to bed instead of a bound book, at least they are reading. Whatever the device, as long as it gives access to entertaining stories, inspiration in the written word, information, enlightenment, and comfort, it's a good thing. I'm grateful they have choices. For this reason, I'm determined to make all of my books, those written and those still to be published, available as e-books. So far, I have four books available this way on Smashwords.com, and one on Amazon.com.

Happy reading, everyone, any way you like it!