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Isn’t it difficult trying to “unplug” your child from the latest tv show or video game? And talk about electronic overload when your oldest tries to convince you that she really CAN play DS while having a conversation with you AND having the tv on in the background!

This week I share a few stories of programs our school runs that help kids get excited about reading, teaches them about teamwork, and gets their creative juices flowing. These ideas can work at home, too…all it takes is having quiet in the house and talking to your children!

PARP is the Parent As Reading Partners program that the National PTA sponsors every year. I touched on our theme for this year but our committees have been super creative in the past. Even if you don’t have a PTA at your school, a team of dedicated parents can certainly put together a reading program like this.

Once you have a theme, take it and run! Last year’s theme was about reading around the world and each child in the school (550!) received a handmade passport which was stamped each time a child was caught reading. If you read for 15 minutes everyday, they you received a stamp. There were trivia questions about different countries scattered around the school so if your teacher asked a question and you got it right, you received another stamp.

They closed the program by painting a huge world map on the driveway to our school, complete with a welcome message. Each class member had a chance to paint a different part of the map. There was a ton of work involved for both parents and teachers but all the kids were so excited to earn their passport stamps.

I’d love to hear if your school has any programs that encourage reading. If your school has PARP, what was your theme this year?

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photo credit: eyeliam

 

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We had a blast today as we ventured to the local golf course, all layered up in snowpants and boots, with our sleds in tow. The girls have been begging us since January to go to our favorite sledding spot but only on Friday did we get enough snow for great sledding.

Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We arrived at 10:30am, had the hills to ourselves, enjoyed the warmth of the winter sun on our faces, and huffed and puffed walking up the steep hills back to our starting positions.

I was less than graceful, wiping out midway down the hill with a face full of snow! Both girls wiped out at various times and claimed those were the best runs. Go figure!

While we were standing atop our hill, we saw quite a few cross country skiers, which led to a nice conversation about good exercise and ways to have fun outdoors during the winter. I would love to try cross country skiing but can we just rent cross country equipment?? Don’t want to invest in something I could end up hating.

I will admit, I was never a big “outdoor kid” and it’s quite a bit of work getting both girls dressed for outdoor winter play so I never offer it as a suggestion. I really need to make that effort more often, though. We all had fun together, worked our leg muscles hiking up those hills, and hopefully will sleep very well tonight

When was the last time you were outside playing? How about sledding, ice skating, skiing, building a snowman, or having a snowball fight?

photo credit: CarbonNYC