Although I seem to spend more time reading a screen than I do a book, reading for me is a given. How would I function if I could not read?

In our family, reading happens everywhere…except the bathroom. I am not a book-in-the-bathroom person. Ewww. We have bookcases in every room except the bathroom.

It’s summer so the kids have days when they are voracious readers and days when they are not. My summer reading tips are as follows:

• Buy books. Yes, I know books are expensive, but kids love to reread old classics or new stories. Invest in books.
• Get each child a library card. Make sure you and your husband have library cards. Carry your library card in your purse or wallet.
• Visit the library regularly for storytimes or summer reading programs.
• Join summer reading programs at the library or bookstores.
• Shop consignment stores for books. I picked up 12 of the 13 Lemony Snicket books for about $10. I found The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) on amazon for $94.50!
• Shop Goodwill for books.
• Go through your book collection at home. Pull out books that are too young for your child. Move books that are too young to a younger child’s bedroom.
• Buy each child a bookcase or shelf for their bedroom.
• Create screen-free areas in your house. Our living room does not a TV. There is a CD player if kids want to listen to books on CD. Our girls have laptops, but each child has reading time where the screens are turned off.
• Read the newspaper, read a book, read a menu, read the phone book — read anything while your little kids are in the room.
• For long car trips or lengthy visits to the doctor, have kids pack a book or a puzzle book to do while they wait.

Are you a blogger with kids? Check out this fabulous I Can Read contest over at Twittermoms!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an “I Can Read!” book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

My 1st grader may or may not have writer’s block. He may or may not have handwriting issues. He may or may not be stubborn as a mule. He may or may not be a task avoider. All these things may be true, but he needs to write in school, at homework time, for pleasure.

My 1st grader has handwriting that is all over the place. I found lined paper for him with ridged rules to keep his writing within the lines. He knows what he wants to say, writes it, but without the ridged rules his writing can be hard to decipher. Once he uses the ridged rule paper, his writing in the composition book is SO much better. Here’s a link to purchase a set of Mead Writing Notebooks. My son rocked the notebook with the raised rules. He learned quickly to write within the lines. I also found paper where the child writes each letter in a box. I will move on to this paper mid-summer.

My 11-year-old is a different matter. I am thinking of starting a private blog for her. I will have her use it as a journal. I might add writing prompts, but may see how she does with it on her own. One thing is for sure, she loves to type! Update: She starter her own blog and she is writing a play!

My children are still in school, but today all three might as well not be. Today is Convergence Day. One of those days when all three children have a scheduled activity for school requiring my help.

The 1st grader has his end-of-the-year picnic. I’m running a few games. My husband is joining him and bringing lunch. I would stay for lunch, but I have to go to a state park over an hour away. Why?

I have to go to a state park as the 8th grader has HER end-of-the-year picnic at Greenbrier State Park. She’s riding the school bus to the park, but wants to stay later to swim. I initially said that she had to ride the bus back to school, to get the bus home, but she desperately wants to stay at the park, So…I have arranged my day so that she can stay. Nice mom, right?

But, what about my 6th grader? She has her end-of-the-year picnic as well. What to do about this? I knew I couldn’t chaperone due to the 1st grade picnic. The school did not need chaperones.  I’m thankful for small mercies. I will try to do a fly by before driving to the state park with the 8th grader.

Convergence Day is given with three children in two different schools. Why don’t the schools coordinate their calendars?

When I was a college student in PA I was constantly asked the following questions by my fellow students:

- Is England near Scotland? Yep, very near.
- Is Benny Hill still alive? No idea. He was a huge deal in England in the 70s, but by the 80s he was a has been. A has been who was in a show that was played in heavy rotation on U.S. TV.
- Do you know my aunt/third cousin/friend of my dad? Usually a town miles away from my home town.
- Do English men still wear bowler hats? Uh, only if performing as Mr. Banks and the other bankers in Mary Poppins!
- When I told the name of my town — Wilmslow — I would get a blank response. I would say Manchester — more blank looks. Finally, I would say I am near London. Light bulbs! Recognition!
- When I mentioned living near Manchester to anyone musical, I would be serenaded by a tune “Manchester, England, England, across the Atlantic Sea” from a musical…Hair?

I now have three children in U.S. public school. I find that geography is not taught the way it was in England. We covered so many parts of the world in the elementary/middle/high schools I attended in England. Kids are taught U.S. geography over and over again in elementary school. In middle school it is assumed that students will be able to find SubSaharan Africa on the map. Uh, not likely.

Fast forward to 2010… Homework is a nightmare… not becoming a nightmare…not progressing to nightmare status. No…homework for three children is a full-blown nightmare. I’ll break it down for you. Two middle schoolers with homework every night of the weekend including weekends. Two middle schoolers who play travel volleyball, which means each girl must juggle homework with volleyball practice and all day tournaments. One middle schooler who swims 3 nights a week with a swim meet once a month. Throw in clarinet practice to add to the fun.

During the school year both are super busy. My job is to keep track of what homework is due (in the kids’ defense the older two know what assignments are due), give them a quiet place to do the homework, and follow up with them and their teachers if needed once grades come out.

Now, I am not just talking about homework, but also about the book reports, long essays, poster projects, movies, and any other thing a teacher flings at them.

And then there is my cherubic 1st grader. This child is turning my already gray hair white. Seriously! The tantrums. The tirades. The pouting. And that’s just me. The school year has been a struggle. I believe that I could have recorded the following sentences for use during homework time — I say these phrases MANY times during homework:

• Find your backpack.
• Take out your composition book, agenda book, and poetry journal.
• Get a pencil.
• Your pencil is sharp enough. Don’t sharpen another one.
• Why are you out of your seat? You need to work on homework.
• 3-4 sentences means 3-4 sentences!
• You can have one sentence that says: “I like [fill in name of favorite action hero].”
• I can’t read what that says. Erase and rewrite.
• We will sit here all night.

And lest you think I am a complete Negative Nelly, I constantly praise him. Frequently compliment him on sentence choice. Tell him he used a great word in his writing…a $5 word!

As the school year winds down I am struck by how far each child has come this year. Good progress in some areas. Amazing progress in other areas. Gains made in math for both. A confidence boost in reading for one. The oldest is now writing college-level essays. The middle is now more confident speaking in public. The youngest who struggled all year with writing ANYTHING wrote a 45-word poem for last night’s homework. 45 words I am still reeling and very proud!

What does homework look like in your house? Do your kids get their homework done independently? Are you a drill sergeant?

Education is important in our house. While it is true that my parents were quite hands off about my education, I picked up the education vibe from their actions. My father left school at 16 to become a draftsman. After working and going to school at night for 7 years, he received his bachelor’s degree. He may not have said very much about this to me as a child, but his tenacity left an impression. My mother received her degree when I was a teen. I always knew I was going to college.

For some kids college is just not an option. I am saddened by this. I try to do what I can to help other children by donating to collections at church, sorting through our books to donate, or making a donation to a charity. I am limited by what I can give. We are a one-income family with a little extra income from my blogging pursuits.

My children are fortunate that while we are not wealthy by any means, we live in a good school district, regularly shop for books online/bookstores, check out books form the library, or participate in enrichment activities. I wanted to help kids in a classroom less “privileged” than my own children’s classrooms.

When I was offered the chance to make a donation to the Bing Education Program, I leaped at the chance to help other children. I participated in Bing Teacher Appreciation Website Blog and Twitter Tour. I was given a $100 DonorsChoose.org giving code to use toward the classroom projects of my choice. I can tell you that I am rarely, if ever, able to give this much to charity. Perhaps in the future I will be able to give more. I hope so.

• I was eager to find out about the projects available. I logged on to the Discover Bing Education site.
• Clicked on the “Making a Differnce through DonorsChoose.org.”
• Selected “Projects.”
• Scrolled through the list of available projects. Spotted one about books. Noticed the project was close to meeting its goal. Looked at several other projects, but returned to the first project as the teacher was looking for a set of leveled readers for her students and my donation could help her meet her goal…almost. Leveled readers are so important so that kids make steady progress and gain confidence in their reading skills.
• Without hesitation, I clicked on the added the project to my account, proceeded to checkout, and paid my donation using my DonorsChoose.org code. You can pay by credit card, amazon, PayPal, or check, as well.

Within minutes of checking out and receiving a confirmation of my order, I received a sweet e-mail from the teacher I helped. Loved it!

The Bing’s Teacher Appreciation Website helps teachers help themselves. Here’s how it works:

• a teacher can log onto the DonorsChoose.org website to start a “classroom project” or donation request.
• Parents and students can then visit the Bing Teacher Appreciation site to leave a comment [up to 5 per visitor] about a teacher who has made a difference in their life, enabling them to receive a $5 giving code to donorschoose.org [one per comment].
• Parents and students can then apply the $5 giving code to the “classroom project” of their choice.
• Classroom projects are created by teachers, so reach out to your childrens’ teachers and encourage them to submit their own projects!

Do you have a teacher who has made a difference in your child’s life or your life? Add the teacher’s name to the Bing site!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and a $100 DonoseChoose.org giving code to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.”

BABW furry friends make the perfect toy for all ages. My little guy clutched his Elmo by the ear when he was not quite 2. My tween favors any of the glam and glitzy BABWs. My teen has various creatures in her bed — shhhh don’t tell her I said this!

BABWs make a great gift for special occasions. My daughters were 7 and 4 when our son was born. I knew both girls would immediately fall in love with their baby brother. I never worried about jealousy. I wanted to buy each of my daughters a gift before the baby arrived. I wanted to make the arrival of a new baby in our family a special one.

I liked the idea of all four of us going to BABW on our last outing as a “family-of-four-soon-to-be-five.” I knew that I did not need to buy toys as the baby boy was unlikely to want their Barbie/Disney Princess/girlie toys. I just wanted to give the girls something to commemorate the arrival of their brother to our family.

We have a milestone coming up in our family. Our teen “graduates” from 8th grade. Technically, she will have a transition ceremony. Graduation. Transition. Even graduation from preschool! Whatever you call it. Family milestones are a reason to celebrate.

My friends at BABW told me about a line of furry friends specially designed for spring and summer happenings:

• Graduation — BABW has a selection of cuddly stuffed animals dressed  in items including: a black or white graduation gown, mortar board with tassel, dress clothes, a Class of 2010 sash, and a “Pomp & Circumstance” Sound. The graduation sash or robe can be embroidered with your child’s name for an additional charge of $10.
  
• Father’s Day
• Armed Forces Day — Choose from camo sailor bear, Marine Hero Champ, Air Force curly teddy, Army office teddy, to name a few.
• Wedding and Bridal Shower

I have a special giveaway for Musings from Me readers! I have one $25 BABW Gift Card to giveaway. One comment = one entry. Enter now!

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I was given a bear as part of my review. The views expressed in the article are my own. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends May 31, 2010, at 11:59 p.m.

I let the tween and teen have some say on their clothes, but the bucks stops with me. My tween and teen can choose their own clothes each day for school and weekend wear. Both know that they have to abide by school dress code rules. Note: School dress code rules are inconsistently enforced…depends on the day and the teacher. Even on their “days off” I monitor how short the skirt or shorts can go. I know, I know, but I don’t want the girls going out in something inappropriate.

When the girls were little, I knew that clothing arguments would be a factor in the future. I enjoyed the days of Osh Kosh, Gap, and Old Navy. Gone are the days when the only choice was color and size. My then little girls had strong opinions on color — pink, purple, or no deal! Now I have to wade through the racks at Justice, Hollister, Areopostale, American Eagle, and abercrombie to find the mom chair.

Although, I do recall a dance performance where my eyes almost bugged out.

Have you seen this CNN clip of the young girls dancing to All the Single Ladies? No? Well, watch it now.

What do you think??

So, were you like me shocked to the core? What was the dance teacher thinking when she chose this dance and those outfits for little girls? Where were the moms? Why did the moms not say “No” to the risque outfits? I know that when my little girls took dance classes, there were times when the costumes were the 9/10/11 year olds seemed a little revealing to me. I recall one year the older girls wore cropped tops and bicycle shorts. These outfits are nothing compared to the bikinis on the girls in the video.

The song? Why pair up such young girls with this song? My little girls danced to the following age-appropriate tunes:

• Be My Little Bumble Bee — white leotard with black appliques.
• Peter Gunn Theme — black leotard with pink appliques — lots of twirling.
• Batman Theme — black leotards with pink bat wings — strobe lights and twirling.

What do you think of clothing for little girls? Leave a comment.

Jessica Gottlieb has an insightful and carefully worded post on this subject.

If you are like me, you will have days where everything works like clockwork. Kids get to school on time. Work assignments and meetings go as planned. Dinner is on the table. Chores are done. And then there are the days when nothing goes right. In our house, if mom forgets to do her chores…the kids will forget to their chores.

Our house does not run like a well-oiled machine, but we sputter and putter along. If one kids forgets to Swiffer the floor and another kid avoids loading the dishwasher and mom avoids folding laundry for a day or two..let’s just say the result is not pretty and leave it at that, shall we?

Recently, I started a My Job Chart for all three children at http://www.myjobchart.com. It was straightforward. I created a section for each child listing their job plus the reward for doing the chore.

My Job Chart is a FREE online Chore Chart that teaches kids to work in a fun and productive way. Using an easy and fun online system, My Job Chart inspires kids to do their chores on time. An interactive point system tracks your child’s progress, creating excitement and enthusiasm among kids. And the fully customizable chore chart allows you and your child to decide upon mutually determined rewards, fostering communication and developing responsibility. You even get an email or text message when your kids finish their chores or they earn a reward!

Want to find out more about My Job Chart? Click here and start a profile!

To back up, my son is the youngest. His toys and crafts are either brand new or quite old. No in between. He loves a partially dry lump of Silly Putty. He regularly uses PlayDoh that is more brown than any other color. His Moon Sand has seen better days.

For his birthday, I shopped for things that were new to him. He’s 7 and in first grade. Science is king for him. If it moves…grows…shines…he wants to know about it. He loves Science class at school. His gifts were:

• Glow-in-the-dark Silly Putty.
• Modeling Clay…multicolored.
• Dinosaur Dig Kit.
• A book about dinosaurs.
• A book about flags.

I also bought him G.I. Joe Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, and Pirates Lego.

This morning my son asked if he could do the Dinosaur Dig Kit. I told him to use a tray. I walked in to his bedroom to see him lying on the floor chipping away at a lump of tiny sand pellets glued together. He painstakingly chipped away at the lump for quite some time. He and I chatted as he scraped and carved.

He speculated on what his dinosaur would be. Would it be a Stegosaurus? Or would it be a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Pterodactyl? He was intrigued.

While he chipped away more and more sand, I rearranged his book case. I found a pile of Dinosaur books that we consulted to check our findings. I also found a pile of Stage 1 Readers that he has outgrown. We’ll send them to his cousin in England.

He proudly held up the Dinosaur. It looked like a TRex. So we called it TRex. He found another dinosaur on his floor that was like  TRex with a crest on its head…Carnitosaurus…I think.

He wants to reuse the kit. I think we might glue all the pellets together and hide the dinosaur. Nothing better than recycling a science kit, right?

I dedicate this post to my friend, WhyMommy. She is a planetary scientist who blogs at Toddler Planet. All the best to you and your family tomorrow and on.