Stop, Drop and Read Day

I checked out the book, Great Teacher Projects K-8 by Laura Mayne, from the library on a whim a couple of weeks ago and it has some fun ideas in it. Basically, I was looking for some fun learning games to play with the boys. They love learning and are constantly begging me to do more "lessons" with them. Sheesh. I don't want my kids to be couch potatoes but sometimes Mommy's just got a lot to do and no fresh ideas. I can put that on here, right? Other parents run out of ideas sometimes, too, right? So don't be surprised (if you live near us) if you and your kids are invited to a "stop, drop and read day" at some point--I'm thinking this would be perfect for a hot summer afternoon when I'm eight months pregnant and don't want to even think about how hot it is outside:)

Here are some notes/ideas from the book on having a "Stop, Drop and Read Day" which doesn't have to be a full day at all--just a previously set amount of time.

• "Everyone reads from individual books quietly for one minute, mark starting and finishing points, count the words read in one minute, and come up with a total number of words for each individual and for the class as a whole).
• Lip reading: guess what the person is saying as they read without vocalizing.
• Use atlases to look up place names. For example, find a place that has a girl's name, boy's name, name of a color, etc.
• Read aloud.
• Everyone reads aloud (different things) at the same time for one minute. Silly and loud.
• Sing the words being read to the tune of the ABC song.
• Let older ones read to younger ones and the younger ones (non-readers) can use a book to tell a story to older ones.
• Listen to an audio book.
• Have a collection of materials written in other languages and let the kids have fun trying to figure out how to pronounce the foreign words and their meanings.
• Design a bookmark that can be given to the kids at the end of the day."

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