In So Many Words

The idea of the Read Together 2009 Challenge, created by Jennifer at Snapshot, was to set a goal (or goals) for connecting with your children through reading in the month of April.

Here were my goals for reading more with Michael during the month of April:

• Take him to the library once a week to pick out new books together, and then read the books to him during the week.
• Spend some time reading to him at least three mornings per week.
• Start reading the Little House books to him at bedtime. (I’ve always dreamed of sharing these stories with my child when I had one, and I think he would really enjoy them now.)

So, how did it go, you ask?

Goal #1:
We did not make it to the library together, although he did go with Bob once. I have to admit, it is just so much easier for me to put things on hold online and then drop off/pick up books on my way to or from work. But that’s not really the point, so I still want to do this.

Goal #2:
We did not really spend any time reading together in the mornings, but we have spent more time together doing fun stuff like playing card games or making up stuff with his Webkinz. I have also been doing better about having a morning routine to keep the house more tidy and involving him in helping with that.

Goal #3:
On a good note, we are greatly enjoying reading Little House in the Big Woods at bedtime, although we have gotten sidetracked the last few days by an audio/read-along book of Chicken Little that is based on the movie which he just saw last month. Anyway, we started out reading some of the picture books and then jumped into the original series.

He likes the stories overall, although he would not let me finish the chapter about Sundays; he said it was too boring and awful back then on Sunday.

I saw that Jennifer wants to make this a monthly accountability thing for herself and invited anyone who wished to post their goals for May to do so. So I am hereby determined to take my son to the library at least twice this month! That’s it, that’s going to be my only goal, but I think it’s a good one.

I can’t believe we are almost halfway through April already and that Easter has come and gone! It also means the Read Together 2009 challenge is halfway through, so I wanted to post an update on how things are going with my efforts.

My goals included several things I wanted to do to increase my reading time with Michael this month:

• Take him to the library once a week to pick out new books together, and then read the books to him during the week.
• Spend some time reading to him at least three mornings per week.
• Start reading the Little House books to him at bedtime. (I’ve always dreamed of sharing these stories with my child when I had one, and I think he would really enjoy them now.)

So, how am I doing?

Well, we didn’t make it to the library and we didn’t really do any morning reading, I am ashamed to admit. BUT… I did get the Little House books down from the attic and have started reading those with him at bedtime.

I remembered that I had a whole bunch of the picture books they put out a few years ago, so we are starting with those. He LOVES them! I am hoping that by the time we get through some of the shorter stories, he will be ready to listen to the actual books.

I am going to try again this week to get to the library and do some additional reading with him during the day.

In the meantime, I’m working on writing down my thoughts about the books I have read so far for the other book-related challenge I am doing, Spring Reading Thing 2009, and I will post those a bit later on.

Well, a fair number of my tasks from last week are still on my list.

I had to have a tooth extracted this week (yuck!), and I was already committed to helping with the local ASA Walk/Run last weekend (great turnout!), so my routines fell by the wayside for a couple of days. Luckily, I have been keeping up with them enough that the house is not a total disaster.

I am also adding my goals from the Read Together challenge to my list for the next few weeks. Hopefully, I can make some progress on knocking some things off the list this week!

My To Do List:

DAILY (I expanded on my routines on my other blog in case you want details.) –

Morning routine.

Evening routine.

Blogging routine.

WEEKLY –

Check for library books that are due or on hold.

Check alternate email accounts.

Go through ASD HOPE pending items.

Look through post ideas and start one new post from them.

ASD HOPE –

Update evaluation form for Empowerment Workshops and add topic survey.

Email flyer to professional contacts for distribution/posting.

Print flyer and take to library to be posted. (We are completely out of printer paper, and I really can’t add one more errand to my schedule, so this is just not going to happen!)

BLOGGING -

Mail out books to giveaway winners.

Write about progress on Spring Reading Thing Challenge.

Write Try This Tuesday for next week.

Update links on the rest of the posts imported from Blogger.

READ TOGETHER CHALLENGE –

Read with Michael three mornings a week.

Start reading Little House books at bedtime.

Go to library with Michael once a week.

MISCELLANEOUS -

Follow up that STAP paperwork was submitted.

Review IEP and other team communication to prep for new IEP.

Make table cards and name tags for Mother-to-Mother Luncheon.

Make photo book (yes, this was supposed to be my SIL’s Christmas present, but in my defense I am waiting on my DH to make time to help!).

Buy cat carrier.

Get car washed.

For more To-Do Tuesday, visit Crazy Adventures in Parenting.

The idea of the Read Together 2009 Challenge, created by Jennifer at Snapshot, is to set a goal (or goals) for connecting with your children through reading in the month of April.

All you have to do is post your goals and link up on her blog, and then post/link again at the end of April to report on how it went. And if you publish your goals by April 5 and your results by May 3, you will be eligible for one of the prizes.

Here are my goals for reading more with Michael during the month of April:

• Take him to the library once a week to pick out new books together, and then read the books to him during the week.
• Spend some time reading to him at least three mornings per week.
• Start reading the Little House books to him at bedtime. (I’ve always dreamed of sharing these stories with my child when I had one, and I think he would really enjoy them now.)

You may have noticed all my goals are related to me reading out loud to him. He does read very well for his age, but his willingness to read out loud to me or read a book just to himself varies. I don’t push for it but am always receptive to it when it happens.

Anyway, I’m really excited about having specific, measurable goals to work on over the next few weeks (can you tell I am getting ready for an IEP meeting?). To keep up with how I do on my challenge, subscribe to my feed. To join in yourself or see what others are doing, visit Read Together 2009.

If you are love to read, there are a couple of great challenges going on this spring. I’m planning to do them both but still need to get my list together for the first one, since it started last Friday.

Spring Reading Thing 2009

Spring Reading Thing 2009 from Callapidder Days (March 20th -June 20th). This challenge basically involves making a list of the books you plan to read this spring and then reporting back at the end on how you did. You can include reviews of the books, but you don’t have to. I’m sure reading everyone’s lists and reviews will end up making my to-read list even longer, but, hey, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Read Together 2009

Read Together 2009 from Snapshot (April). For this one, set a goal for reading with your kids. It can be reading aloud, reading the same book and then talking about it, reading as a family, whatever you choose, and then posting at the end about how it went. The goal is to connect more with your children through reading.

31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Even though I don’t blog to make money, I enjoy reading Problogger for the great information and ideas Darren provides. I was really intrigued as I was scrolling through my blog reader and saw this image.

Each day in April, Darren will be posting one way to make your blog better. It will include both a teaching component and a practical component, i.e. homework. You can also register your email for notifications and extra content.

Scribbit Newsletter

And speaking of signing up for things, did you see that Michelle at Scribbit is now offering an email newsletter? It will include lots of extra stuff like:
* Sneak peaks into upcoming giveaways
* Online coupons from sponsors
* Recipes and crafts
* Insider blogging tips
* More fun things to do in Alaska

You can sign up for the Scribbit newsletter here.

So, you tell me, what other cool things am I missing out on?