Weekly Geeks: Summer Fun

The Weekly Geeks' question: A couple of weeks ago our WG theme was the kick off of summer in the US. Right now us geeks in the Northern Hemisphere are anxiously awaiting summer's arrival (hold on Southern Hemps, I'll get to you in a moment). For a lot of parents, this means a couple of months wondering what to do with the kiddies who were in school all year. Now I realize not everyone is a parent but I'm almost 100% positive everyone was a kid once. So here's my challenge, you have several choices:


1) Make a reading list of your favorite children's (school aged) books to read over the summer.

2) Give us some fun activities to do during the summer.

3) Tell us about a favorite vacation spot. Maybe someone will want to go there too!
4) Tell us about a favorite summer memory you have of being a kid (the time you caught the big one, learning to swim, summer camp, etc).


I don't have any kids at home but I thought I'd still choose a kid-related topic -mixing options 1 and 2. So here are some interesting books for kids and some fun activities you can do while reading them. First, the books:


1. Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
2. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
3. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
4. Anything by Gary Paulsen
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
6. Holes by Louis Sachar
7. Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
8. Sounder by William Armstrong
9. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
10. Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
11. Anything by Lois Duncan

Now, activities...

1. Drawing: Readers can draw characters, scenes, settings, etc. Depending on the age of the reader, you can have them draw the "most important" and then tell you why that particular character, scene, setting, etc. is the most important. Whatever the age, it is important to make the drawing public in some way - on the fridge, start a reading journal in a three ring binder, frame the picture...

2. Drama: This can be done in many, many ways. One way is to have the reader(s) write out a script for a particular scene and perform it. This can, of course, be done at a variety of levels with choices such as setting, costumes, music, and so on. If you don't have the time, money, or items necessary to actually stage a play, you can just play producer and figure out a plan for a play. What famous actors would star in the film? Where would you shoot the film? Other possibilities: Grab some Barbie Dolls and G.I. Joes and stage a play. Make Play-Doh figures, create puppets, use whatever is handy to make the characters. Finally, if the book is dialogue heavy or a particular chapter is, you can have the reader(s) take on different roles and read out loud from the book.

3. Children's Book: After finishing the book, one way to help cement the book in a reader's head is to have them retell the story. A way to do this is by having him create a children's book based on the book he just read. He rewrites the story for preschool age children; draws pictures for the text. Mostly when I use this activity, we use construction paper, crayons/colored pencils/markers, a three-hole punch, and yarn, but I've had students type the story on a computer and use images off the internet as well.

4. Adventures: If the book is centered around an adventure, you can sometimes set up a similar adventure for your reader(s), especially younger ones. If reading a book set in the woods, go out into the country, the woods, a state park, etc. If a library is featured in the book, go to a library. I've actually done this one before; The parent, the child (7 yrs. old), and I had a silly and quiet game of hide and seek in one section of the library to imitate the chase scene in the book we had just read. Some libraries may frown upon this, but I think making the library fun is a good idea. You can create an adventure in your own house if you have a good imagination.

5. Dress Up: Playing dress up is fun for all ages, and if the book is the right one, readers can have a lot of fun creating and wearing the outfits from the novel. Obviously this can be paired with the Drama activities, but it certainly doesn't have to.

6. Writing: Besides rewriting the story in a children's book style, there are other ways for readers to write about their reading. Readers can keep a journal, summarizing the book and including their opinions about it. You could have readers write a poem about the book, write a short story of the same genre, write a short story that predates or postdates the action in the book, write a scene from the book in another character's perspective, and so on. Don't think that these activities require older readers. My 6 year old cousin loved to write "assignments" like these.

There are many, many activities which can be done before reading, while reading, and after reading to help make the book fun, interesting, and memorable to the reader. I do strongly recommend that whatever the age of your child, you have them keep a reading journal/log, to record the activities completed for each book. Put in the pictures your child draws, the writings she produces, pictures of plays you guys put on, pictures of places you have your adventures, everything. It will make the activities have a purpose and your kid will love it when she gets older.