School bells have stopped for some Utah children, while others will have "on-and-off-track" schedules. Listed below are some books and activities for both groups to make this a super summer to READ-AND-WRITE-ABOUT-IT!
Keep a summer "read-and-write-about-it" journal
A journal, an old notebook, or sheets of paper will work, as described in "The Paper Book and Paper Maker," by Shar Levine and Joe Weissman (Hyperion Books).
Tuck your journal into a backpack when you travel, go to camp or visit relatives. Take along your pens and favorite pencils (and colored ones for sketching) and don't worry about neatness or telling all your secrets. Write or sketch every day.
1. Read-and-write-about-it as you travel:
"Tulip Sees America," by Cynthia Rylant and Lisa Desimini (Blue Sky/Scholastic).
- Write what you saw, where you went and the best part of the travel. A snapshot or a postcard would be fun to include in your journal.
"Letter to the Lake," by Susan Marie Swenson and Peter Cat-a-la-not-to .
- Write a "letter" to something you see every day such as a doorknob, toothbrush, fence post. Can you make it as fun as Rosie did?
"Counting the Ways to Maine" by Maggie Smith (Orchard Books).
- Keep a counting record of such things as one flagpole waving in the breeze, two birds sitting on a telephone line, three bugs of different colors, etc.
"The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's" by Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker (Morrow).
- What will you pack for a trip? Put a list in your journal.
"The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant (Bradbury).
- Write what it is like to have relatives come for a visit.
"Amazon Diary" by Alex Winters (Putnam).
- Diary entries can be real or fictitious. Write about something you do and make it real or make believe - or both!
2. Read-and-write-about-it in the garden:
"Down to Earth" created by Michael J. Rosen with 41 children's book authors and illustrators (Har-court).
- Try a potato print, as described by Diana Pomeroy, or make some roasted squash seeds. There are dozens of ideas in this book.
"This is Your Garden" by Mag-gie Smith (Crown).
- Plant a few seeds or help the family in the garden. Record and sketch the results. How long did it take for them to sprout? How many inches did they grow in a week, or a month?
"The Paradise Garden" by Colin Thompson (Knopf).
- Study the pictures carefully and discover what kinds of "seeds" the boy found. Illustrate your own fantasy trip in a garden.
"Growing Vegetable Soup" and "Planting a Rainbow" both by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt).
- Sketch the various colors and textures of the garden in your journal. Let your imagination run wild. Is the garden a rainbow? A box of paints?
"Dinner from Dirt: The Meals Kids Can Grow & Eat" by Emily Scott, Catherine Duffy and Denise Kirby (Gibbs Smith, Inc.).
- Try making a salad from things in your garden - including dandelions. Draw a picture of what it looked like and collect comments from the "eaters." Ask the librarian to help you find books about the first crops grown in Utah.
"The Gardener' by Sarah Stewart (Farrar), 1998 Caldecott Honor Award.
- Seeds can be a metaphor for many things. Write about what can be "planted" in life and what can be "grown."
3. Read-and-write-about-it as you go camping:
"Sleeping in a Sack: Camping Activities for Kids" by Linda White (Gibbs Smith, Inc.).
- Make a list of stuff you will need. Refer to the book to see if you remembered everything. Note all the items in your journal.
Try tying knots that will be used on a campsite.
Record your "nature watch": What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste?
"There's a Frog in My Sleeping Bag" by Susan Clymer (Scholastic).
- Find some jokes that can be told around the campfire. Write them in your journal.
Make up new lyrics to "You Are My Sunshine," about your summer camp-out."
"Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of Summer Camp" by Todd Stras-ser (Scholastic).
- There's a laugh-a-minute here. (Another one by Strasser is "Help! I'm Trapped in Obedience School.") A thriller to have in your backpack is "Trout Summer" by Jane Leslie Conly.
"Kids' Letters from Camp" by Bill Adler (Carol Publishing).
- Write a letter to your pet (or a family member or friend) back home while you are camping.
Write a secret letter to someone in your group. Put it under their breakfast plate.
4. Read-and-write-about-it as you try some new games:
"Marbles: 101 Ways to Play" by Joanna Cole, Stephanie Calmenson and Alan Tiegreen (Morrow).
- Start a marbles tournament. Record the results.
Classify your marble collection by using the listing in the book.
"Lacrosse: The National Game of the Iroquois" by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith with photos by Lawrence Migdale (Holiday House).
- How are lacrosse and soccer alike? Different?
Build the outline of a lacrosse field and try a game with friends.
"A Gallery of Games" by Catherine Marchon-Arnaud (Ticknor & Fields).
- Develop a game that has new rules; for example, a ring toss game played with your left hand, or thrown over your shoulder. Write the rules in your journal.
"The Book of Classic Board Games," (Klutz Press).
"Pentagames" (Simon & Schuster).
- Set up a game-day for the family. Learn new ones and list the favorites.
"Codemaster: Book No. 1 and Book No. 2: How to Write and Decode Secret Messages," by Marvin Miller (Scholastic).
- Solve some of the codes and try making some of your own.
Write your journal entries in code for a week.
"The Case of Backyard Treasure" by Joanne Rocklin (Scholastic).
5. Read-and-write-about-it as you make a timeline of your summer:
"The United States in the 20th Century" (Scholastic) and "Visual Timeline of the 20th Century" .
- Make a timeline of the major events of your summer, sports events, travel, meeting with friends, special foods, movies attended, books read, etc. Snapshot pictures and sketches will add interest.
See "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" by Mark Teague (Crown).
"Homeplace" by Anne Shelby, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin (Orchard).
- Write and sketch the house you are living in. Who built it and when? How has it changed over the years? What do you predict for the future of your house?
"This Is the Place" by Pat and Will Bagley (Buckaroo Books).
- Read about your home town's past and present, and then predict the future. What would you dig up in your backyard?
"My Wish for Tomorrow: Words and Pictures from Children Around the World" (Tambourine).
- What would your wish be for tomorrow? Collect wishes and pictures from friends and family for your journal.
"Time Capsule for the 21st Century" by Sharon McKay illustrated by Kinny Kreiswirth (Somerville House).
- Begin your own time capsule. Include things that reflect you: a picture of yourself, a short history, things you like to do, books that you read. What films are popular now? What games do you play? What is going on in the city, state and country; what is happening in the world that affects you and your family? Your "wish for tomorrow" can be a part of your time capsule.
- Help your family begin a time capsule. Include your "family mission statement." (See Stephen R. Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective Families") and things that you and your family like to do. Include pictures, short autobiographies and maybe an audio cassette tape of the voices of each family member. Decide where you will put the capsule and who will be responsible for it when the time comes to open it.