Category Archives: activities for kids

More Reading Lists for Boys: 4-year, 7-year and 9-year-olds

activities for kids, books

Yesterday I wrote about Daddy’s Super Summer Reading List and how much our boys look forward to receiving it every summer.  I also posted their reading lists from when they were 5-years-old, 8-years-old, and 10-years-old.

As promised, here are some reading list ideas for 4, 7, and 9-year-olds.

Reading Suggestions for 9-year-old boys (avid readers):

  • The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
  • Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnet
  • The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The Island by Gary Paulsen
  • The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
  • Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
  • The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Redwall by Brian Jacques
  • The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  • From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
  • King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
Reading Suggestions for 7-year-old boys:
  • The Chameleon Wore Chartruese by Bruce Hale
  • The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
  • The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden (We read this one aloud.)
  • The Adventures of Taxi Dog byDebra Barracca
  • How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
  • The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka
  • D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
  • Horrible Harry in Room 2B by Suzy Kline
  • Owen Foote, Soccer Star by Stephanie Greene
  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
  • And then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
  • The BFG by Roald Dahl
  • The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson
  • Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
  • The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Reading Suggestions for 4-year-old boys:
  • Fix-It Duck by Jez Albourough
  • Mr. Wolf and the Three Bears by Jan Fearnley
  • Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
  • The Chicken Sisters by Laura Joffe Numeroff
  • Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
  • Mole Music by David McPhail
  • Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
  • Absolutely, Positively Alexander by Judith Viorst
  • Pigs Ahoy! by David McPhail
  • Corduroy by Don Freeman
  • Freight Train by Donald Crews
  • Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day
  • The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein
  • George Shrinks by William Joyce
  • The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Tinka Hakes Noble
As a reminder, when my husband gives the boys their lists, some books come with special instructions, such as Tell The Family About It or Make A Drawing or, even, Book Report.  But most are simply to be read and enjoyed, and they end up telling us about the great stories anyway. 
Happy Reading!
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Summer Reading Lists for Boys

activities for kids, books
Every summer at our house, the boys enthusiastically look forward to Daddy’s Super Summer Reading List.  The boys enjoy reading, and the Summer List is a great way to help them broaden their genre horizons.  (What, not another Goosebumps?!)  At the end of the summer, the boys earn a prize for having finished their lists—sometimes it’s a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble or our local bookstore; sometimes it’s a fun day hiking, biking, and getting ice cream with dad; once it was a trip to an amusement park!
In addition to Dad’s prize, kids can often earn prizes from bookstores.
At Barnes & Noble, for example, kids can win a free book by reading 8 books during the summer.  As kids read, they fill out the Barnes & Noble Reading Journal.  When they turn it in between 5/24 – 9/6, kids can choose a free book from the Barnes & Noble list (on the back of the Reading Journal form).  The books are for kids in grades 1-6, and include Stanley, Flat Again; The Batboy; and Gregor the Overlander.   In the 3-4 grade range, they have La telaraña de Carlota (Charlotte’s Web),a perfect choice for your little Spanish reader!
This isn’t a Barnes & Noble promo, however.  Lots of local bookstores and libraries have summer reading programs.  Our library lets kids earn coupons for free candy and toys at local businesses, where, of course, mom is likely to spend a few more dollars while the kids redeem their prize.  It’s a win for the kids, a win for local businesses, and mom gets some caramel popcorn.  Who could say no?
Interested in our book lists?  Here are the book lists for our boys at 5, 8 and 10-years-old.  Tomorrow, I’ll post the they boys’ book lists from when they were 4, 7, and 9 years old.
Happy Reading!
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5 Summer Getaways Every Kid Should Experience

activities for kids, summer, travel

Summer beckons with its fresh, warm air and the heady lure of long days filled with nothing but fun.  As our kids grow up, though, their summer lives get busier and busier.  One day in the not-to-distant-future we’ll wake up to find our summer filled with road trips to visit colleges!

In the meantime, we can spend our summers creating lasting bonds and memories.   Although the days can seem long, every parent knows that the years fly by too fast.  Why not slow time down a bit this summer and watch your kids enjoy their youth at one (or more!) of these fun getaways?
1.     A day at the beach.  Who doesn’t treasure their childhood memory of digging for sand crabs, body surfing the waves, and enjoying that deliciously cold ice cream cone at the end of the day?  In these iPod and Xbox days, this is a great way for families to disconnect and reconnect.  No gadgets: just kids and waves and fun!
2.     Camping in a tent.  Am I really recommending camping?  For the record, I don’t count among my personal favorites things like sleeping near the dirt or using showers that require flip flops.  But kids?  Kids love this stuff!  They get to run through the woods, stay up late, and sit around the campfire gorging themselves on s’mores.   What could be better?
3.     Visit a National Park.  Pick one, any one.  We chose Yellowstone and three years later our kids are still talking about the bears and the beauty.  With so many parks to choose from, you can tailor your trip to your family’s style.  Hiking, canoeing, swimming and rafting—there are fun activities for everyone.   Trust me:  the memories your kids bring home will last much longer than their souvenir trinkets!
4.     Hit the zoo.  If you can splurge for a trip to San Diego, the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are worth your dollars.  But even if California isn’t in your plans this year, you can take your kids to a nearby zoo and reap some of the same benefits.  I love visiting the zoos that make an effort to provide more of a natural habitat for their animals, and my kids love petting the giraffes!  Many zoo memberships have reciprocal programs that offer free or discounted admission to others.  Be sure to check and see if this is available in your area.
5.     Cousins Camp.  Or Grandparents Camp.  Or whatever you’d like to call it—let them experience an overnight without you with the other people they like best!   Every summer my kids are excited beyond words to go spend time with their grandparents.  Is it the ice cream?  Visits to the Smithsonian?  The fact that I’m not there?  I’m not sure, but whatever it is, I know that my kids cherish these memories as much as their grandparents do, and that’s a getaway worth its weight in gold.
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