series books and category fiction, such as mysteries and fantasy, at this age. But you need to be alert because this is also the age when kids get submerged in organized activities. Sports leagues, ice-skating lessons and a hundred other activities can crowd reading out of children's schedules. Don't let that happen, because children who start reading only what they have to read for school start slipping behind.
HELP YOUR KIDS PUBLISH THEIR WRITING
Publishing helps develop a habit of independent writing, and this is invaluable for building strong writing skills. Thanks to computers, kids can use simple word processing programs to insert graphics, pick fancy typefaces or arrange their writing in columns. One idea is to produce a neighborhood newspaper, reporting on local sports events, birthday parties, new pets or other local news.Or, kids can submit their writing to children's Web sites. STONE SOUP, an excellent magazine in its own right, has a Web site that takes submissions, and the Kids Story: Kids Writing for Kids site publishes almost all submissions. Your children could even put out their own literary magazine, with material from friends and family.
HAVE YOUR KIDS FORM BOOK CLUBS
This is a social age, so blending friends and books is a good idea. Start a club around your child's favorite book series, such as a Nancy Drew club where you play Clue or plan murder mysteries at your meetings. Throw a Harry Potter party and have everyone dress like a wizard or witch. Serve different-colored jelly beans and practice magic tricks. Or form an Animorphs club and help the members make costumes so they can "morph" into new creatures. A side benefit of these clubs is that children can trade books. In fact, a book trade could be a major feature of each meeting.
SOCIAL FUN FOR BUDDING READERS
• Have write-a-story parties. Put children in groups of three or four, have each child write one sentence starting a story, and then pass the sentences around the table until all the children have contributed to all the stories. Have each group read their favorite aloud. (This can be hysterically funny.)• Have a joke-book party. Everyone brings and reads his favorite jokes. Have prizes for the best jokes.
• Plan a play-reading party. Start by looking in the library or on the Internet for short, easy-to-read plays. Try Drew's Scripts-O-Rama, which has scripts for full-length (adult and child) movies and TV shows. Make enough copies for all the readers and encourage everyone to ham it up.
THE FAMILY THAT READS TOGETHER . . .
Make reading a family affair with these one-on-one activities:• A big brother/little brother lunch and bookstore trip (you pay)
• A father/son habit of reading the daily box scores in the newspaper
• A mother/daughter reading club
• A grandmother/granddaughter project of making family history scrapbooks
