There was also no such thing as video games, or cable TV. We had a few channels - 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. That was it. And most of the time, nothing interesting was on any of them.
So every summer, I was excited about going over to the library and getting a bunch of books out. I was a VORACIOUS reader. (Which is probably why I have so few memories of hanging out with other kids in Iselin. I was a book worm.)
When my boys were little, I brought them to the library. I also bought a ton of books. But they had the competition of video games and cable and play dates, and places to go, things to do, people to see. The school at that time started a "required reading" list, and they got a copy of it on the last day of school. They were expected to read at least 10 books over the course of the summer, and give their new teacher a list of them when they went back to school.
I appreciated that idea. It never seemed like such a big deal, in my opinion, for them to read 10 books. (They thought otherwise, and whined and complained.) I always tried to make sure they did what they were supposed to do. Of course, over the years, that changed. I started hearing from them that the teachers didn't even collect the list, none of the other kids did the reading. Hmmph. I hated hearing that. WHY would anyone object to reading?
Today I found the updated suggested reading list for kids in the Woodbridge Township School District. It's more "suggested" than required... unless you are in an honors English high school level class. You can look at it HERE.
My kids are too old for me to make them read anymore. But I'm planning on spending the summer with a whole library of good books. And some of the books on the high school list might make it to my list, as well.
What are YOU reading?
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