Focus on the Family Magazine - August/September 2023

HACKS & FACTS / KIDS & TEENS
after the book
When my daughter asked to watch a movie that
was first published as a book, I said yes—that is,
after she read the book. I got her started by reading
the first chapter out loud, and then she was
off to read the rest on her own.
Before watching the movie, I had my daughter
share a plot synopsis and a bit about her favorite
character. Afterward, I asked her to compare the
movie to the book by asking, “What was different?
What was the same?” We celebrated the fact that,
with this book, she was the expert.
a culture of literacy
—Rachel Allord
When our children were young, we recognized
the importance of creating a culture of reading in
our home. Our kids were accustomed to seeing
my husband and me read books regularly, so we
started gathering as a family to read every night.
Each of my kids had a library card and a magazine
subscription. We didn’t allow screen time
in the evenings. We often had dinnertime book
discussions, and even our youngest reader
wanted to contribute because it seemed like the
grown-up thing to do.
—Jennifer Henn
RICHVINTAGE-ISTOCK
let them read
For my growing independent readers, graphic
novels launched them into success. I had to
endure a few potty-humor jokes with some
of their choices, but I also heard uproarious
laughter and requests to acquire the next book
in the series. I learned that graphic novels do,
in fact, have a story arc, character development
and even rich vocabulary. I’ll never forget my
son telling me that it was “total cha-ose” when
he had a substitute teacher in school one day.
Upon further inquiry, I discovered he had meant
to pronounce chaos, a word he learned from
one of his graphic novels.
—Kelly Bakshi
READ-ALOUD FORTS
To encourage reading in our home for our four boys,
we built fun places for them to read in their bedrooms,
in the living room and in shady areas out in the yard.
Sometimes they’d act out the story as it was read aloud,
making it come to life. If I saw motivation waning,
I asked them to read aloud in unison. We also read
passages from the Bible as part of our bedtime routine;
each boy read or followed along from his own Bible.
—Donna Elizabeth Love
AUG / SEP 2023 FOCUS ON THE FAMILY CANADA 9