Summer Reading Goal

One trait that I intentionally tried to pass on to my boys was my love of reading! I never expected them to read as much as I did, but I knew if they enjoyed reading, school would be easier and I hoped it would stretch their imaginations.

When Dave and I first found out Caleb was a boy, I was so excited! After a miscarriage and infertility, I was ecstatic to finally be pregnant and becoming a mom - but on the day of that ultrasound, I got a little teary-eyed. When Dave asked me what was wrong, I actually replied, “I don’t know what books to read to a little boy!” When I pictured having children I pictured reading aloud Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables, and all the great stories I grew up on. My brothers weren’t big readers growing up, and neither was Dave, so I was at a loss. With my pregnancy hormones, this apparently seemed like a major problem at the time.

Little did I know, this was not going to be an issue! We just picked books and read. I would take them to Barnes & Noble and the library and let them gravitate towards what they enjoyed.

When the boys were little, I was teaching Intro to Literature for a home school consortium and while preparing lesson plans for The Hobbit, Caleb asked about the book. He kept asking me to read it to him. He was only five, so I told him that he wouldn’t like it. That kid kept asking until he wore me down. Finally, I said I would read it to him. So that night, I sat on the floor between the boys’ toddler beds, and read, “In the hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. . . .”

I figured it would be a one chapter deal. Caleb asked me to keep reading. At four, Zach didn’t sit still, and I didn’t think he was listening - but he was!

After The Hobbit, we read C.S. Lewis’ The Magician's Nephew, then The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And the list just kept going . . . .

As far as their independent reading went, it was a little slower going. Caleb started reading on his own immediately. Zach struggled with reading due to a pretty significant vision issue. After two years of vision therapy - which was AMAZING - Zach was reading on his own but still struggled with a slow speed and comprehension issues.

Knowing how being a good reader can impact a students’ success in school, I was not above bribing them! When Zach was in 3rd grade I took the boys and Alyssia to Barnes and Noble and told them I would buy them each three books on one condition - it had to be the first book in a series. My hope was if I could get them hooked on the characters in a series they would develop a love of reading. And to encourage them even further, I would pay them $5 for every book they read. I convinced Jim that this would be cheaper than paying a tutor, which in the end it was.

From that time on, I had readers. I could tell when later that year, each kid had books on their Christmas list. I felt like that was a parenting win!

Now that they are older, they are no longer paid to read, but they all read for pleasure. Only now the student has become a teacher. Caleb has become an fan of Dostoyevsky and during his very busy junior year of high school still managed to read The Brothers Karamazov. At his insistence, this past summer Caleb and I set a goal to read Crime and Punishment. That was a labor of love. As much as I love reading, the Russian authors have never captured my interest. I did it for Caleb though, and we sat and listened to over 20 hours of an audio book, and then would check the summaries in Spark Notes after every few chapters to make sure we were not missing any major plot points.

When we finally finished mid August, I will admit I felt a sense of accomplishment. I’m glad I read it, but Caleb did not convert me to a Dostoyevsky fan!

I wanted to document what I considered a huge accomplishment for me, and also the time spent with Caleb, so I took a selfie with the intention of scrapbooking it. The older the kids get, the faster time seems to go, so I’m being intentional of spending time with the boys when they ask me to do something with them - especially if it’s reading a classic book!

Scrapbooking Tips

Being the book lover and nerd I am, when I see a paper collection that focuses on reading or books, I snatch it up! Scrapbook Generation did a pre-order for Pretty Little Studio’s Well Read, and I bought everything. In all honesty, it is not quite what I normally gravitate to in terms of colors and graphics, but I knew I would be able to use everything, and it would also stretch my scrapbooking style.

I had to get my photo printed in a 7x5" size because the 6x4" print cut off the title of the book. The size of the photo dictated almost all of my design choices. I started with the large die cut file of an open book that I had been wanting to use for a long time. I have resisted using my die cutting machine for years because I am not tech savvy and don’t always like the time it takes to figure out the computer part, but I have made it a goal to get better because it is really awesome to custom create embellishments.

The book die cut provided the perfect mat for my photo. Then I created clusters in a visual triangle using the die cut packs and coordinating stickers. I actually layered a journaling tag over a bookmark die cut to create one of my clusters. The top of the page was definitely more sparse than the bottom half and I wanted to even out the design.

For my title I used the tiny type stickers from this collection. Typically I make my title larger, but because my photo and mat were larger, I opted to create balance with the smaller title. I also had the advantage of being able to create a longer title because I was using the smaller letter stickers.

I’m so glad I pushed myself to use this paper collection because I am really happy with the finished product!

Cardstock - American Crafts

Pattern Paper, Die Cuts, Stickers - Pretty Little Studio

Die Cut File - Open Book by Wild-Pilot Silhouette Design ID 406022