Summertime should be all about beaches, fairgrounds, playgrounds, ice cream and cotton candy, am I right?
Wrong.
It's more like giving your kids (who are usually at school, but because it's summer....ah, don't get me started!) whatever electronic device you have that will keep them occupied for the next five minutes, so you can start chipping away at your to-do list, emails, orders and whatever else you have up your sleeve. For
five whole minutes.
{All my work-at-home-moms, put your hands up!}
Of course this practice only encourages and enables my children's love for electronics.
Every day feels like I'm fighting an uphill battle of trying to balance our days with outdoor and indoor play, reading, errand running and the 20-odd meals that my children seem to consume, all while limiting their screen time to 30 minutes per day. Zoe is usually fine when I tell her her time is up, but Jadon can be relentless. He'll beg me all day long to 'play' on my phone until it gets so annoying, I take the privilege away indefinitely. It's almost as if I have to wean them off electronics (I've done it before and I'll do it again!).
This obsession just couldn't go on any longer. I knew I had to do something and I had to do it now.
A few weeks ago, I introduced Jadon and Zoe to
IndigoKids' summer reading guide, themed
Passport to Reading. Indigo's experts have picked the top books for every age group and stage of reader, and rounded them up to create their summer reading guide to ensure kids get the most out of reading this summer.
Passport to Reading introduces kids and their families to take countless reading journeys to places they've only imagined, wished for or dreamt about.
Both Jadon and Zoe were given the opportunity to make a list of their favourite books from
IndigoKids' summer reading guide, with the intent that they would continue to challenge themselves by reading a book a day. I saw this as a definite advantage for Jadon, as he had some difficulties with his reading skills during the past school year. His teacher was able to act on it as soon as she realized that Jadon would benefit from additional resource assistance, and was she ever right. After only a month of being supported by his school's learning resource teacher, Jadon had already moved up two levels in reading! Seeing this made me realize what I had known all along: as soon as Jadon gained the confidence, there was no stopping him. So why not continue encouraging that throughout the summer?
Instead of packing electronics to keep the kids distracted while we're out, the kids are now bringing one or two IndigoKids approved books and immersing themselves into an imaginative and interactive world of play, dress-up, ponies, Lego and fantasyland. I see how proud Jadon is when he masters that difficult word, and how attentive and curious Zoe is when she listens to her big brother read to her (not to mention I have full possession of my phone - haha!). It's a win-win situation here, guys!
Make sure to check out
Passport to Reading for this summer's hottest books. The summer reading list is conveniently categorized according to age and stage of the reader, as well as the genre of the book. Summer may be halfway over, but it's never to late to get started!
xo,
kristina
{win it!}
IndigoKids is giving one of our readers a chance to win a prize pack full of some of the titles from Jadon and Zoe's summer reading list! To enter, please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and ends on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 9pm PST.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: All opinions in this review remain my own and do not reflect the opinions or views of Indigo and/or their affiliates. We received all of the books listed in this post from Indigo in order to complete this review. Note that SwankMama does not accept responsibility for sponsors that do not fulfill their giveaway duties. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond, otherwise, a new winner will be chosen at random.
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