Good news! I’ve just launched my new Mrs. P Reading Challenge Game. Why did I build a game for young readers? Because I didn’t want kids to lose the reading skills over the summer they worked so hard to develop in school last year. Studies have shown that children who don’t read over the summer can lose many months of reading progress. Why am I launching the game now, so late in the summer? Because it took forever to build! I wanted to launch it back in June, but building a new game is hard work, and, frankly, we had more bugs than a Volkswagen factory!
But the game is done now, and I’ve never been prouder! It features some of my favorite classic stories as well as the winning entries from my “Be a Famous Writer” contest last year. Kids who play the game will get to prove how well they comprehend and retain what they read. I help them find the right answers with funny audio and visual messages. And when players get a good score, they’ll be rewarded with a pot of gold! (When I was a kid, we just got a cheap little gold star!)
My new game isn’t the only way to keep your child engaged in reading when they’re away from school. Here are a few more ideas:
But the game is done now, and I’ve never been prouder! It features some of my favorite classic stories as well as the winning entries from my “Be a Famous Writer” contest last year. Kids who play the game will get to prove how well they comprehend and retain what they read. I help them find the right answers with funny audio and visual messages. And when players get a good score, they’ll be rewarded with a pot of gold! (When I was a kid, we just got a cheap little gold star!)
My new game isn’t the only way to keep your child engaged in reading when they’re away from school. Here are a few more ideas:
- Reading simple instructions for a task is a great way to improve comprehension skills. Visit the Activities Page of my website, MrsP.com for fun things you and your child can make. Fans of “Alice in Wonderland” will love the easy and clever homemade toys and games you can make with materials most people have sitting around the house.
- Get a public library card. It’s FREE, and most libraries have fun summer and after-school activities (as well as books full of wonderful stories and ideas from the smartest people who ever lived.) You can also find good educational videos and audio books at the library. I have a special place in her heart for librarians, so tell them Mrs. P sent you!
- Download a free poster of Mrs. P or another one of your child’s favorite celebrities from Get Caught Reading Hanging one of these colorful posters in your child’s room will remind them “Reading is cool and so are you!”
- Visit an online learning portal: My favorite is Professor Garfield’s Interactive online environment, where children can safely explore, learn and creatively express themselves. The site, started by the creator of Garfield the Cat, has reading games galore!
- Encourage Writing. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand; developing skills for one always helps with the other. Encouraging your child to make up and tell you a story can be an excellent work-out for the imagination – and also a fun way to spend time together. And if you come up with an idea you really like, enter it in my next Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest. Check out the prizes on my website – they’re really quite amazing!
- Audio Books. Listen to a story on your next car or plane trip, or just on a hot afternoon at home. Listening to the audio and following along with the actual book will help kids improve their skills even faster. Audible Books has an extensive collection of quality children’s books.
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