Building Up Families with Books

Summer is at an end and my kids just started school again, which cues changes in schedules and routines. That makes now the perfect time to set your family up for success in reading aloud together. Reader: reading together with your kids is one of the most important things you can do, besides feeding them and keeping them safe. There are so many benefits to this family habit: stronger parent-child bonds boosts language and vocabulary improves thinking, memory, and brain development improves...

Reading Anywhere and Everywhere During summer, our routines can be disrupted in so many ways, including our reading times. We’ve travelled a lot this summer as a family, working our way through the US National Parks (New River Gorge, Shenandoah, Mr. Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades, Acadia). While we travel, we make sure to keep on reading, and here are some of the tips we have used to keep reading a daily part of our summers whether at home or on the road. 5 Ways to Read Anywhere Make...

There is no such thing as a child who hates to read;there are only children who have not found the right book. - Frank Serafini I hope you are enjoying the summer with your family, Reader. I am soaking up sun and time with my kids, welcoming neighborhood children to my home and trying my best to get in a little bit of work when I can! One of our favorite activities to do in the summer is participate in our local library’s reading program. My kids have already read their needed books to get...

I was sitting down to write this newsletter and my son called upstairs, “Mom! I need help.” Next time I sat down, my daughter called, “Mom, do you want to play a game?” Then I sat down and the doorbell rang. I won’t be surprised if I’m interrupted again before I finish this sentence. I’ll admit that I hesitated in answering these interruptions, but then I remembered that the interruptions were actually opportunities. It’s easy to be frustrated by these times when you have one thing that you...

Summer is right around the corner. My kids will be finishing classes this next month, and soon my days will be filled with snack prep, swimming supervision, and soaking up sunshine. If you are looking at the summer months and are wondering how to spend them with your kids, I have some free resources for you with lots of fun ideas for keeping your family laughing together all summer long! Kids thrive best when given freedom within structure. To help you out, I am giving away my printable list...

Hi Reader! WOOSH! March just flew by us, at least it did for me. I hope you are ready for some family reading inspiration today! I had several storytimes in the Tulsa area this past month, and you can see me in April here: April 5 @ Knight’s Nook (Storytime and Signing)10:30 AM401 W Main St.Yukon, OK 73099 April 10, 2025 @ Philbrook Museum of Art (Storytime and Craft)10 AMIncluded with Admission2727 S Rockford RdTulsa, OK 74114 I was also a guest on a podcast! You can listen to my interview...

(Before you start, my newsletter has been rearranged, so don't miss anything and scroll all the way down!) I have been working on booking storytimes and getting a fantastic program together to make these storytimes fun and engaging for young readers and their families. If you are in the Oklahoma region, I’d love to see you, Reader, at one of my events. March 8 @ Book and Bloom (Storytime and Signing)10:30 AM115 E Dallas St.Broken Arrow, OK 74012 March 14 @ Building All Children (Preschool...

Do you know why I love books so much? Sometimes, when I need strength or encouragement to do something hard, I think about someone I read about in a book. They might have faced something harder than I had, but somehow they had done what was right in that situation, and I can too. One of those books that has stuck with me for years and years is The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. This month my book club is reading it, and I’ve been listening to the audiobook version. It is such a powerful...

2024 has come and gone, and we’re about to start 2025. It’s always surprising to me how quickly time seems to slide past, especially as a mom! My kids have really grown a lot in the past year: physically (my daughter grew 4+ inches), mentally (1st and 5th grade now), and spiritually (my daughter was baptized!). It’s a fun time in life, and we’ve also made a lot of progress on visiting the National Parks this year, with 16 visited so far. We have plans to see 15 more this coming year, which...