If you don’t know by now, I tend to be a nerdy Dad. I spend the weekends taking my older son to chess tournaments, in the evenings I research how to read Nutrition Labels and every day I rotate the colors of my glasses to match my outfit. Yea, I am that Dad. I am also married to a former elementary school teacher, so every opportunity is a learning opportunity. As such we tend to be “those parents” that read books, learn from books, and give books as gifts. Call us different, call us nerds, call us bookworms. Yes, we own it and our house bears that out with fully laden bookshelves in every single room! Here are some suggestions for books you could use to foster your enjoyable learning moments.
Grades PreK – 1
It all begins with our kiddos learning to read before they can read to learn. As nerdy parents we want to develop seriously good readers at a young age. Furthermore we want to read to and with our kids. “The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons” is an excellent book to work through with your child, giving them a head start before Kindergarten or as a support at home to reinforce what they are learning in Kindergarten.
Enjoyable Learning Moments – Grades 2-3
Once reading is becoming smoother and a bit independent, it is time to begin playing with words. Synonyms, and antonyms, and questions, oh my! Here is also where discussing words with multiple meanings and words that sound alike but are spelled differently come into view. These “Daily Word Ladders” challenges help your child to think outside the box of simple sentences and see how words are related. An excellent 10 minutes of fun together any day! You might even catch yourself trying to use those words again throughout the course of a regular day!
Grades 4-6
If you want to spend some time drawing with pencil and paper, this book will be quite helpful. “Drawing with Children” is a book you may want to read on your own first to get the author’s perspective on drawing. There are five complete lessons included but as with most creative endeavors, once you find a starting point, it is easy to follow the path to more challenging creations. Practice brings progress!
Enjoyable Learning Moments – Grades 7-9
Building a love for board games will take your relationship with your kids far past childhood. Games that span an age limit are even better. Enter the game of chess. The book “Chess for Kids” is an excellent place to start. You can work with your child through the book while teaching and learning together. Chess is never the same game twice and as you each develop beginning, middle and end games, rest assured, it will be a match they will ask for again and again.
Grades 10-12
As your child grows into a young adult, knowledge of how to self-regulate, treat others and move forward in life confidently with grace may lead you to read with them a book like “The Four Agreements.” The main premises here are four life truths. Be impeccable with your words. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best. Sounds like four pretty solid foundation blocks to build a life upon. Fantastic conversation starters for sure!
There you have it! Some excellent books on a wide variety of topics that might even nudge you towards sharing a personal passion or interest with your child through a great book! As Joseph Addison aptly wrote, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
What would you add?
Featured Image from Deposit Photos.
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