Summer Goals

One of my goals this summer is to get through the stack of books gathering dust on my bookshelf. I am trying to make it through the massive Pillars of the Earth so I can move on to the waiting stack. While I am enjoying reading the book, it is so massive I feel I am not making any headway. I want to finish it before our beach vacation so I can bring a good chic lit book for the beach.

But, the stack of books I hope to get through this summer got me thinking about a reading list for Chloe. I have to admit that I am not very good at using the local and free resources and going to the public library. Chloe just wants to play and never wants to help me look for books. I also like to go armed with a list of recommended books for her age and search them out. It always seems when I go to our local library none of the books on my list are there. So, I end up at the bookstore or on Ama*on and pay for the books. But, alas it gets a bit spendy. Chloe has a mass of books on her shelves and of course, she has her favorites but ashamedly I have to admit that her books are getting a bit tired to me. I also think that Chloe is now at an age that the books we read should have a message that we can discuss.

While I am certain that the current books on Chloe's shelf have a message we can discuss they have become so "old hat" to Chloe that we move through them without discussion or questioning. So, with all this on my mind I have set out with a new list and armed with another book for me to read.

The Read-Aloud Handbook has been recommended so many times to me that I feel I must buy it, read it and incorporate it into our reading ritual so I can feel certain Chloe is getting the most from our reading sessions. In the meantime, I am armed with a new list of books from which to reference for Chloe's summer reading list. I garnered this list here and here and think that they're a fantastic resource.

Besides reading, Chloe and I have been keeping busy. We are preparing for our vacation to the Outer Banks. In doing so, I went to the Lan*s E*d store at S*ars (yes, its definitely the softer-and nicer side) to discover that they were having a "summer's end" sale. WHAT? It's over? Chloe's only been out of school for 2 weeks and they are declaring its over! Wasn't the first day of summer June 20? Since when has a season only been 5 days long? Anyway, it depressed me, so I set goals in my mind that Chloe and I should spend as much time as possible outdoors. I have quite a list going on activities. Our summer camp officially begins now....