What if they get tired of reading the same book?

[amyIL]

We have officially finished 2 weeks. First we did Mike Mulligan and it went great. They watched the video, loved the book and all the activities. This week we did Storm in the Night and they seemed to like the go-alongs we did about clouds and thunderstorms, etc but by the 3rd day they were saying, "We're going to read that book AGAIN?" By the fourth day I skipped it and just did the other things I had planned and by day 5 we just talked about the book and I had them narrate it back to me. Does this ever happen to anyone else? Do you force the book on them or just move on?

[annmarieseiler]

We read it on MWF because my kids HATE reading it everyday. Even stories they love were met with moans and groans on the 4th and 5th day.

[Tami in IA]

:yes: This happens to many of us.

The advice I got last year was to take it easy, skip reading it & just do the activities/learning.

I wish I could give you a link to the thread because I received some wonderful advice from Jane Clare. But it was on the old boards.:unsure:

So my advice to you is, Do not force it. This is supposed to be fun and comfortable for them and you. ;)

HTH!:group:

[Paige P]

My girls *usually* like reading the book every day, BUT there are days when they just don't want to read the book, and we'll do just as you did -- either discuss it, have them narrate it to me, read a go-along and still review the FIAR book, etc. The joy of FIAR is that YOU adapt it to *fit* your family, and YOU make the calls -- you know what your kids want/need. Good call for last week :)

[shonda in ca]

Read it on day 1 and 2. On day 3 stop at a word and have them fill in the blank. I make a big exaggerated pause and the kids love to shout out the word.
On day 4 I play "catch my silly". I change a word to a silly one and see if they catch it. For instance this week we did Ping. I started out on the first page with..."and they lived on the Mississippi River." I usually use an opposite word or something crazy. When the mother on the houseboat said she would cook Ping with rice for dinner, I said "I will cook him with peanut butter for dinner". My kids were cracking up and correcting me. :D

Have fun! :)

[Sheri]

We always read it on day 1 and 2. And usually recap on day 3. Read on Day 4. Recap on Day 5.

[amyIL]

Thanks everyone...it just helps to see how other people are doing it!

[Hannah in N.Ireland]

The first time we read Storm in the Night last year, ds wasn't even really interested in reading it the second time.However this year he has really enjoyed it.We spent 2 weeks with it,as we tend to do with all books,but we only read it about 4 or 5 times in total.On the other days we either talked about it,or narrated it and then did whatever activity I had planned.
Hope this helps!

[Lori D]

It depends on the book. I usually feel like we get more out of it if we are able to read it 5 times- but we often do a book over a two week period.

Things we have done:
- not read it all five times and just do go-alongs and activities
- read it at night with dad and then do lessons the next day
- read only the part that applies to the activity of the day

HTH!

[ami*]

Here are some ideas...

When we do vocabulary, I usually make vocab cards ahead of time. I lay them out and teach them to him before the lesson. When he hears the word, he picks it up and holds it high. This spices up the reading one day.

One day you could play "I Spy" with the illustrations.

We love to do crazy readings...(like someone already suggested)...Mike Mulligan had a green steam shovel. ;) I usually do this on Thursday or Friday after he's really familiar with the story. I think it's a great exercise in listening (as well as silly-ness!). We laugh a lot on this day.

Some days you could just read that part of the story that applies to the lesson.

I usually prime the reading on the last day with, "after we read today, we are going to bake/make..." Friday is usually the day we delve into the cookbook or archives or do some crafty project. Yesterday, for Salamander Room, we made little nature snacks like layered parfaits (rock candy for the bottom, whipping cream, brownies, oreo crumbs, plastic bugs on top). On a normal week, I only add in one extra fun thing. Friday is the best day to do this IMHO. :)

If you have a reading student, let him follow along and read certain words.

You can even let your non-reader be the "official page turner" -- I make a beeping sound (or some other fun story related sound effect) when it's time for him to turn the page.

Read in a variety of voices. I stink at this sometimes, but my son thinks I'm great!

Read in a variety of speeds. :lol: Sometimes I let my son say, "FAST!" and I read it as fast as I can...until he says, "SLOW!" and I read it as slow as I can.

Listen to the book on CD/tape if your library has it.

Another suggestion for Friday is to locate the story on video (GASP! Yes :yes:, I really just said that!). Not every title is on video, but Scholastic and Reading Rainbow have TONS of these books included in their collections.

Once in awhile we let dad read it at bedtime, too.

Read it during lunch (you have a captive audience, right? :lol:).

Your enthusiasm usually rubs off on your kids. When I read To Duet or Not To Duet, I'm afraid my own dislike for the book rubbed off on my ds. :blush: Needless to say, I learned from that experience.

Don't be afraid to put some books away for another time. We skipped Storm in the Night when we did Volume I, but we are picking it up this year. My son is used to FIAR and how it works and he has matured, so I hope he will like it. :)

Okay! I think those are all the secrets I have. :lol: I'm sure some of them originally came from that old thread on the other boards. I read over it a few times before we started this journey.

Don't be discouraged! He loved Mike Mulligan, right? :)

[YoLanda]

You know, I posted something similar not too long ago. Now, dd refers back to that book often enough that I am amazed! Amazed because she wasn't into it and we only got as far as half of day 2.

What she refers back to is the media that was used because we got acrylic paints and copied the title page. Copied so we could understand what it took to make the colors and shading that was in the book.

And since we have so many t-storms, she refers back to that book for that. And mandarin, we used that word to describe something the other day and she knew it was from SITN.

One thing that taught me, I think!, is that she prefers more activities to go along with it. And from the advice the others gave, I'm going to try day 1 and 2 as they mentioned.

[Heide]

WoW...so many great ideas! 2 other ideas that we have used, is have your children act out the story and have a mystery reader for one reading. So, if you're a planner you could have Grandma/Grandpa, a special neighbor, cousin... read it ahead of time, and record it. Then one day, introduce the story, play the recording and see if your children can figure out who the mystery reader is.

[Michelle]

You know, some books no matter how great they are, won't click with your kiddos. Storm in the Night was one of them for my girls, last week. So I pulled out a different book about the same topic (Thundercake) and off we went. Still using the lessons, just a different story.

In this matter, just follow your kids' lead :)

[DD in IL]

We play it by ear.

[HSing5]

We school Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri. We have taken Wednesdays off for 12 years. So we read the books 2 days on, 1 day off, and 2 days on. Maybe because of the day off in between it doesn't get "old."

[amyIL]

Well this week we're rowing "Papa Piccolo" and they are loving it. Since today is day 3, I had planned on just reviewing, but they were begging me to read it. I love FIAR. I am hooked for sure!!