"No, I'm Not"... (Snarky Alert!)

It happened again. I was checking out at a warehouse store and the cashier asked, “Do you homeschool?” I smiled and nodded. Then she said, “You must be so patient.” She went on to say that some days she just couldn’t wait to send her kids off to school. I clenched my jaw and swiped my card.

I’ve grown so weary of the familiar assumptions.

“You must be so organized.”

“You are a saint!”

“You must be a lot smarter than I am.”

“You’re so brave!”

“You must be so patient.”

Guess what, people? I am none of these things. I am so not these things that sometimes I want to shout it. Yes, there is some vain part of my persona that has occasionally puffed up at the praise and even been pleased that this is what other people think of me. But the bigger part of me, the honest me, wants everyone to have a reality check. Why? Well, it’s too much pressure for one. Secondly, and more importantly, it frustrates me that people think that they have to be these things in order to homeschool. As if they themselves might consider homeschooling—if, and only if, the Virtue Fairy would come and bestow these gifts. It annoys me that people put on blinders and assume that all public school teachers and college professors are all these things. (Because let me tell you, I’ve met more than several hands full who are not.) People are people! We all put our pants on one leg at a time; we all have different strengths and weaknesses to work with and we all have something to offer, no matter what we are or what we are not.

So what am I? I am a mother who loves my children and is trying the best way I know to do what’s right and best for them. So, before walking off with my purchases, I smiled at the cashier and simply said, “I’m really not that patient. I just don’t want someone else getting the best years of my kids’ lives.”

Batty About Bats

One of the reasons that fall is my favorite time of year is because it provides so many cool topics to learn about. This year, as my family has been looking forward to Halloween, we’ve been studying up on bats. As always when I plan a unit study, the library is my first stop. Some of our favorite bat titles included:

1. Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats by Ann Earle (Let’s Read and Find Out Science series)

2. National Geographic Kids Bats! by Elizabeth Carney

3. I am a Little Bat by Marta Prims

4. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

5. The Magic School Bus Going Batty: A Book About Bats by Joanna Cole

All About Bats
All About Bats

After reading our books, we did a bat fact sorting activity. I printed out a list of statements about bats, some of them true and some of them false. The kids cut out each statement and determined whether it was a fact or a myth, and glued it under the correct heading.

From-phone-9-28-13-880
From-phone-9-28-13-880

Then we did an activity to teach the kids about how echolocation works. I cut a piece of large poster board in half and made two large cones that looked like megaphones. I had two kids stand about six feet apart facing a wall, but kind of angled towards each other, so that the two kids and the wall were making a V, and gave each a megaphone. The first kid pointed his megaphone towards the wall and whispered semi-loudly into his megaphone. The second kid pointed his megaphone towards the wall, and put his ear up to the megaphone. The idea is that the sound will bounce off the wall and back into the second megaphone. You can hear the whisper really loudly. It's cool. And the kids loved it.

My-Photo-Stream99
My-Photo-Stream99
From-phone-9-28-13-914
From-phone-9-28-13-914

Of course I had to throw an art project in the mix. You can’t have a proper unit study without an art project.  First I gave each of the kids a black piece of construction paper, and a few bat cut-outs. They decided where they wanted the bats to be, and I helped tape them in place (use masking tape so it won’t rip the black behind when pulling the bats off later). Then we got out our sponges and our paints and went to town, making sure we sponged all around the edges of the bats. When we were done we pulled the bats off. To finish it up, I made a nice outline around each of the bats with permanent marker.

Because I wanted to practice some handwriting, I had each kid write down three things they learned about bats during our unit, and I incorporated it into the art project by gluing the painted bats and the fact sheets onto a large piece of construction paper. Then we taped them up on a closet door where they will remain as part of the Halloween decor until the end of October.

Time Management (part 4)

In my last installment on time management, I want to talk about organizing your mind. (you can find the previous three articles here, here and here). Organizing your mind is just as important as organizing your space or your time. As a Visual/Spatial person your mind can run at 100 mph all day long, making it difficult to focus, let alone accomplish anything constructive. But there are some tricks that can help.

One of the first things Visual Spatial (V/S) people need to do is write things down. All of it. When something comes to mind, write it down! Why? 2 reasons:  1st, when an idea hits, it usually doesn’t stay long, which means it is gone 5 minutes later. So when that great idea shows up, record it! Post it notes are great for jotting things down. 2nd, when you have 100 things swirling around in your mind, it makes it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Writing it down lets your mind focus because you know you won’t forget to call Penelope about the carpool.

Another way to clear your mind is to do something creative. Most Visual/Spatial people are creative types. Being creative doesn’t necessarily mean doing crafts or making a quilt. It can be writing, cooking, or even organizing an activity. Doing creative things regularly helps to keep us from getting overwhelmed by the sameness of routine. V/S struggle with routine because it gets boring. Being creative allows our brains to have fun. Fun is good! So, plan some creative time into your week. It will make you more productive the rest of the week.

When you are in the middle of a project, but need to leave it and finish it later, what do you do? Do you leave it out all over the kitchen table? Do you put it in a box in the closet? Did you know that where and how you put something away can determine whether you finish it or not? Who knew? As a V/S person, out of sight is out of mind. If we put that project away in a box and put the box in the closet and close the door, chances are, we will forget where we put it and lose all enthusiasm for ever finishing it.

If you can’t leave your project on the table because it will get covered in peanut butter and jelly, or you need the table for dinner, put it in a clear container.  Leave the container where it is out of the way, but where you can see it, such as on an open shelf.  It will be there, neat and tidy, waiting for you to come back to it. And your brain will see it and remind you to get back to finishing it.

Have you ever had something you knew you needed to do, but really didn’t want to do it? Stand there until you want to! Our brains are reluctant to do things we are not focused on. As a V/S person it can take us a while to move from one activity to another because our brains are still focused on what we just finished. If we stand there (or sit there) and look at what we need to do next, our brains will catch up with us and suddenly we are involved in the new project. So stand there until you want to!

The last thing I want to talk about is one of our greatest gifts as a Visual/ Spatial person - our ability to generate ideas. We can create 100 ideas on the best way to do something in 5 minutes. All day long we are generating ideas. We write them down so we don’t forget them, right? As homeschool moms we can think of 15 ways to teach a topic. It really is a wonderful gift. But it can be our worst enemy too.

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SLW3793_final

When we generate these great ideas, or we hear someone else’s great ideas, we automatically think we have to DO all of these wonderful things. Nope! We don’t. Trying to do all of those ideas can lead to burnout. Especially if you think you are failing your kids by not doing what everyone else is doing. If you learn only one thing from this series it should be this—Not every idea deserves a life! Repeat that out loud. Post it on your mirror. You do not have to do everything that pops into your head. If you write your ideas down on post it notes first, instead of neatly in a notebook, you can wad up the ones that in a day, or a week, sound like too much work, or are impractical. Then they disappear, never to bother you again. But the ones that you know would be a good use of time and make sense to do, those you keep on your master list. And your stress level can stay at an acceptable level. If there is one.

If you have enjoyed this series, you can go to the ldshe.org library and download my class on Time Management- Why Can’t I Make It Work.  On there site you can find over 700 classes on all things homeschool from some of the most popular speakers. Be sure to check it out!

Preschool Shapes

A new school year means another session of preschool co-op at our house. We get together with a couple of other families in the neighborhood and each of the moms takes a turn teaching. It’s a great way to make friends, and for the kids to have an opportunity learning from people with different teaching styles. This is our fifth year doing a preschool co-op as part of our home schooling, and we’ve really enjoyed it.

Recently when I hosted, we learned all about shapes. We started out with a gathering activity. I brought out our sets of Wedgits and Magna-tiles, so the kids could explore building with shapes as they arrived.

Once everyone was there we sat in a circle on the floor, and I handed each child cut-outs of the four basic shapes; circle, triangle, rectangle, square. We talked about each one, and said how many sides and how many angles it had. Then I would describe a shape by saying something like, "I'm thinking of a shape that has three sides and three angles." And the kids would have to hold up their triangles.

When the kids had the basics down pretty well, we talked about how shapes can be different sizes or colors but if they have the right number of sides and the right number of angles they are still a square (or whichever shape). We played a game where the kids came up and picked shapes of different sizes and colors out of a brown paper bag; they had to decide which shape it was, and then put it on my flannel board under the right category (circle, square, triangle, rectangle).

preschool collage
preschool collage

Then the kids needed some wiggle time. We went outside on the driveway where I had drawn large shapes with chalk. We walked around the perimeters of the shapes singing Hi-Ho the Dairy-o and changing the words for each shape, like this: "A rectangle has four sides, a rectangle has four sides, two are short and two are long, a rectangle has four sides." Then I gave the kids chalk and they practiced drawing the four different shapes.

For a snack I gave them pretzel sticks and had them try to make their shapes out of pretzels too.

After snack we did a cutting/gluing activity. They attempted to cut out the shapes and glue them onto another piece of paper and then color them. Depending on the age and skill level of your preschoolers this activity might be really easy or really hard. My four-year-olds did great, and my three-year-olds struggled.  An alternative to cutting might be to cut out the shapes on cardstock and use a hole-punch to punch holes around the perimeter, then tie a long piece of yarn to one of the holes and have the kids “sew” around the shapes instead.

For our last activity we did pattern block pictures. Each of the kids got a cookie sheet, a pile of magnetic pattern blocks, and a laminated picture to fill in. You can find lots of free pattern block card printables online, just Google search “free pattern block printables”. The kids seemed to really like this activity, and when they finished with one picture, they asked to switch out for another one. We worked on these until it was time to go.

I sent each child home with a bag full of paper shapes, colored sticks, and a piece of string. If they want to practice their shapes at home, all they have to do is set out a paper shape, pick out the sticks that match the color of the shape, and then use the sticks to frame the outside edge of the shape. The string is for the circle.

We had a lot of fun doing shapes preschool. A few of my ideas I found on Pintrest, a few I came up with myself, and a few of them I found in this cool book called Getting Into Geometry put out by the AIMS Education Foundation. It’s a fun book with all sorts of activities that teach 2D and 3d shapes using all the senses.

Time Management (part 3)

In my previous articles about time management we have talked about Timers, Time maps and 80/20% principles. Today I want to talk about managing your space as a V/S (Visual/Spacial) or right brain thinker.

Managing space as a V/S mom can be a challenge. Our natural tendencies toward space can be our friend or our greatest enemy. We are visual and we tend to use our space to its maximum until the clutter drives us crazy, then we put it all away and then can’t remember where we put it!

There is hope! By using some strategies we can learn to manage our piles!

First ,we need Gathering Places. These are places to put items that tend to get lost. We have a gathering place for all the car keys. It is simple, just a small basket on the shelf as you come in the house. Everyone knows that is the only place in the house where keys go. We have multiple drivers and we have had teens leave the house in one car with the keys to another car in their pocket! Not a good thing!

We also have one place where the school books go. All the music books go in the living room. When you come home from lessons, your book bag of music goes on the floor beside the piano. Every time! All other music goes on the shelf beside the piano.

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Gathering places can also work with small children’s toys.  Putting toys into a basket throughout the day and then before bed putting them away helps keep the stray toys under control. Other things that might need gathering places are bills, mail, shoes, coats, hats and gloves. When there is a purposeful place to put things, they are easy to find again.

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Next, we have to use the right type of storage. Open shelving can help because you can see where things are. One of the reasons V/S don’t put things away is they are afraid they won’t be able to find it again. With open shelves you can see immediately where things are so you can find them. It also helps you visualize what you have. You won’t need to buy the materials for that project again, because you can see exactly where it is right now. That also leads to less clutter, because you are not repeatedly buying what you already have.

Clear plastic storage follows this same concept.  You can easily see what you have without having to drag everything out, so you are creating less mess and you are more likely to put things back where they go.

Do you forget to read your magazines? A vertical magazine rack can help!

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Does this sign belong by your desk?

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Are you a vertical or horizontal piler? Use these for vertical storage if you like to stack things deep on your desk.

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Or if you are a horizontal piler with piles covering the entire top of your desk, a desk with drawers can help you get a handle on those piles. Not deep drawers! You will never again see the bottom of the drawer. The huge pile will be too discouraging to sort through.

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I asked Don Aslett this summer what he recommended for paper control. He laughed and said it is a constant battle. We have an overwhelming amount of paper we need to keep track of today that didn’t exist 30 or 40 years ago. If you really need help with this, Don's book “The Office Clutter Cure” can help.

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Another huge help to controlling clutter is color! Since V/S’s are visual, color coding things can help our brains remember where things go, so we can find them again.

As V/S we need to learn about what types of  space management that works for us. This summer I gave up on using dressers and closets for my 2 very right brain teen boys. Their older sister sent me this picture and we decided it was perfect for the boys room. Whatever works, right?

You can see an interesting computer model  here, that might help you decide if you are right brain, left brain, or whole brain. If the model spins clock-wise you are right brain; counter clock-wise, left brain, and if it switches back and forth as you blink, you are whole brain and use both sides, but will typically lean one way or the other.

If you have enjoyed these articles on time management , you might want to listen to the class on Time Management I taught at the 2012 LDS Home Educators Conference. I taught one for youth at the 2011 conference as well. The LDSHE Audio Library is now live and you can find my classes as well as over 600 other classes from conferences for 2005- 2012. The 2013 classes will be up soon!

My Favorite Things

I have a confession to make. I spent most of the week before public school started fantasizing about sending my kids back to public school. I was feeling tired and worn out after a busy summer, and the lure of spending my days alone, in my clean, quiet house was almost more than I could take. Of course, once I took a moment to really think about how I feel about public education, I knew there was no sending them back. Unfortunately, that knowledge didn’t do much to change my attitude. In the midst of all my self-pity, I managed to drag our family to homeschool park day. I sat there and visited, discussed up-coming plans, new curriculums and books while the kids ran and played. Enjoying a beautiful summer day with friends helped clear away my bad attitude and reminded me of how much I love this lifestyle: the freedom, the love of learning, the joy of new discoveries and the incredible blessing of time with my children.

I went home with renewed commitment and a grateful heart. Over the next few days I started noticing all the amazing things that are part of our lives because of homeschooling. I knew there would be more hard days ahead (there always are!) so I made a list of my favorite things about homeschooling. That way I will be ready the next time my commitment wavers.

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1.  Time to pursue passions and develop talents. People look at me funny when I say one of the hardest things about homeschooling is dealing with all the creative energy. However, sometimes being peppered with questions about everything from chemistry to robotics while fielding requests for assistance with writing, art, math, the piano, guitar and the sewing machine (all at the same time) can be a little overwhelming! Really though, I love seeing their enthusiasm for life and their intense interests in so many different things.  I love the sound of music and eager voices that fills our home. 2.  Family closeness. I’ve had so many mothers tell me they could never homeschool because their kids would kill each other. That always makes me sad. I wish they could see how tight-knit homeschooling families are. My children truly love to be together. We spend hours and hours working and playing together, which has created relationships in our home that are better than any relationships outside the home. What a blessing to be best friends with the people we will spend eternity with!

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3.  Time to explore. Last week we spent a Tuesday morning exploring some caves near our home. As we climbed over boulders and shimmied down chutes I thought of all those children sitting in school. I was so gratefully to literally be able to learn “outside the box”.

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4.  Greater opportunities to study the gospel. Last week I found my 8 year old daughter asleep, long after bedtime, in the chair in her room. Her scriptures lay open on her lap. My children love to study the scriptures, hold devotional and family home evening, and memorize Articles of Faith. There are many wonderful parents outside the homeschool community who do these things, but I know it is much easier to instill a love of the gospel when children are not pressed for time and sleep. 5.  Freedom to develop a sense of self. When my children were young I worried that they would have a hard time developing their own personalities. I feared that spending so much time together would make them all alike. Boy was I wrong! Rather than encouraging conformity, homeschooling has allowed them the freedom to be whoever they want to be. My oldest loves art, science, and swimming. His younger brother loves computers, biking, cooking and the electric guitar. I really have never seen two siblings with more diverse interests.

6.  Opportunities to learn real life skills. Reading, math and history are all important things to know, but every homeschool mom knows that some of the greatest lessons are learned “outside of the classroom”. Taking care of a home and garden, caring for young children, shopping smart, and knowing how to access resources in the community – these are all incredibly valuable skills that blossom when we educate our children at home.

It’s true that homeschooling is not for the faint of heart. It can be a lot of hard work. Fortunately, even the hard days are full of amazing blessings!

Another Back-to-School Breakfast

It’s time again for another tool in the “I’m-Not-a-Morning-Person-Toolkit!”  I love the following recipe because it is hearty and wholesome but can be mostly made ahead, saving me time in the morning.  My kids love it because it’s tasty.

"Pancakes from the Pantry" (originally from Margaret Scoresby in Mount Vernon, OH)

  • 4 cups quick cooking oats
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup dry milk
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 5 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Combine all ingredients together, mixing well.  Store dry mix in an airtight container or quart-sized canning jars.

When ready to use the dry mix, add the following in a large mixing bowl:

  •  2 eggs, beat well
  • 1/3 cup oil, gradually beating in
  • 1 cup water, added alternately with 2 cups of dry mix

Blend well.  Cook pancakes on a lightly oiled griddle.  Makes 10 pancakes.

To see previous years’ recipes, go here and here.

Trusting the Process

Ahh - summer, nothing to do but relax and enjoy vacation, unless of course, you’re a homeschooler. Then it’s time to attend homeschool conferences, study up on the latest homeschool books, clean out your schoolroom and plan, plan, plan for the next school year! In the midst of all this educational flurry I think it’s important to review the history of homeschooling. Many homeschoolers don’t realize that the modern homeschooling movement started in the 1970s, fueled primarily by the work of John Holt. Holt was a disillusioned educator who felt that the public education system was damaged beyond repair and that children stood a far better chance of success at home. He was quick to point out that recreating school at home was unlikely to be any more successful. He said that, “children, without being coerced or manipulated, or being put in exotic, specially prepared environments, or having their thinking planned and ordered for them, can, will, and do pick up from the world around them important information about what we call the Basics. “

This belief - that children who are placed in an enriching and supportive environment will learn everything they need - inspired an entire generation of homeschoolers. They proved that children could go on to lead successful and enriching lives, without the restraints of formal education. Unfortunately, the homeschool movement became so successful that many companies started to see it as a prime business opportunity. As the years went by, homeschool curriculums multiplied exponentially.  (I could use my Rainbow Resource catalog for weight lifting).

As more and more children left public school, the charter schools saw the opportunity to capitalize on the movement by offering online programs. While there is good to be found in all of these options, it’s important to remember the philosophy that homeschooling was founded on: that children don’t need a fancy environment or “special” books or programs, they don’t need specialists or professionals to teach them. What they need is an environment rich in educational opportunities and love. I have a friend who calls it creating a vacuum. When our homes are full of books, games, conversation, and ideas, our children can’t help but be sucked in. As hard as it is, we have to “trust the process”. Not only trust that children will learn when given the opportunity, but also that the Lord will provide the ideas, people and resources we need to help them in their journey.

I will be the first to admit that at times the responsibility of educating my children seems mind boggling and overwhelming. But, as the years go by I am constantly amazed by the small miracles that seem to flow through our lives and how the Lord provides for my children’s needs. The examples are too numerous to list, but one blessing stands out in my mind. Last year I attended a homeschool parent meeting held at a local private school. While I was there I had a conversation with the school’s director. She is a former homeschooler and an inspiring teacher. She mentioned that she was starting a dyslexia tutoring program at her school. When I told her about the work I’d done with my profoundly dyslexic son, she offered me a job working for her as a tutor. That offer provided me with numerous hours of training that have greatly improved my ability to work with my son’s learning disabilities. She taught me so much about the gift of dyslexia. Another unexpected blessing came over the course of the year, as her voice of wisdom and encouragement gave me the courage to keep homeschooling my teenager through high school.

This is only one example of the many ways the Lord has blessed our homeschool. He knows our family’s needs and He knows how much I love my children. I have to remember that He loves my children too and that He has a plan for each of them. As I put my trust in Him, rather than the commercial interests of the homeschool movement, He will provide for our family’s every need.

The Read-a-thon

Whether your readers are ravenous or reluctant, an occasional read-a-thon is a great tool.  Read-a-thons can bridge the gap between summer vacation and the beginning of autumn’s new schedule; they can buy an overwhelmed mom some time during a particularly busy stretch of time; they can constructively get a family through illness; they can be used effectively in a unit study or as a way to “break” in between unit studies while Mom regroups.  A read-a-thon can motivate all types of readers with varying levels of dedication to step up and read more, even if only for the duration of the contest.

There are many ways to run a read-a-thon and to adapt one for your family’s needs.  I’ll describe one of ours from a couple of years ago, when my youngest was still little and just beginning reading so as to cover more of an age range.

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I announced the read-a-thon first thing the Tuesday after Labor Day.  We had kicked off our new school year the week before, which had the theme “Everyone Has a Story,” with a field trip to the fabulous Treehouse Museum in Ogden, Utah, and with learning about types and genres of books.  The children had from Tuesday morning until the midnight between the following Sunday/ Monday to log their reading.  Then, other than regular chores and a daily math assignment, nothing was expected of them from me during that week, leaving them free to read (and me free to finish preparing for our upcoming studies and schedule).

I had some children who didn’t want to put in much effort because they assumed they’d lose no matter what to their always-reading-and-maniacal-about-books brother.  I told them that they’d be surprised how it all worked out in the end and that no effort would be a waste.  On Monday morning I awarded the prizes.  I had a big bowl of favorite candy treats.  For every different genre a child read, he got to choose a treat.  For every book he read in its entirety, he chose a treat.  For every full 5 hours of reading time logged, he got a dollar bill.  If a child logged scripture reading, I doubled the value of the time.  For reading over 200 pages, the child got a treat.  And the child who read the most overall, taking all the numbers of pages, books, and time into account, got a $5 gift card to a book store.

It is important to reward EVERYTHING in a read-a-thon, and here is why.  When your children range in age and reading ability, it’s not quite fair otherwise.

My youngest child was reading beginning readers.  There was no way she could have matched page for page, or time, because she read little books to me and then she was “done.”  She needed to be rewarded for the number of books she read, but if that were the only way to be rewarded, it would have been a rip for a kid tackling just one 500-page book.

My oldest child was very involved in many outside activities and didn’t have the same amount of time to devote to reading.  ANY reading he could get in needed to be noticed.  If it weren’t for the genre category, he’d have earned nothing.

My smack middle child is a crazy fast reader, devouring 500-page books in a single day.  He would have easily won all categories if I hadn’t done something to level the playing field.

My other two children fit into their own niches.  The variety of ways to earn rewards kept everyone trying hard and motivated.  Once they saw how it worked, they began to strategize for the next read-a-thon.

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As I mentioned earlier, you can make several read-a-thon adaptations.  If you’re worried about academics, a read-a- thon can play into your current studies.  You could have an “Ancient History Read-a-thon” and/or narrow it to a subject, breaking the genre category into things such as reference, non-fiction, picture book, historical, fiction, magazine (e.g. National Geographic, Kids Discover), etc.  If you can’t/won’t spare a whole week, you can make your read-a-thon last just one or two days, and let everyone wear pajamas and make comfy reading places anywhere in the house they’d like, with popcorn or other favorite snacks readily available. You can even enjoy the great outdoors while participating in a read-a-thon by reading outside in hammocks, on hillsides, under umbrellas, and on trampolines.  However they work best for you, your children will love having a few read-a-thons in their year.