Last summer, as my oldest was coming into his sophomore year, I convinced him to try honors lit. He had required reading, 3 novels to complete before school started, quizzes on them week one. I felt bad for him, reading Jane Eyre is not how most 15 y/o boys want to spend their summer. ;o) So I said I'd pay him 3 cents/page. Which earned him $10-15 for each novel. His brother, then 11, thought that sounded like a good deal. So I made him the same deal and he also read about 3 books, but shorter. I do not pay my kids allowance for chores, so this deal was especially sweet to them. If you don't want to do money, you could do points. In the Accelerated Reader system so many schools use, each book is worth points. The last school my kids went to had an "Accelerated Reader Store." Kids could spend their earned AR points on cool school supplies, small toys, trading cards- a lot of stuff donated. You could trade points for privileges. Maybe 60 minutes reading (or points/pages) earns an extra 30 mins of gaming/TV time. My 12 y/o needs motivation/reward to read. Even it that's a grade. He knows he is required to pretty much always be reading during the school year. He has to turn in reading response homework and take AR quizzes. So he does what he has to do, he does want the grade. I don't pay during the school year. Unless there is a book *I* want him to read, something of more literary quality than he might choose on his own. Even his reading teacher this year said she will offer rewards for kids who read books from the classics or Newbery prize lists. My 12 y/o loved the Eragon series. Those were challenging at the time he read them, and long. We borrowed them on CD and he followed sometimes. He loves to listen to books on CD. If I download them to my iPod, he will listen in the car or while waiting for siblings practices. (I found out our library has a selection that can be downloaded free and used for 3 weeks before they expire.) I do not see that as cheating, following along with the text while listening. And when it's for pleasure, just listening. My DS has a huge verbal vocabulary. His teachers who know that reading/writing is struggle for him are amazed b/c he uses higher level vocabulary in conversation than they expect him to have based on his reading. But he will not recognize half those big words on the page. That frustrates him. It confounds me, too, when he brings me the books, "What's this word?" b/c I've heard him use the word, correctly, for years! But when he follows along with the CD, he gets so much more of the vocabulary, it's very instructive. He is also just a verbal learner. He can read a story on his own and recall next to nothing. But if he hears it, he knows every detail. So this combination makes sense for him. My 9 y/o DD, sheesh, I'd have to pay her NOT to read! A "special treat" for her is a trip with me to the library or, better yet, bookstore! I hope her interests stays this strong. I just gave my DS 39 Clues, a mystery series that comes with cards with passwords to go online to supplement the mystery solving in the story. I don't know how it is yet, I literally gave it to him as walked out the door to school this a.m. and I have not read it yet myself. But I think it's an interesting idea, especially for less willing readers who do like computers (is there a kid who doesn't?). The school librarian has recommended a series called The Olympians, by Rick Riordan. The first one is called The Lightning Thief. Children of Olympic gods/goddesses are alive and living normal lives today, except they have to save the world. This appeals to me b/c of the allusions to classic mythology, a very good thing to be familiar with. Yet I'm told kids love the books b/c they are witty. Actually, classic mythology is in our school's reading curriculum in middle school, so it gets bonus points for me. Myself, I love the kids books by Carl Hiaasen, Hoot, Flush and the latest, Scat. I think they are hilarious! The misfit kids discover the "bad guys" plotting a crime against the environment and break a few small rules to prove it (like skip school, sneak out). It always ends well, lessons learned by all, and the bad guys especially get some punishment. The best irony! But be warned, parents who expect really clean books for their kids, there are some 4-letter words and misbehavior. It does not bother me b/c I think the books are too much fun to read, and it does work out well in the end. Also, they are excellent ways to talk about character development, descriptive settings, irony, foreshadowing, and more, on a kids' level. They are great to read together and talk about, there are good topics for discussion and humor to just enjoy together. Jerry Spinelli, another really good author to know for middle grade readers. Kids love him, topics they can relate to, funny, and not usually too long. But look at the summary, b/c of the topics, some books are for more mature readers than others. Some are great for 4th grade, some better for 8th grade. Remember kids really do learn a lot from reading fiction. Not just vocabulary and spelling. But they pick up great information (like the mythology stuff, or in Hiassen's books, geographic details about the environment) that they will store away in their minds. What they learn from good fiction will help them across the curriculum. (Yes, I'm a middle school reading teacher, I'm just not working these days.)

books to be read to - I do not have much experience with this, but I know when I read to my friends three year old, he seems to enjoy interactive books and books that he has to find/do things in. But I would think for the little older to be read to's Shel Silversteins poetry collections Where the Side walk Ends and A light in the Attic - the funny poems and illustrations appealed to me at that age (lol and still to this day) books for young readers (6-10 ish) - Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary. These are wonderful books! The next two were harder, as I tried to base them on more modern books. I ended up picking the two that were my nephews favorites that we read and discussed when he was that age. He didnt enjoy reading, but read these two several times. books for young teens - The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. This is a great book for kids who like the horror genre, but arent ready for Stephen King :) I believe the reading age is 10 and up, and I believe we read this when he was around 12. A wonderful story about a boy that is bored with his life and ends up at Mr. Hoods Holiday House, where all the seasons pass in a day and you can do and have everything your heart desires - for a price. books for older teens, young adults - Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson. This is an amazing book for people of all ages, although it is geared specifically towards YA. It is a great story about the struggles a young man must face with his brothers after his mother dies. Wanted to put a Jack London book on here, but was not sure if that would be considered a childrens book, even though I read it when I was quite young (10 or 12 I think)

THE 3,000 MILE GARDEN Two professional gardeners, one British, the other American, having met at a New Hampshire "mushroom foray," continue to share their gardening adventures in this delightful collection of their letters. Journalist/author Land (The Modern Country Cook) has country gardens in Cushing, Maine, and upstate New York; Phillips, a prolific writer/lecturer and plant photographer (Quest for the Rose), gardens by committee in London's three-acre city park at Eccleston Square. The difference in their situations intrigues them both and is instructive. They exchange discoveries about climate, garden design, rare and common cultivars, soils, mulches, pests and numerous other details of concern to gardeners. They spice their letters with botanical myth and gossip, bits of local history and geography and custom, and compare favorite recipes for their edible plants. Among other titillations, Phillips tells her how he heated a ham in mulch, and Land describes her experiments with diluted urine as a greening agent. But every page in this chatty, exuberant book is a feast of tips and surprises whose abundance and utility well serve any gardener. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal Land is an American food writer who gardens; Phillips is a London-based plant photographer and writer who cooks. The two met in 1989 at a mushroom bash in New Hampshire and began a conversation that was too good to end. They continued it by mail. The resulting letters, through 1994, make up a book that is an exchange of ideas, drawings, practical tips, recipes, and personal tidbits. The correspondence is also the basis of a public television series that will air beginning in December of this year. Of particular interest are Phillips's references to the garden squares of London. We learn a bit about their history, the committee that oversees them, and the assaults on them by builders of high rises and car parks. Land's garden is in Maine, and the reader enjoys following her struggles with weather, soil, and terrain. The letters, witty and entertaining, are unfortunately published with no linking narrative, leaving gaps and unanswered questions. Though not an essential purchase, this book nevertheless will be enjoyed where anglophilic gardeners or public television fans are numerous. Carol Cubberley, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

When I look over the week, my biggest challenge is getting enough protein in my diet and Omega 3 fats (I don’t like fish); I am doing pretty well in the other categories. Occasionally I resolve to start working on my rusty French but that impulse is usually short-lived and I start getting messages that I am ”making Duo sad.” I do the Spelling Bee and Letter Box daily, the crossword, and games on other apps like sudoku and my favorite word search. I also play free cell solitaire several times a day and read, and I do enough volunteer work managing committees and projects that I am satisfied I’m doing as much problem solving as I reasonably can. And yet I am still losing the occasional word or forgetting to put something on the calendar ….. consternation ….. Socially I could probably cut my activity in half and still be in good shape. Between hobbies (painting, choral singing, golf) and volunteering and church and our family I sometimes need to just sit on the porch and turn off my phone and pretend I’m not home. These are all people and activities for which I am very thankful but I believe we need as much alone time as social time. In terms of physical fitness I am still a work in progress 🙄 I walk our dogs daily, go to the gym twice a week for the elliptical, and play golf a couple of times a week. I have been practicing balancing on one foot and then the other, and getting up off the floor using no hands. My arms have more strength than my hands (arthritis) so even though I can carry almost anything necessary I still sometimes need help opening jars! The dentist is a quarterly appointment for me, and I see my GP and an endocrinologist every six months. Dh is making an appointment for me with a neurologist for some baseline testing for cognitive decline; I want some line in the sand established that any further test can be measured against. My mother is starting to slip at almost 93 but ALL her five sisters died with Alzheimer’s, as did DH’s mother. IMHO by the time you fail the annual screening and cannot draw a clock face or remember three words you’ve lost valuable months when you could have been on medication to slow the disease. Thanks to everyone for following along this week. I agree it was not especially interesting and no groundbreaking material was presented. However the reminders and clarifications are helpful and I hope we keep that brain health recipe thread going—thanks again for that Bbstx!