By Trishia Van Orden
One of the hardest things about summer break is finding ways to entertain the kids. Many times, children end up spending too much time in front of the TV during the summer instead of interacting with others, playing, and learning. TV today has many shows and movies which are based off of books. Many times these shows and movies have extra and missing scenes that do not do the book justice. Sometimes the extra scenes have inappropriate language, sexuallity, and extreme violence that can be harmful to children and teenagers.
While finding activities may be a little intimidating, the end results are worth it. Children who have spend less time in front of the television are healthier and more satisfied with life. They also tend to have stronger friendships and less behavioral problems. One thing that parents can do to encourage growth and conversation with their children over the summer is by reading books together. Here is a list of some great books that have been made into movies or shows.
Hidden Figures By Margot Lee Shetterley
Anne of Green Gables By Lucy Maud Montgomery
Secretariat By William Nack
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory By Roald Dahl
Matilda By Roald Dahl
Winnie The Pooh by A.A Milne
Diary of a Wimpy Kid By Jeff Kinney
Ender’s Game By Orson Scott Card
The Hunger Games Series By Suzanne Collins
The Maze Runner Series By James Dashner
Eragon By Christopher Paolini
Seabiscuit By Laura Hillenbrand
Chronicles of Narnia By C. S. Lewis
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Book Thief By Markus Zusak (Some Offensive Language)
Why not choose a book as a family and set a small amount of time aside to read each day. Challenge each other to read a certain amount of pages or chapter. Then set some time to discuss what you read! Some things that you can discuss are:
- Difficult Words
- Events from the book that were shocking, interesting, fun, silly, etc.
- Similarities and differences between the book and the show/movie (if seen)
- What you think will happen next and why
- What you would do in the protagonist’s situation
- The moral of the story
You will find that the more time you spend interacting with each other the stronger you family bond will become and the more fun you will have. The most important thing to remember is to have fun and smile. You can do this!
