Great for Students AND your own Kids

At times I tend to be an NPR (National Public Radio) junkie (exciting I know), and I often get great ideas from their programs. Yesterday at lunch I came across a new program NPR created to celebrate kids' books. As I investigated further, I thought to myself, "This would be great for grade school and middle school reading, but also for those of us with kids at home!" So I thought I'd share.

It's called The Back-Seat Book Club. Starting in October on the PBS show All Things Considered, a new children's book and author will be featured each month. You can choose to read the book with your class or child/children, or you can go the NPR.org website for a link to the author's site where you can listen to the book online for free. You then have the option to join in the conversation with that book's author. Students can write the author and tell him or her what they thought about the book or ask the author questions about the book - a great way to get students and kids thinking and talking about what they've read.

I'm going to try to incorporate this into my daily Drop and Read time with my students. Perhaps you could try this in your classroom, or give it a go at home with your own kiddos. Just turn off the TV, sit, and listen together for 10 or 15 minutes in the evening. Give it a try!