Since I have a son who is crazy about books, I’m always looking for ways to include his love for reading in family activities. Recently he picked up a Goosebumps book, and has since fallen in love with the series.
Now I’m especially glad that Goosebumps is so popular that everyone in his class knows it. Peer pressure can sometimes work in their advantage, that’s for sure. Not only do they all know the books, but the series as well. I managed to find a few DVDs for Christmas, and he absolutely loves them.
With there being both books and a TV show, we’ve come up with an excellent activity to do together. First he reads the book and talks about it. Next we locate the show that goes with it (I have Netflix, and have put a few of those on my list), and then talk about the differences.
At school in years to come he’ll have tons of boring book reports to do, so I don’t make him write anything down. But the discussion of something he’s interested in makes for an excellent learning experience that he won’t be bored with.
I’ve also done this with my daughter (who’s just starting to read) with the Barbie and the Diamond Castle. She got the movie and book both for Christmas, and we watched the movie first. When we read the book, she helped read the story because she recognized some of the names and places.
So with my son it’s book first, then show, helping his comprehension skills. With my younger daughter it was movie first then book, helping with her reading skills. And finding something they are interested really does make all the difference. 
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- After School Activities: What's Too Little?
