School Stuff

Right now Leanna is very interested in blue whales. They are learning about the ocean in school. Leanna seems to be having a much better year this year in school. I actually credit the summer reading program at the library with much of it. It really helped her to focus more. Though she still has problems with rushing through her reading and then not remembering what she read in class. But at home she has begun to read entirely on her own, meaning no prompting from me, it's entirely her choice. So thanks to american girl books, she's begun to pick up a little bit of history. Thanks to Justin's dinosaurs, she's learned a little science, etc. etc. I also think it really helped that she saw me reading too. After she saw me devouring a book (the last few Harry Potter's) she started reading the same way also. Not wanting to put her book down, reading at all times of day, being completely immersed in what she is reading. I'd sort of gotten out of the habbit of reading just for pleasure. Most of my reading has been done on the internet since I had the three boys practically back to back. I just didn't have the time for longer stuff.
I've seen several recent studies that show that your brain gets used to getting information the way it is on the net-in short bursts. It makes it difficult for you to do longer reading,(like a book) your attention span adjusts. You can fix this, it just takes a bit of time until your brain readjusts. I know this is true for me personally. It's something to watch out for with the kids, since they are growing up in a world where the internet is taken for granted as a source of entertainment and info. So hopefully all that reading she did this summer expanded her world a bit, kept her brain active over the summer and helped her attention span also!