The kids are HOME for the summer and we just may need some fun summer day ideas. Well, the books we already own can give us all kinds of clever ideas to help us create sweet summer memories.

Each book on our shelves has some sort of theme or message. The plot revolves around this theme. It may be a value that the characters are learning or information about a specific and relevant topic.

For example, Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend is about making new friends: “Making new friends can be scary at first but being kind and helping others feel welcome is always the right move. Luckily, Blue knows just the thing to help his friends, old and new, feel at home! Little Blue’s “Beep!” was loud and clear: We are very glad you’re here!” After reading this story. and then getting ready to be with friends, we can prompt our kids to model exactly what we just read about! Beforehand, talk about what we can do to model “being a good friend”. Maybe even come up with a secret look or hand gesture to indicate, “Yes, I just did what good friend would do!” After the gathering, talk about what worked and what didn’t …. and how we can do even better in the future.

There is a message and theme day idea in almost every children’s book:

• Manners in Public by Carrie Finn: “Why do we have to wait in line? What should you say when the waiter brings your food? Find out how you can use manners in public.” This book is simple and effective. When my grandsons were here recently, they wanted to read it three times in a row! The scenes are real-life settings, with everyday scenanrios in which we can use good manners – or not. It’s such a good prompting for a day where we intentionally use excellent manners all day long. Then….. we start using those good manners every day, over and over again.

• The Icky Bug Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota: This book walks through the alphabet, featuring an insect (icky bug) for each letter, in a fun and colorful way: Ex.: “P is for Praying Mantis. It is called a Praying Mantis because it looks like it is kneeling and praying. Gardeners and farmers like them because they eat pesty bugs that are harmful to vegetables adn other plants.” The illustrations are bright, bold and beautiful. A day idea from this kind of book is to look for and document how many kinds of bugs you can find. Go out and dig in the dirt! Then, learn about them by looking up facts and using books, draw them, paint them, or build them with pipe cleaners and play dough! Ask the kids how to build them- they will come up with ideas we don’t even think of.

• The One Who Created by Nina Wheeling: “Each night, Maria snuggles close as her daddy reads, talks, and prays with her. But one evening, she asks a big question: “Who made everything….and how did it begin?” We can use this theme anywhere. Whatever setting we find ourselves in, we can point to God the Creator. If we’re camping, at the beach, at the lake, at home in the yard, or just driving by a construction site, we can ask: “Who made that vast ocean?” “Who made the milllions of stars?” “Who made all of that dirt?” “Who created those huge mountains?” “Who designed all of these colorful birds?” All day long, we can look for and NAME the things that God created- and teach our children that He created them for us.

We can look through the books we already have and think about what kind of theme days our little ones would enjoy. Even better, we can ask ourselves about how we can teach manners, have fun adventures, teach about creation and nature, and point them to the very One who put them in our care.

Thanks for reading. For more ideas of how we can BOOK TIME WITH OUR KIDS, please subscribe!

Philippians 4:8: ⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.