Remember when I told you guys that the psychologist who tested Leo recommended that we start logging his books? At the time, I mentally rolled my eyes because I live with this little fellow and I know he reads a lot of books. I have a huge amount of respect for the psychologist, however, and so I took her advice and started a Goodreads account for Leo that very week. Goodreads is so easy to maintain, you need only scan the book’s bar code into your phone and the book is logged. Voila! Goodreads is an easy way to keep a book log for your homeschool, and the log might surprise you!
It can be tough to keep up with a gifted child when it comes to reading. It can also be challenging to find books with appropriate content at his or her reading level. To assist with this, I love this book:
Parents of gifted kiddos: this is a must-have for your library!
I try to log all the books. He is always reading, leaving books in his wake. I’m always running to catch up with this little guy of mine. I know I don’t scan them all, folks. It’s an impossible task. That said, yesterday, we reached a remarkable milestone: Leo has read 1,000 books.
One thousand.
I am astounded, and I felt a post was in order. I said it before, but I’ll say it again: I highly recommend keeping a book log. It helps with homeschool record keeping, allows you to see patterns of interest, and is also helpful for those times you find yourself at the library without your little bibliophile. It can be tough to choose new books for these kids who are insatiable readers, and an online book log makes this task easier.
Follow My Little Poppies’s board Family Book Club @ My Little Poppies on Pinterest.
In my world, reading that many books is cause for celebration and so that’s just what we did this evening:
Tonight, we celebrated this guy and his love of the written word.
We baked some brownies and decorated them with sprinkles. Then we wrote out 1,000 with chocolate chips, lit a candle, and sang an impromptu Happy 1,000 Books to You before feasting on brownie goodness.
Schizz said, “You’re not actually going to post that photo, are you??” Whatever, Schizz! Martha Stewart I am not. They might not be the prettiest but they were tasty!
So, tell me folks… Do you maintain a book log for yourself or your children? Has it surprised you? What are you reading now? How do you celebrate books in your world? Share the book love here!
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There’s so much more to a book than just the reading.
~Maurice Sendak
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Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley
Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Raising Poppies, a community for parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.
Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool and GeekMom. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, and Scary Mommy. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
and G+.
Latest posts by Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley (see all)
- Celebrate Spring with Rabbit Books Your Kids Will Love! - February 27, 2017
- Coffee and Books: A 5-Day Series - February 23, 2017
- Around the World Stories: Stealth Learning at its Best - February 20, 2017
Congrats on the milestone!
After I read your last post about Goodreads, I started an account for this too but now I need to remember to use it. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. He’s so psyched. He’s big into the thousands now so it’s especially cool 🙂 I scan on the days I change sheets because all the books fall out 🙂
I never thought to use Goodreads for the kids! What a good idea! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Angie! It’s super easy 🙂
Wow! WooHoo! He is not even seven yet and he has read 1000 books! Impressive! He reads more than most adults by a landslide. lol Congratulations to Leo and I love your brownie cake. Probably because that is how mine would look. lol Hey, as long as it taste good, right? 😉
Thank you, Julie. The brownie cake was the ugliest yet most delicious bit of goodness 🙂 We typically don’t worry about the number of books but he’s been very interested in doing math with 1,000s lately so I mentioned he was close. We love to celebrate - even if it’s over something very ordinary like book reading 😉
Kristin Shaver says
I just started a Goodreads account for my little one. However, she wants to add everything (the scanner is the big hit). She even wants to add books that I am reading to her. I’m on the fence about that one. When I read to her, it is like my books on tape (for the car) which I would count among my books read. But, as a little kid, Goodreads can show us how HER reading is improving. What do you think?
Hi Kristin!
The scanner IS a big hit. I typically scan the books he has read independently, plus any chapter books that I’ve read aloud. I don’t count picture books unless he’s read them to his siblings for practice read aloud time. But there is no right or wrong way to do this. Even if you read the books to her, she was read aloud to- and read alouds are so important. If you want to use it to track her reading development, maybe she could create fun poster in her room with books she’s read with you? We did that one summer in Leo’s room. A long sheet on his closet door and we tried to fill it by summer’s end. It’s kind of fun keeping your very own poster. Not sure how it compares to scanning 🙂 Let me know whatever you decide!
Yes, after you posted about it on Facebook I got my son a goodreads account. He is up to 100 books so far this year.
I love this idea! I shared a link to this blog post on my FB page today. https://www.facebook.com/SWRTraining/
Thanks for the great suggestions, and congrats to your READER!
Thank you so much, Liz! <3