Resources for Parents

"I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage."
- Charles De Secondat

Tutorial
Getting Kids to Read

Tutorial

1: Obviously, this is the author's name. Each book is separated and organized under the author's information page. For instance, when you click on "The Princess Bride" from the Titles list, it will take you to William Goldman's page, since he was the author. This is a lot more compact then if we had given each book its own page.

3: At the head of each author page, there will be a quote from either the author themself, or from one of their books.

4: Quick, to the point, basic information about each other is listed directly below the quote. Birthdate, marriages, and death dates (if applicable) will be listed here for quick reference.

5: Short, concise biographies have been provided to help you understand where the author's coming from. More often then not, books include insight from the author's own experiences and hopefully we can shed some light on those with these short biographies, or by providing links to more extensive accounts of their life. 

6: Reference Tools: Pretty self-explanatory. This list will be like a map for the internet, making it easier to find information about specific topics, authors, or books. Each book will also have reference tools, but the will be specificly for the books, either lesson plans, notes, etc.  

7 & 8: Number seven is a listing of the book(s) that we have access to, or that we have reviewed. In some cases, only one of the authors works have been read and reviewed by the Calculo staff, but they are listed there to inform you that information will be coming as soon as one of the staff members can get to it. It's a long process to read, review, and collect information, but every single book on the list will be reviewed eventually.

10: It's important to know when a book was published, because in some cases, the book takes place in that time period, or it helps you understand a certain style of writing. That is why the first printing date is at the top.

11:  Again, pretty self-explanatory. These resources can range from lesson plans, to games. Under each link, there will be an explanation of the site, the services it offers, etc. Each site that is listed is reviewed and examined by a member of the Calculo staff to ensure it is 'safe' for families, fun, and useful.

12: Calculo Review is basically a review by a member of the staff who has (obviously) read the book. As we've said, each author section will have at least one Calculo review of one of their books, and each section will continue to be expanded until each of the author's works is reviewed.

13: This is the actual review, and yes, it is always more informative than "blah, blah, blah, yackety schmakety."

14: This is the signature of the reviewer. There are currently four people who review books for Calculo: Megora McGonagall, Liz Malfoy, Alex Granger, and Lindsay Tigerwand. Every review will be attributed to at least one of those people. 

15: This is a link back to the top of the page, obviously.

Getting Kids to Read

If you're lucky enough to be the parent of a Harry Potter fan, you probably don't have this problem. In some cases, you may have problems getting them to stop reading in order for them to do their homework. I'm afraid we can't help you there. All we can do is help your children broaden their literary horizons rather than having them just read Harry Potter for the umpti-umpth time. Here are a few quick tips for those parents out there whose children are afraid of literature.

1) Be supportive.
Be supportive of what they choose to read. If they want to read 'Kidnapped' instead of your favorite book, let them. As long as it's a classic (that's child-friendly, of course) let them enjoy it, and be supportive of it. Once they find books that they like, they'll look for more.

2) Take them to the library.
If your kids don't have access to books, how are they going to read? Take the time to take your child to the library. Set aside some time to go with your child, spend some time talking to them about what your favorite books were as a child, let them talk to you about other books that they're interested in. This could be a great bonding time between you and your child, and it may just open the doors of communication. The library can do wonderful things for relationships within the family.

3) Set up family reading traditions.
In the introduction of The Princess Bride, William Goldman, the man who wrote the Princess Bride, invented a story of how his grandfather read the book to him when William was only ten. Reading with or to your child builds even stronger bonds than just taking them to the library. Meg McGonagall, Senior Calculo, remembers fondly how her father used to read ten pages of Calvin and Hobbes to her as a bedtime story. She has decided when she gets married and has children of her own,  shewill read to her children as well. Come up with traditions now, whether your children are young or older. Read classics to them for bedtime stories. Borrow traditions from other people; for instance, Meg McGonagall has decided to borrow Goldman's made-up tradition of reading the Princess Bride to her children when they turn ten. Be creative, include yourself in your child's reading activities, and you will recognize the differences in your child's behavior, in communication, and in inter-family relationships.

4) Ask and you'll get an answer.
Find out what's on your child's Required Reading list for school, and take interest in it. You could read the same books, then discuss it with your children. If that won't work, just show a general, sincere interest in what they're reading. Your children want your attention and approval; talking about books is just an easy way to show them you care about what's going on in their life.

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