Welcome to the 30 Days of Summer – Go-To Guide for Moms!
Day Twenty One
A school break can be an ideal time to read more books and watch more movies – and if you coordinate this kind of fun into a family activity, there may be far more benefits for your children than what first meets the eye. I wouldn’t say that I want y kids watching a bunch more movies, but stay with me here…….
Why not pick a book to read as a family, then take an evening to watch the movie and have a discussion regarding what was different in the movie versus the book? This could provide some incredible insight and talking points!
“Watching a movie gives children and adults an opportunity to discuss the content together, covering its events, dilemmas and moral implications,” says Dr. Andrea Pastorok, educational psychologist for Kumon Math and Reading Centers.
“Moreover, reading a book based on a movie provides opportunities to revisit the tale in another format. This combination sharpens both comprehension and decoding abilities, two of the most important skills for future academics and for life.”
Read the Book
Reading the book first is recommended so that children use their imagination to bring the story, characters and scenes alive. I love the idea of either reading the book on their own or perhaps depending on the ages of your children, you can read this as a family in the evening or perhaps during the end of dinner. If you have a trip coming up in the car, you could even listen to the book on audio.
Watch the Movie
After everyone has finished reading the book, grab the movie from the local library or online and have a fun family movie viewing event. Depending on the book, you could even create fun snacks that coordinate with the theme of the book.
Discuss
If the movie runs later in the evening, you may want to set up a different time to have a discussion about the difference in the book and movie. In addition, most story lines contain conflicts or problems. You can use these conflicts as points of discussion with your children. Talk about the conflict of the various characters by asking questions like, ‘How would you handle that situation?’ You can also ask which version of the story your child liked best, and why.
Here is a great list of books that have corresponding movies:
“Charlotte’s Web” Book and the Movie
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Book and the Movie
“The Wizard of Oz” Book and the Movie
“Pippi Longstocking” Book and the Movie – this one streams FREE on Amazon Prime!
“Alice in Wonderland” Book and the Movie – I found this older version with Cary Grant!
“A Wrinkle in Time” Book and the Movie
Any other good books you can think of?
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