Partially shoed son attempts to accelerate his chores
Promptly at 5:30 a.m., our children jump out of bed. We hear the quiet sounds of singing as they cheerfully get dressed, tidy their rooms, and begin their household tasks. They tiptoe up to our room with a wonderful homemade breakfast. With satisfaction we hear the vacuum running and enjoy the fresh scent of lemon cleaner as we sit in bed, reading books, and eating waffles made from scratch. Ha! Have we gone delirious? Yes. As any parent knows, getting children to work is serious work. In our home chore time brings a chorus of whining and complaining, sometimes accompanied by tears. Some children flee for the sanctuary of the bathroom. Others try the camouflage technique of blending into the couch and hoping we won’t notice. But we try to hold firm to our summer deadline – chores must be done by eleven a.m., and before they play with friends or do anything fun, chores must be complete.
Sometimes we feel alone in our efforts. Increasingly, parents around us don’t seem interested in fighting the battle. According to a survey by Braun Research in 2014, 82 percent of grown-ups said they had regular chores when they were growing up. However, only 28 percent reported asking their children to do them. But we still believe in chores. So far, science seems to be behind us. Numerous studies show the benefits of chores. Here are three advantages that could accrue to your young ones because of chores: 1. More Academic and Career Success: A 2002 study at the University of Minnesota found that young adults who began chores at ages 3 and 4 were more likely to have good relationships with family and friends and to achieve academic and early career success. The Harvard Grant study of 724 high-achievers found that “professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids … comes from having done chores as a kid.” 2. Better Mental Health: Yes, Eileen Kennedy Moore of Psychology Today tells us that chores increase a sense of well-being in children. And research by Andrew J. Fuligni and Eva H. Telzer suggests that children of varying ethnic heritages are actually happier when they participate in meaningful family tasks. 3. Stronger Adult Relationships: The 2002 University of Minnesota study mentioned previously also showed that children who participated in chores as children were more empathetic and had stronger relationships as adults. Is teaching your children to work a walk in the park? No. You will likely spend much more time ensuring that your children were working than if you just did the job yourself. But teaching children to do hard things will have its benefits. I love this quote by Joy B. Jones: “Wouldn’t we rather have them ‘sweat’ in the safe learning environment of the home than bleed on the battlefields of life?” And in your later years, as you watch them face the mountains of life, you will be glad that you had prepared them for the climb.
I realized that I have been dropping the ball with some of my younger children on reading. This is manifesting itself in their behavior at home and at school. If we want our boys (and girls) to learn kindness, honesty, and respect for others – where better than in the literature they read (and I lament the fact that many boys aren’t reading at all)? Over the years I have put a lot of effort into studying book lists and also learning what great men have read. Then I try to have these books available for my boys.
I have taught my children to read, and I have tried to read the Book of Mormon (which I consider to be the most valuable book they will ever read) through with each child.
It is often helpful if you want to raise a reader to have a reading requirement during the summer. It can be a time requirement or an amount. Here are some of the books that my boys and I have enjoyed over the years (please feel free to share your own favorites in the comments section).
One booklist that I really recommend is the Good and the Beautiful booklist which you can find on their website:
Young Reader
A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Alejandro’s Gift by Richard E. Albert
Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban
Big Moon Tortilla by Joy Cowley
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Gandhi by Demi
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
Katie and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Theis Raven
Mother Teresa by Demi
Noah’s Ark by Jerry Pinkney
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
So, You Want to Be President by Judith St. George
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
The Empty Pot by Demi
The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Little Match Girl by Jerry Pinkney
The Tortoise & the Hare by Jerry Pinkney
The Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
Tucky Jo and Little Heart by Patricia Polacco
The Children’s Book of Virtues by William Bennett
The Children’s Book of Heroes by William Bennett
ValueTale Series by Spencer Johnson M.D.
The Magic School Bus series
Other books my children this age have really enjoyed include atlases and non-fiction books about topics of interest to them.
Middle Reader
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullmann
Boys of Grit Who Became Men of Honor by Archer Wallace
Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Chocolate by Hershey: A Story About Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Foo and Ching by Phyllis Ayer Sowers
Gold Mountain by Gwendolen Lampshire Hayden and Pearl Clements Gischter
Henry’s Red Sea by Barbara Smucker
Hitch by Jeanette Ingold
It Began With a Parachute by William R. Rang
Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins
Li Lun: Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger
Little Britches and Man of the Family by Ralph Moody
New Boy in School by May Justus
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Our Man Weston by Gordon Korman
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Snow Treasure by Mary McSwigan
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
The Apple and the Arrow: The Legend of WIlliam Tell by Mary and Conrad Buff
The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, Young Reader’s Edition
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
The Golden Hawks of Genghis Khan by Rita Ritchie
The Journey of Ching Lai by Eleanor Frances Lattimore
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum
Through the Wall by Alida Sims Malkus
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
I Am (Scholastic series)
Leaders in Action (Series)
Little House on the Prairie (Series)
Nate the Great (Series) by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
The Landmark Books (series of historical fiction books)
The Hardy Boys (series) by Franklin W. Dixon
The Chronicles of Narnia (series) by C.S. Lewis
I Survived (series)
Tom Swift (series) by Victor Appleton. The old series is advanced but fun, there is also a new series for younger readers.
ValueTale Series
Advanced Reader
Aesop’s Fables
Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Duel in the Wilderness by Karin Clafford Farley
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Escape to Freedom Ruth Fosdick Jones
Five Hundred Dollars by Horatio Alger
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
Gifted Hands by Dr. Ben Carson
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates Mary Mapes Dodge
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Little Visits with Great Americans
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Ragged Dick; or Street Life in New York by Horatio Alger
Run to Glory: The Story of Eric Liddell by Ellen Caughey
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. Ed. by Clayborne Carson
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (there is a good abridged edition by Dover)
The Dragon and the Raven and other books by G.A. Henty
The Grasshopper Trap by Patrick F. McManus (all of his books are hilarious)
