Not one more day

Today I watched one of the saddest videos I have ever seen. In an excerpt from the Champion of Choices DVD, bereaved mother, Amy Briggs of New York told the world about her son, Daniel.

Daniel was a loving and caring young man, who had been bullied horribly at school for most of his life. His mom talked about how he helped a neighbor who had cancer until he died, then carried on assisting the man's wife after she was widowed. He was, for all accounts, a good kid.

But like so many good kids, he became a target for bullies at his school. And when he could no longer take it, he decided to take his own life.

Briggs wept as she told of how her son lost hope, and after a particularly awful text message from a classmate, decided to end it all. She shared how her son told people at school, and even the bus driver on his way home, but no one listened. No one did anything.

This bereaved mother told her son's story, begging viewers not to let the same thing happen to anyone else. "Do something," she said. Don't just stand by and let someone you know become a victim of suicide.

I see so many posts, at least a half dozen every single week, from moms whose children are being tortured by bullies at school. They are on the fence about homeschooling, asking for advice about whether they should pull their kids out of school.

I don't know if homeschooling might have saved the life of Daniel Briggs, or so many other young people who have committed suicide after years of being bullied in school. But I think if your child is being bullied, and you are worried about them, you should follow your instincts and do something. Don't depend on classmates, or teachers, or even counselors at school to save your child. 

Don't wait. Not one more day. Do something before it is too late. 

Sneak peek at The Unplanner, available by June 1

I've been putting together organizers for myself for years, including the pages I need to record all the important information about what we did, and leaving out all the superfluous blanks that I knew I would never fill out anyway. These streamlined organizers allowed me to do a little light planning, but not so much that it bogged me down and left me feeling defeated. 

My Unplanners, as I called them, gave me a place to write down what we did each day, in brief, and to record attendance. And I always included extra space for writing about our many field trips and adventures, because that's the part I want to remember the most.  

This year, at the regional homeschool convention, several moms told me that if I were to customize an affordable Unplanner for the number of kids in their families, that they didn't have to print out and have bound, they would buy them in a heartbeat. I thought, why not?

So here's a sneak peek at the cover of The Unplanner, this one customized for one student. I'll also have customized versions available for use with two to six students by June 1. 

The Unplanner covers the months of July 2015 through July 2016. That's right, I included a whole extra month because I know we're not all organized enough to have a new planner ready to go the day the old one runs out.

I understand that too much planning can lead to stress, anxiety and even feelings of guilt, especially for new homeschoolers. You don't need that!

The Unplanner has all the pages you need, and none of the ones you don't, so you'll never feel like you're a failure at planning again. Look for it in my store or on Amazon by June 1!

Free video lessons on the periodic table

You're going to want to share this post with all your homeschooling friends, especially those who are about to start teaching physical science or chemistry.

I was a bit of a chemistry nut. I spent the summer of my eighth grade year auditing a chemistry class at the local university, and the next summer volunteering as a lab assistant for a professor who knew how to get students excited about science.

I think most kids like chemistry, because its fun! Things change colors and explode, liquids become solids or gases, and everything happens right before your eyes. It's like magic, but with the answers right there at your fingertips if you're just willing to learn the secret formulas.

Parents are often afraid to teach chemistry, though, and this can lead to their kids being scared to learn. You don't want your kids to be afraid to learn about chemistry. You want them to be excited. Well, I just stumbled across a free tool that can help both you and your kids get excited about chemistry, one remarkable element at a time.

A team from the University of Nottingham put together a set of videos and lessons on the TED-Ed platform featuring the elements of the periodic table. They're called Periodic Videos. Starting off with a boom, you and your kids can learn all about hydrogen, the smallest element, and work your way through the periodic table one at a time until you've learned about them all.

I just finished watching the videos for hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, three of the most important elements in our world, and even after years of chemistry classes, I actually learned a thing or two I didn't know before.

If you register on TED-Ed, you and your students can take quizzes and learn even more after watching the videos. And it's all free! This resource would be a great way to introduce young kids to the periodic table, even before they are proficient readers, and a terrific supplement to any chemistry curriculum you are using for older students.

Please share this free resource with other homeschoolers, especially those who are feeling nervous about teaching science. It's just one of the many ways they can have fun with chemistry while educating their kids at home.

Free grammar and spelling lessons on Facebook

Sometimes free resources just fall into your lap, as did this little unexpected lesson in grammar and spelling correction I found on Facebook.

A woman in Wills Point, Texas made an angry post about a formerly homeschooled student who was selected as this year's valedictorian. According to her post, the senior had been in the public school system for two years before being chosen as the valedictorian, and that angered some in the town. The principal even reportedly protested the award, refusing to announce the young man as valedictorian.

According to this poster and other Facebook users from the Wills Point area, the school board will consider the situation, and possibly the principal's continued employment, at a meeting scheduled for May 28.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to let my own homeschooled students use the post as a free grammar and spelling lesson, because learning to recognize and correct errors is an important language arts skill. I recommend printing the gems you find on Facebook for your own children to correct. You can't beat free lessons that just keep on coming!

UPDATE:

Fun with fungus!

It's been a very rainy week in Oklahoma, but today the sun came back out and, of course, we got outside. One of the first things my daughter noticed in the back yard was something reddish brown growing on a dead branch in the walnut tree.

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's some kind of fungus," I replied.

"What kind is it?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know. I'm not a fungus expert," I said, much to her disappointment.

But of course, as a biologist I love an opportunity to explore science and nature, so I grabbed the camera and a ladder and we took a few pictures and collected a sample. Some of the fungus was slimy, but most of it had a smooth, velvety exterior with a gelatinous middle.

 

The fungi ranged in size from small, firm, cup-shaped structures about 1 cm in diameter to larger structures, maybe 10 cm across, droopy and slimy. The medium sized structures were shaped a lot like ears.

Not knowing much about mushrooms ourselves, and without an expert to turn to, we decided to look them up online. Our main goal was to identify the fungus. We found a couple of dichotomous keys, which we were able to use to narrow our search, and then we started looking through photos and descriptions of different species, until we found what seemed to be a good match.

We think the fungus we found is Auricularia auricula, a common jelly fungus known as the Jelly Ear, which can be found growing on decaying hardwood in much of North America. The characteristic ear shape, along with the gelatinous structure and other features suggest we are on the right track.

After more than two hours of research, we went back out to take down the ladder, and we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this fungus as the afternoon sun shone through and lit it up like something fairies would be proud to call their own.

Next, we're writing to Michael Kuo, who is a fungus expert, to see if maybe he will help confirm our identification. It was his website, MushroomExpert.com, that we found most useful in researching the fungus we found. I'll post an update if we get a reply.

All in all, it was a very fun day, spent doing some unexpected scientific research, learning about how dichotomous keys work, learning more about all sorts of beautiful fungi in the world and having yet another unplanned learning adventure!

Happy Mother's Day! You're AMAZING!

To all the homeschooling mothers out there, let me just take a moment to say how amazing you are. You're doing something incredible for your kids, way above and beyond what society expects from you. You're taking on a job most parents willingly turn over to others, because you believe it's what is best for your children.

Whether you are homeschooling to accommodate your child's academic needs, to keep them away from bullies, to give them a chance to spend more time with their family, to protect their health or for any of a million other good reasons, you deserve a little recognition and appreciation.

Sure, the rewards of homeschooling are great! Yes, you are enjoying the gifts of time and closeness with your children you might otherwise miss. But you are also accepting so much additional work and responsibility. And chances are, most days you do it all with grace and a sense of humor, and most of all, love.

Keep up the great work, homeschool moms. Happy Mother's Day!

Gardening with your kids

This week, my kids and I spent some time in the garden, planting seeds, pulling weeds and chasing our puppy out of the flower beds. Kids like to help out in the garden, especially when helping means getting dirty and working with grown-up tools, and gardening together can be a terrific learning experience.

Of course, sometimes it is easier to just do the job yourself and tell your children to go play and stay out of the way, but you may be missing a great opportunity. The garden is a perfect place to involve kids. There are so many lessons to be learned, and so many ways children can help out in the garden and make your job easier. Here are a few ideas to help you get started.

My first book is finished!

Well, I have been working extra hard this month to finish up my book before the OCHEC homeschool convention in Tulsa. I am so excited to say, it's complete and has been published!

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read my book for free. If not, it's just $3.99 for the e-book, which is available right now, or $5.99 for the paperback, which will be available shortly from CreateSpace and also on Amazon.

You don't have to have a Kindle to read the e-book. A free app is available on Amazon so you can read it on all sorts of computers and mobile devices.

I would love for you to check out my first book. Please visit my store and share the link with all of your homeschooling friends, especially those who suffer from planner anxiety like I do. I hope that by writing about my own journey to homeschooling success, I can help others to embrace their own skills and limitations, to become more flexible and to enjoy educating their kids at home as much as I have these past several years.

Because He lives

Happy Easter, everyone!

I grew up on old time gospel music, and one of my favorite songs is "Because He Lives." You might be familiar with the song, but if not, here is the chorus...

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

More than once, I have sung this song through tears, laying whatever burdens I was carrying at the time at the feet of the cross. It's particularly meaningful to me at Easter, because I believe Jesus does indeed live, and I believe He does hold the future, and no matter what trials or difficulties we may be facing today, He is in control.

Sometimes it's hard to carry on without fear, especially when life throws big hurdles in our way. I've been there. I guess maybe we all have in one way or another.

One of the families I care most about in the world spent their Easter this year in the hospital with their 3-year-old little boy, who is just a few months into his battle with leukemia. I would like to ask all who read this, please say a prayer for Sean and his family, or read his story and send them your positive thoughts. You can also consider donating blood in Sean's name, which will not only help the local recipient of your blood, but will also help offset the costs of Sean's treatment.

Thank you so much.

Catch me at the convention!

I'm so excited, and more than a little bit nervous, to announce that I will be speaking at a homeschool convention this year! That's right, the Unplanned Homeschooler will be presenting a workshop at the OCHEC convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 24.

My workshop, entitled, "Planning for the Unplanned Homeschooler," will be all about how to embrace your own personality, accept whatever organizational difficulties you may have and work with your strengths to become a totally successful homeschooler.

I would love to see as many of my readers as possible at the OCHEC convention, not only because it would be great to see friendly faces in the crowd, but because it's always a fantastic place to learn about homeschooling, hear encouraging speakers and see some of the latest curriculum and products on the market.

But I know many of you are too far away to make it to Tulsa, so I just encourage you to look for an awesome homeschool convention near you, and please keep me in your prayers, that I would be able to help some of the disorganized, unplanned homeschoolers who are winging their way toward success in Oklahoma this year!

How I helped my reluctant writer with Rory's Story Cubes

As a homeschooler, I am always searching for things that will help my kids get excited about learning. A few years ago, I stumbled upon an awesome tool to help my son become a better writer. My son is a reluctant writer. He has no trouble telling fantastic stories all day long, but when he has a pencil in hand his mind gets stuck. Using Rory’s Story Cubes, my son was able to break through his writer’s block and come up with a fictional tale that won him second prize at a regional writing contest.

What are Rory’s Story Cubes?

Rory’s Story Cubes are dice with pictures of odd things printed on the faces. There are nine cubes, each one with six unique faces. Some of the pictures include an alien head, flames, directional arrows, a foot, and an airplane.

You roll the dice, a few or all of them, and then make up a story based on what pictures pop up. You can play alone or with a group, and the possibilities are endless.

How does this game help reluctant writers?

Sometimes all a child needs is a good idea. Children have wild imaginations, and these dice are just vague enough that they can take a story in almost any direction. Once your kid picks one or two of the dice as a starting point, it is easy to follow the rest and make up an interesting tale.

Is this a game or a learning tool?

Rory’s Story Cubes are a game, but there is no winner or loser. There are no points to be tallied or prizes to be won. The whole point of the game is to just let imaginations run free and have fun. Players can take turn making up whole stories, or take turns telling parts of a story using a new die for each twist in the plot.

Best of all, you can now expand the learning and fun with additional packs that weren't available when we first found the game, such as the Actions pack, the Voyages pack and even an Enchanted pack for lovers of fairy tales.

Who can use this tool? 

The dice are a choking hazard, so small children should not use them unaccompanied by an adult. Other than that, anyone can use Rory’s Story Cubes to play or to learn. The cubes are all covered in pictures, so even a preschooler can look at them and make up a story. The whole game can fit in your pocket, so it can really go anywhere. Our whole family enjoys playing the game, and the kids like using it to write stories.  It’s a great game for all ages.


(This post contains affiliate links to the products described.)

When your husband is not on board with homeschooling

Lately I have been seeing so many posts online from distraught moms whose husbands either don't want them to start homeschooling or want them to put their kids back in public school. They are begging for encouragement and advice on how to move their husbands' hearts.

This has to be one of the hardest situations to find yourself in as a wife and mother. You're torn between wanting to stand united with your husband in one of the most important parenting decisions you can make, and needing to address your child's physical, emotional and academic needs. Frankly, there aren't any easy answers. But there are some important factors to consider.

Happy Pi Day!

What did you do today, Pi Day 2015? You're probably aware that this was the biggest Pi Day of our lifetime, and if you managed to do something significant to celebrate the occurrence of 3/14/15 with your friends and family, congratulations! You were wise enough not to let a very cool occasion pass you by.

Our local homeschool group celebrated the greatest Pi Day of the century with a sock hop and pie supper. The kids dressed in poodle skirts and rolled jeans with lots of great music from the 50s and 60s.

We had such a blast, rocking and rolling and twisting the night away, and best of all, we raised money to help benefit the local senior citizens center. It was an event the kids will always remember.

This was definitely the best Pi Day of my lifetime. I hope you enjoyed it, too!

Entertaining the kids when you're snowed in at home

The schools around here have been out quite a bit lately for snow days. Last week, we got so much slippery precipitation, we stood out in the front yard and watched a truck try to make it up our hill and slide back down three times before the driver gave up. And we live in the middle of town!

These snowy days are either dreaded or beloved by most families, depending on your point of view. Whether they are an unexpected day off to be celebrated or an unwanted challenge, snow days are definitely a change in the routine for those who live in typically warmer climates.

If your kids are stuck at home, indoors, because it is either too cold, too icy or too wet to be outside, you might be at a loss as to how to keep them entertained. As a homeschooler, I’m lucky. We tend to just do extra school work on bad weather days so we can take off when it’s nice outside.

But we do still get bored when it's too cold and wet to do much more than set foot outside, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve for entertaining the kids when we are confined indoors and tired of working on school.

When chaos hits too close to home

Last night, my 13-year-old son had a traumatic experience I hoped none of my kids would have to endure. He took our new puppy outside to potty before bedtime and after just a minute came running back in through the back door, his head down, eyes full of terror and clutching the puppy in his arms.

"Oh my God!" he cried out! "I heard gunshots and someone was screaming to call the police!"

I hadn't heard the shots or the screams, because I was running the

Goodbye, puppies

There were lots of tears this afternoon. Tears of sadness because we're going to miss the dogs that have consumed so much of our time and attention these last couple of months, and tears of happiness because we are so thankful that they are headed toward happy homes.

Today was the big day, the day the volunteers from the Humane Society came to pick up Blue and all but one of the puppies for their transport to a Chicago area rescue. We knew the day would come when we'd have to say goodbye, but we had no idea how much we'd fall in love with the dogs in such a short time.

From practically the moment Blue showed up in December, our lives were changed. Fostering a pregnant stray and her puppies was hard work and expensive, but they needed a safe home and the experience was memorable and amazing in so many ways.

An unexpected geography lesson

Last week, when my 7-year-old daughter came running up to me with a rock from my mom's garden, exclaiming, "It looks just like that state! The green one!" I knew exactly what she meant.

"Nevada!" I answered, with equal enthusiasm. "It looks like Nevada!" And it did.

We'd been playing Scrambled States of America (affiliate link), one of my kids' favorite games, a few nights before, and when my daughter spotted this particular rock, she remembered the shape of the state it resembled and the discovery excited us both.

Of course I have an atlas!

Remembering that I had an atlas in the van, I went and got it and gave it to her, asking if she'd like to look for more rocks that look like states.

"Yes!" she exclaimed and ran off, rock and atlas in hand to search for more.

By the end of the afternoon, she'd found at least half a dozen states, and wanted to keep looking, but it was getting too chilly and the sun was going down, so I promised to take her and her siblings down to the creek the next day to continue the search.

A whole week of geography

The next day, I printed a copy of the map from the Scrambled States game and then we went to the creek that borders my parent's pasture. There we spent a good part of the afternoon searching the banks for more rocks that resembled states, finding another dozen or so that were excellent approximations.

My daughter was so happy with her finds, she asked if she could paint the rocks to match the states on the map.

"Sure!" I said, really amazed that she'd managed to essentially come up with a whole unit study on geography all on her own.

We'd be working on learning about states for at least a week, maybe more, and she'd have some pretty cool souvenirs to keep for a long time to come.

"This is homeschooling," I thought. What had been a day off from planned studies turned into an amazing learning experience encompassing geography, reading and art that I would have never thought to introduce, but those unplanned homeschooling adventures are the very best part of this form of education.

Eagles and owls on hatch watch

One of our favorite things to do is watch live nest cams to observe birds in the wild. We've watched hummingbirds, eagles and owls for the past few years, and it's been so exciting to see the birds grow from hatchlings to fledglings right before our eyes.

A bald eagle I caught in flight behind my parents' house a few years ago.

Right now, two very popular bird cams are on hatch watch, with viewers eagerly awaiting the appearance of baby owls and eagles in Oklahoma and Georgia.

The OKC Owl Cam features an owl family in its fourth year nesting on a ledge on a homeschooling family's house in the Oklahoma City area. You can see what those birds are up to by clicking here.

The Berry College Eagle Cam features a pair of bald eagles in their fourth year of nesting on campus in a tall pine tree. You can watch the eagles day and night by clicking here.

Don't wait too long to check out these amazing bird cams. You'll be thrilled to see feedings in the nest, parents taking off and landing, and young birds growing toward maturity over the coming weeks. These live cams are an incredible resource for homeschoolers or anyone interested in learning more about birds.

Do you have a favorite wildlife cam? Please share it in the comments so we can check it out, too!

They'll never be this little again

Ever since the puppies were born, right after Christmas, time has seemed to fly by more quickly than ever. Those wriggly little creatures have grown from pocket-sized pups to the size of bowling balls in just a matter of six weeks, and in another two weeks they'll be off to new homes, hopefully with families who will love them forever.

One of the lessons my kids are learning through this experience is to savor every moment, because the wonderful times of our lives always go by more quickly than we'd like.

I learned that lesson when my twins were born. Although they grew considerably slower than puppies, the days still zoomed by, leaving me crying melancholy tears as I packed away clothes they'd outgrown each season.

Year after year, as they grew from infants to toddlers, to preschoolers, to big kids and now teenagers, the same thought has tortured my heart: They'll never be this little again.

My 13-year-old son is millimeters away from outgrowing me,

his twin sister can steal my sweaters and my shoes,

and my youngest, born so tiny just seven years ago, will be big enough to ride even the tallest slides at the water park this year!

My babies, like the puppies, are growing up too fast. But we've taken time this month to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather together, and to build some incredible new memories.

Let our unplanned adventures with the puppies inspire you to slow down and relish life with your own kids. Don't get so wrapped up in the day to day grind that you forget how precious these moments are. Enjoy your kids, and snatch up every chance you get to enjoy them while they're however big they are today.

Are you a lonely mom?

How do you meet people and make new friends?

That was the question I kept asking myself. For years I was a very lonely mom, wondering how I could make friends and develop relationships when all the other moms I met were either too busy to hang out or seemed to already have all the friends they needed.

I loved being a mom, and was thrilled to be able to stay home with my kids, but I felt so isolated without friends to hang out with. My college friends had all gone in different directions over the years, and my closest mom friend was hours away. Although we talked on the phone just about every day, it didn't make up for the loneliness I felt.

Isolated by circumstance

My twins were preemies, born during RSV and flu season, and their doctor insisted that I keep them home, away from germs as much as possible. So I didn't get out of the house much when they were babies. By the time they were active toddlers, it felt like I was outnumbered by far more than two to one whenever I tried to take them out anywhere without my husband or another adult. Besides, it was hard to find mommy and me type activities that were welcoming to mothers of multiples.

I thought that when they started preschool, I would meet other moms, schedule play dates and build some lasting friendships. But it didn't happen.

How to start a local homeschool group

Around five years ago, I decided to start a homeschool group in my community. There was a co-op that met nearby, but I wanted more of an a la carte style group, where people could participate in the activities that interested them and skip the ones they didn't without making a year long commitment.

The response was slow, but we soon grew to several families. Over time, dozens of families joined us, some staying and others moving on, until eventually we grew to a thriving group with nearly 100 families with no sign of slowing down.

Just a small fraction of the families in our group today.

Homeschooling is steadily growing all across the United States, with well over 2 million estimated homeschooled students today and continued growth expected. There are homeschool groups in most large communities across the country, and many areas offer more than one. Even rural areas often have at least one local homeschool group within an easy drive.

If you live in an area without a homeschool group, or the selection of nearby groups is simply not a good fit, you may be considering starting your own. Starting a homeschool group is not so hard, but it will take some patience and dedication. Here are some things to consider.

Puppy update - 4 1/2 weeks and 5 pounds!

The puppies are growing so fast, I can't even believe it. It's so much fun to watch them develop. Since the last update, they've gone from just barely toddling around to running all over the yard and climbing anything they can reach with their strong front paws.

It's hard to get six active puppies in one photograph!

At four and a half weeks old, they weighed in at around five pounds each, give or take a few ounces. The kids got to practice a little bit of math as they stepped on and off the scale, with and without a puppy in hand, to find out how much they weighed. It's very tricky to get a puppy to stand still on a bathroom scale all by itself, you know!

I thought I would share some photos with you and tell you about how the puppies' personalities are developing. Of course, those evolve daily, too.

Here they are, from smallest to biggest...

How to throw a homeschool Valentine's Day party

Each year one of the biggest events my homeschool group holds is our Valentine’s Day party. Parents, and even some of the kids, fondly remember Valentine’s Day parties from their days in public school and thoughts of pink frosted cupcakes, candy hearts and boxes full of valentines stoke their excitement.

From the moment our party was announced this year, families began submitting their RSVPs. Building on the success of last year's party, we're carrying over several of the favorite activites and adding a few new ones as we move to a larger space.

Here are some of the things our homeschool group has done to create successful Valentine's Day parties. I hope these tips can help you have a memorable celebration, too.

Puppy update - three weeks old today

I don't have much to say today. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

It's about 60 degrees in Oklahoma, and we're playing outside with the puppies. 

They turned 3 weeks old today. 

Blue, the lucky little Australian cattle dog, seems very content to let us love on her puppies while she enjoys some time out in the sunshine. I think she's a happy girl!

Yes, you can teach science at home

Let's talk science! I've noticed that one of the subjects parents are most nervous about teaching at home is science. Whether it is because of the equipment needed to do laboratory science or the fact that many people had limited exposure to math and science in their own education, parents are often nervous about taking on the STEM subjects on their own.

But you don't have to be afraid to tackle science. In fact, homeschooling can be an incredibly effective way to explore the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math. 

Exploring, discovering, solving problems

According to Dr. Patricia Fioriello, “STEM education attempts to transform the typical teacher-centered classroom by encouraging a curriculum that is driven by problem-solving, discovery, exploratory learning, and require students to actively engage a situation in order to find its solution.”  

This type of exploratory learning is what kids do naturally when they are allowed to seek knowledge on their own.  Clearly, the engaged learning that is the goal of STEM education is possible to achieve at home, you just have to give your child access to the tools they need to learn.

Another unplanned learning adventure - PUPPIES!

When a sweet, but very timid young dog showed up at my folks' place a couple of weeks before Christmas, we didn't know what an amazing adventure would soon follow. This beautiful Australian cattle dog, or blue heeler, showed up in the field, hungry and cold but scared to approach the house. Eventually she was convinced that the people living there were kind.

Dogs are routinely taken out and dumped near rural farmhouses and on lonely country roads around here. It wasn't the first time a stray had stopped a while in the fields, but for whatever reason, it was the first time my parents decided, "This one's special."

But just days after they made their minds up that she could stay, it became very apparent that Blue was pregnant. Within another week and a half, the puppies arrived. 

Creating a cozy reading space for your child

I can't really say enough about the importance of reading. There are so many benefits that kids can reap, either by reading on their own or by being read to by a parent or loved one. Not only does reading help build cognitive and communication skills, it can also increase self-esteem and creativity, according to the Family Literacy Foundation. 

But how can you encourage your own kids to read more, especially if reading just isn't their favorite activity? One great way is to create a cozy reading space especially for your child. Here's how to do it right.