We are seeking lots of volunteers for this Saturday at the June 11th Reading Clubs. The summer months always present a special challenge to Reading to Kids, since our great college crowd is out of town for the summer. If you can join us, please click here to submit your RSVP to inspire kids this weekend!

You may not be aware that there are more than 2,500 people on our e-mail list -- if even 10% of these awesome volunteers can make it on June 11th, we'll have a full house! If your company has a newsletter or mailing list where you can inform people about Reading to Kids, please let us know and we'll send you the information you need to post this volunteer opportunity.

And remember, if you're a Gratts volunteer, get ready for a party! -- this June 11th we'll celebrate 6 Full Years of Reading to Kids at Gratts! The 5th graders graduating at this month's reading clubs are part of the first full Kindergarten class from 1999 that participated in the reading clubs. We'll have cake and prizes, and a huge raffle on Saturday for the kids (if you would like to donate any raffle prizes for the kids, feel free to bring them Saturday morning).

Book Drive with the Irene Vaksberg Salon!

A local business is doing big things to help Reading to Kids! Salon owner Irene Vaksberg has a history of supporting charitable causes, and now she's teamed up with Reading to Kids to put on a special month-long event: a book drive at her salon.

From now until June 30th, the Vaksberg Salon (at 7803 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA -- close to CBS studios) will be giving FREE HAIRCUTS in exchange for a donation of 3-5 new books.

In addition, hairdressers Irene Vaksberg and Andi Scarbrough will host a "Cut-a-thon" as the capstone event for this month of charitable work. The "Cut-a-thon" will take place all day June 26th and will be followed by a party and celebration with R2K volunteers, friends of the Vaksberg salon, and local artists in The Vaksberg Gallery, attached to the salon. Please join us for this party -- more details to come!

The "Do's" of Reading Aloud

Those lucky enough to have read Jim Trelease's excellent book The Read-Aloud Handbook will know the "do's" of reading aloud. For the rest of us, though, there's a helpful online resource with excerpts from Trelease's book. You can access them here.

Some of the "do's" you'll want to remember for next month's reading clubs are:

- "The most common mistake in reading aloud ? whether the reader is a seven-year-old or a forty-year-old ? is reading too fast. Read slowly enough for the child to build mental pictures of what he just heard you read." (Readers: go through the book once or twice and always take your time!)

- "Bring the author to life, as well as his book... Always read the information on your book's dust jacket. Either before or during the reading, tell your audience something about the author. Let them know that books are written about people, not by machines." (Readers: talk about other books written by the same author if you are familiar with them.)

- "Every once in a while, when a child asks a question involving the text, make a point of looking up the answer in a reference book with the child. This greatly expands a child's knowledge base and nurtures library skills." (Readers: if there's a map, globe, or dictionary in the classroom, use it!)

- "Use plenty of expression when reading. If possible, change your tone of voice to fit the dialogue. Adjust your pace to fit the story. During a suspenseful part, slow down, and lower your voice. A lowered voice in the right place moves an audience to the edge of its chairs." (Readers: don't be afraid to use voices, work with your partner to act out parts of the story, or act theatrical -- it's the best way to keep your class hooked!)

Please let us know what other resources, if any, you've found helpful in preparing you for your volunteering with Reading to Kids -- we'd love to share them with our other volunteers.

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Best,

Maryanna Abdo
Program Director
Reading to Kids
1600 Sawtelle Blvd, Suite 210
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-7455
(310) 479-7435 (FAX)
info@readingtokids.org