#10 Make your own book on tape.

This summer I've heard, "Mom, what can I do?" more and more often. And I'm not going to say "Watch TV" or "You can play on the computer." What my son really wants is someone to do something with. Or is it that he wants something interactive to do? You might be thinking "Isn't that the same thing?" Well, I say it's not.

Of course I'd love to be able to sit down and read a book together every time he says this. But the truth of the matter is...I just don't have the time. And if your child is anything like mine, you'd probably be reading the same book over and over til you just can't take it anymore and late at night you have to hide his favorite book and hope he'll forget about it for awhile.

Every kid I know loves to sit down with an adult and read together. Now that MY son is able to read on his own, I find myself saying "Go read a book," when he asks "Mom, what can I do?" And the response isn't always what I'm hoping for, and his question sometimes get re-phrased as "Mom, what can I do with YOU?"

I know what he wants.

So, here's the plan. Next time you read his favorite book, set up the voice-recording device of your choice and record yourself as you read. Start the recording by identifying the book by title and after each page make a sound that indicates time to turn the page (ring a bell or make a click, whatever).

Now, when he asks for you to read "Frog and Toad Together" for the 31st time, you can say, "Go get your book and tape."

If you're going to do this on tapes, you may want to use ones with short sides so that you don't have to rewind so much. And another note: While you may want to use all the space on one side of a tape with several books, it's not as easy to find the book you want when you have to fast-forward through through others. I recommend recording one book per side and labeling them. Then, keep all your books-on-tape together in a place where your child can see them and get to frequently. From their perspective, it's alot funner than reading alone even if they are capable readers themselves. And the truth of it is, they DO follow along and read. It's great for both of you!