I was inspired this morning by a post by my friend Tammy at The Resourceful Apple, she wrote a wonderful post about her boys and encouraging them to LOVE reading. I have two children in my house. Both are complete opposites:

This is one:

This is the other:

You can see where this is headed....he never wants to read. I have to beg him. Even if it is nonfiction and on a topic like soccer that he loves, he asks "How much longer." "Am I done yet?" It is a constant struggle. But one thing I have found he will willingly read is a magazine!

He especially loves Sports Illustrated Kids and any animal magazines. The benefit for me is two fold....I get the magazines for my family and then I take them to school. It's a win-win! My reluctant readers love to read them. It is the first thing my students want to do at "Read to a Partner" time. 

I know magazines can be pricey so here are some tips for getting magazines for your classroom:

-Unused airline miles....I actually got most of mine through an airline my husband no longer flies on.

-Fundraisers, another way I got a few subscriptions. I am helping out my daughters chorus program and getting magazines for school at the same time.

-Parent or PTA donations. Don't forget to put magazines on your back-to-school wishlists.

-Maybe your own children can get them as gifts from grandparents? (Our American Girl subscription is from Grandma)

-Samples...requests samples from companies. Many including National Geographic Kids have great websites to visit too!

When you are thinking about getting kids reading this summer, don't forget that magazines are a great way (and a fun way) to sneak in some reading time.

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Deanna Sessoms

I am linking up again with Tammy at The Resourceful Apple for Meal Plan Monday! Since, I live in Georgia and the peaches are super sweet right now I tried to find a good recipe for Father's Day that involved chicken and peaches.....so I just did a search on Pinterest and found a great one!

It only had six ingredients and turned out amazing. The kids thought it was a little on the sweet side because it has honey and peaches but we thought it was yummy!  

Peach Balsamic Rosemary Chicken Recipe

Link up with Tammy and share your Summer Recipe!

Now for the Freebie! I've been working on my first editable product. I made these Binder Covers for myself and decided to post them as a freebie. You can get them here if you like:)

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Deanna Sessoms

Wow...summer is here. I have enjoyed relaxing and get myself organized! I usually spend the first week getting my house back in order, then start working on some school stuff for next year. One thing I love about summer is cooking and eating healthy. My family gets crazy busy, like everyone's, during the school year. We eat out too much, we eat junk too much. We eat late or to be frank, we eat cereal for dinner!

So during the summer, I stock the fridge with fruits and veggies. I actual plan healthy meals and we almost never eat out. So I was very excited when my friend Tammy at The Resourceful Apple told me about her new linky. This is a great way to get some new recipe ideas and share a few new ones I have found.

So here's a recipe I made last week:

 

picture from Creme de la Crumb

I found this simple, but yummy recipe for Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing on Pinterest for which led me to this great website: Creme de la Crumb. It was super simple and easy on a hot summer day. We used cashews instead of pine nuts and I happened to have all these ingredients on hand (that's how I stumbled upon it!) The dressing is the best part. She suggests a thick teriyaki sauce and I didn't have that, so next time I think it would make it much better. 

But even my husband who likes to eat big portions was full after eating this with me. 

Head on over to Tammy's blog and link up with your favorite Summer Recipes! 

Meal Plan Monday            

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Deanna Sessoms