Educational Grandkid Fun With Reading, Phonics, and Even Cool LEGO Architecture Sets!

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As you can probably tell, I’m a big believer in fun with reading, phonics and other educational activities for grandparents and grandchildren, and reading out loud to them is always at the top of my to do list. It's such a vital part of teaching a child to read! 

I’ve heard that reading the same thing over and over is good for reading skills but to be honest, I usually get too bored doing that. (Tho there are a few favorites I never get tired of – like Amelia Bedelia and Pajama Time). So where do I get all my kids books? Let me share some of my favorite ways:

• Library – always a great resource but I tend to be cautious of that with grandkids because of overdue fines since there are two houses involved and the chances of a book getting lost are doubled.
• Library book sales – these are usually AWESOME – lots to choose from and the prices are generally very low. I just picked up some great animal and bug books for my grandsons to enjoy and then we’ll pass some of them on to my long distance grandkids on the next visit. Very fun!
• Yard sales – We can often pick up great books for the grandkids for 25 cents – $1. And hitting the yard sales can be fun activities for grandparents and their grandchildren.  It can also be educational fun when you give them some money and then help them calculate paying, budgeting, and saving the money at the various sales.
• Dollar stores AND dollar sections at stores like Target and Walmart. I just bought the greatest four-book set on bugs for early readers at Target. They were $1 each and my grandkids LOVE the great pictures AND the interesting way they wrote about the facts – from cute butterflies to icky snails to flat worms my older granddaughter just studied in science. It would have been perfect for her about a month ago. 🙂  They must be made specifically for Target. When I tried to find an online link for you to see them, I couldn't find them anywhere – even with the ISBN code. If you have a Target near you and are interested, head for the $1 section and look for kids books. The titles include Slimy Slugs and Grubby Bugs, Stinkers and Stingers, and Butterflies and Moths. My senior mom LOVED that one as butteflies are playing a big part in her gardening plans! 
• Magazines can be great for reading to your grandchildren as well. I’m going to be extra careful with these and keep them with me, but I just checked out two issues of Boys’ Life for my grandsons and am looking forward to reading to them about skate boarders, hand tools and a Master Lego Builder! We started it today with the LEGO article!  With all their new and old LEGOs bricks, they loved getting to see some of his creations, like the kid-sized capitol building. VERY cool! I noticed Amazon carries the White House modeled in LEGOs, and then discovered thare are also four wonderful LEGO architecture landmark series sets, which includes the Sears Tower and Rockefeller Center.  I wonder if the capitol is coming up eventually, as well. Won't our grandkids have fun with all these! I can tell I will have "Buy LEGO gifts" on my Christmas shopping list for years to come, along with interesting and educational books!  🙂

Well, those are some of my favorite creative and practical ways to save money on books for grandkids. Being in the Sandwich Generation and busy dealing with the issues of caring for the elderly parents and babysitting grandchildren, we need all help we can get – especially if we want to add LEGO sets to our shopping lists! Got any more suggestions? We’d love to hear them.  🙂