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Tips to Read More Often and Create a Reading Habit

May 7, 2018 No Comments

You’ve probably heard me talk about how much my family enjoys reading. Funny thing is though, my husband thinks I’m a big hypocrite! Any time I say something about liking reading, he responds with something like, “Yeah… you say that…” And he’s not wrong. I do not make time to read at all lately. Summer is coming, and I’ve been reading the same book while proctoring both fall and spring final exams this school year. Time to knock this sucker out and get my reading mojo back.

Last year, I tried to start a book club, but it turned into my sister and I reading a book and meeting up with maybe one other person for dinner once a month. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it turns out, I don’t really know people who want to join a book club! Thinking back on that time though, even the illusion that I was in a book club had me reading way more than the previous months. Or years. But who’s counting? While I do wish we’d kept the dinner club going, at some point I lost the motivation to read that was sparked by the book club.

My husband assumes I just don’t like the book I’m currently plodding through, or clearly I would’ve finished it. But that honestly isn’t it. Truth is, I have no idea why I can’t just make myself read at night. I don’t really have that much to be stressed about, but at the end of the day a lot of times I just want to sit and do nothing. How is reading any more stressful than scrolling Twitter and Instagram though? These days it seems like my Twitter feed just sends me into an internal emotional frenzy, so maybe reading would be the better option for my sanity anyway!

*This post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link on this page, I’ll receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you! Click here to read my full statement.

Getting Started

The last time I was reading consistently, I was a participant in an imaginary book club. I don’t think that will work this time, because at least back then it was like, “Oh… she just already read this book, she’ll do it next month.” Or, “She had something going on already for this dinner, but it’ll work out next month.” I was so naive. Now, I’m pretty sure people just don’t want to do it.

Since I can’t use the same strategy to get me going, it’s going to take some creativity. If you’re wondering why I can’t just… decide to read more and do it… I don’t know. I don’t have that kind of personality type. If I’m going to change a habit there’s got to be actionable steps. I’ve got a few ideas of things to try, and I’ll update you in a few weeks to see if it worked out for me.

Picking a Book

Since I’m already partially into a book, I know what I’ll be reading first. But once this one is done, I’d prefer not to have to mindlessly scroll through the Overdrive library app for a book to pick. I never knew I liked historical fiction, but I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society* and found that there was something about the genre that I never knew I was missing. I think I liked it so much because it reads like a novel, but the events of the period are rooted in truth. There were times I found myself looking up some of the “facts” to see if they were in fact, factual. Reading an engrossing story while being catapulted back in time is pretty cool. *Update: I found out very shortly after publishing this post that this book is being turned into a movie on Netflix. If that’s not motivation to get on with reading it, I don’t know what is!

My current read is All The Light We Cannot See. It’s another from the genre of historical fiction, and I’m reading it on recommendations from my husband, mom, and nearly 28,000 Amazon reviewers. It’s a ‘jumpy’ book going back and forth between perspectives and points in time. The book is set in France and Germany during WWII, following two young people from very different backgrounds who – I’m assuming – join paths. Otherwise it’ll just be a weird disjointed tale of two kids. (Update: I finished it, and yes – I wrote a post about it!)

My plan from here though is blank. Here’s what I’m considering:

Join Kyle in the Popsugar Reading Challenge. It’s a list of prompts/categories instead of a straight “books to read” list. It allows you some freedom of choice while narrowing down the playing field. I don’t know that I’d choose the same books as him for every prompt, but there are a few on his reviews that sound like they’d be up my alley. You can view his picks for prompts 1-10 and 11-20 if you’re interested in some inspiration!
Utilize the Pinterest board I’ve been compiling! I have pinned lots of great book list pins. After my WWII experience ends, I’m thinking I may choose one of the books from the “18 Funny Novels” pin. There’s very little that’s funny about WWII, so I’ll be ready for a change.
Pick something from my bookshelf. We got rid of nearly all of our books when we read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up a few years ago, but I’ve picked up a few along the way. In an effort to clean the shelves again, I should probably read a few we already have!

Creating a Reading Habit

When I was reading a lot last year, I did a large portion of my reading on my Kindle app while rocking my newborn. (Yes, I rocked my newborn through his whole nap! He’s my last baby, and I was soaking it in. I also picked him up when he cried. And also he’s fine!) Anyway, I was able to put back quite a few e-books in that rocking chair. But now I only rock him for about 15 minutes, so it’s not really a great reading time. I suppose I could knock out a chapter per sitting though, so maybe I could try this again.

Not all of the books I read at that time were online though. I somehow created a habit of reading at night after the kids went down. Right now, I don’t even know what I do when the kids go down. It’s definitely not laundry. It’s probably Instagram.

My husband has a pretty impressive reading rate. We have family members who get his Goodreads updates, and I’ve heard people ask him if his Goodreads account is accurate before. When people ask how he reads so much, I tell them to think about all of the time they spend on social media. Replace all that Facebook time with book time, and you might have yourself a significant chunk of reading time! He also listens to audio books around the house. I’m not sure that I’m going to go there – I don’t focus well enough for that! I’d feel like I needed to constantly rewind to be able to understand what was going on.

So how am I going to break my social media habit and replace it with reading? Good question.

Replace a social media app shortcut with my Kindle app shortcut on my home screen. When I’m bored, relaxing, or whatever, I mindlessly scroll to a social media app. Perhaps I can trick myself to click on that Kindle app if it’s sitting in the place where I automatically swipe to! The negative for this idea is that it will clearly only help me get back on track for e-books. And I will probably know where I moved the Instagram icon.
Start my habit tracker back up in my bullet journal. I used to use a habit tracker religiously when I started my bullet journal. Then I kind of got burned out on it and ended up with several blank habit trackers in a row and quit even putting in the template. I might need to habit track using my habit tracker. Anyway, if I start that back up, then I’d put like “read 30 minutes” for one of the daily tracking items. If you don’t have a bullet journal, I’ve created a printable tracker for you that you can print off! It’s a tri-fold, so it can double as a bookmark. Score!

Download

Just put down my phone. I spend too much time on my phone. I’m trying to figure out a realistic “rule” for cutting down on my usage. I don’t want to lock it in a room or anything, because I don’t mind texting etc. and don’t really want to miss on messages if they come in. My problem is just if it’s always right next to me, then I grab it when I’m ready for something to do. I’m thinking my general guideline will be that instead of carrying it to wherever I am, I will make a point to put it on the kitchen counter. (Sound on, so I can hear a call/text!) Is it ridiculous to have to do this? Maybe. But hey, at least I’m trying to change!!

Make It Social

This is both the reason I succeeded and the reason I failed the last time I was reading regularly. I succeeded because I was excited about having someone to talk to about the book… (and an excuse to get out of the house every once in a while…) I failed because I assumed other people would also be really into the idea – and it just wasn’t true. This time I am going to approach it differently.

Join an online community. I’m not planning on searching for like a virtual book club with meetings or anything, but I know there are groups out there who are recommending, reading, and talking about books. I follow a few “bookstagram-ers,” so I may just jump in with one of their groups/blogs. There’s threads out there on Reddit discussing books, which honestly may be enough of an online book club experience for me. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the same people I talk to every time!
Talk to the friends I invited to book club with me last time and reach out to new friends. I know that the last book club fizzled, but we are all at different stages of life than we were last time. I no longer have a newborn. Everyone’s kids are growing up and becoming more self-sufficient. Perhaps the involvement would be different this time. Is that just me being an idealist? I also have a few new acquaintances that may be into it, so there may be room to start it up again. However, I’ve got a more realistic expectation this go ’round. If nobody sounds excited, I won’t try to force it!

Set A Goal

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself “goal oriented.” But I am “deadline oriented.” Which is a churched up way to say I don’t do things until I have to. I think if I set some sort of deadline for myself that I must finish All the Light by, then I just might be able to make it happen. How on Earth though do I enforce a self-imposed deadline?? Is that even a real thing? I do work well under pressure, but that pressure is usually from an outside force. I think I can figure it out.

Maybe I’ll write it in pen in my bullet journal, so that I have to scratch it out and forever have a record if I fail to meet the goal. That sounds like a pretty lame punishment. I’m honestly like, really okay with scratching stuff out in my journal. Unfazed.

Perhaps a reward will work better? Finish the book by May 18, and I get to treat myself to a Nothing Bundt Cake? Okay. Fine. We’ll do that one.

Summer Reading Challenge for Kids

April 16, 2018 No Comments

Summer reading challenge for kids

*This post contains affiliate links – if you make a purchase from a link, we will receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you! Read my full statement here.

Why Take A Reading Challenge?

When I was young, I was a reader. I was one of those kids who always had my head in a book. (Usually from the Thoroughbred series or a Goosebumps book!) Somewhere along the way around junior high or high school, I lost my need to read for pleasure. I didn’t stop liking reading, but it just quit being something I did for fun. Maybe I had myself too busy with extra-curricular activities. Perhaps it was that all of my reading energy was used up for books I had to read for school. I finally got that joy of reading back in college, and though I’m not as consistent as I’d like, I still read for pleasure now.

My kids love reading, and we have books all over the house. Literally. We also try to take somewhat regular trips to the library to mix it up a bit. I want them to continue to view reading as a fun activity as they grow. Though they haven’t lost their joy yet, I started to brainstorm ways that I can make (and keep) reading fun for them. It’s also easy to get caught up in the summer shuffle and fall down on our daily summer reading. I don’t think there’s a chance they’d go to bed without a story, but I love sitting down with them during the day for a quiet minute too! (2020 update: My son has started a book club! Read about it here!)

My husband is a reading challenge guy. He currently has at least 3 different lists/challenges he is working on. Some are to complete in a short period of time (like the Popsugar one he wrote about earlier!) Others are “lifetime” lists like Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, and his personal challenge to read nonfiction books with protagonists from each country of the world. The boys hear him talk about his reading challenges, so it seemed natural to create one for them!

Summer Reading Fun

There’s lots of different types of reading challenges out there. Some are lists of books to read. Others are categories to choose from. There’s also some fun reading “task” challenges (for example: read a book outside). I asked for Kyle’s help creating our personal summer reading challenge, and we went with a topis/categories challenge.

Our intent is to let the boys choose an item from the list, and take them to the library to find a book that fits the criterion. Does anybody else get so tired of your kids’ personal book collection? I swear it’s like we have a library of our own here, but sometimes I just can’t pick anything I want to read again. We chose to include 22 topics, which averages to 2 books per week of my kids’ summer vacation. This seems like a super manageable number considering that most of the books they will pick will be books we can read in one sitting! If you’ve got an older kid reading longer books you can still join in. Make it a challenge for the rest of the year, or just pick a reasonable number of items from the list together.

I am hoping it will be fun for them. If it turns out they view it as a chore then we’ll table it. But I really don’t see that happening with them.

Join In!

The graphic at the top of the post has all of our challenge items so you can join in. Click the image below to sign up to receive a free .pdf tracking sheet straight to your inbox. This way you can have something to print off and take with you to the library to check off! Update: If you’d rather just purchase books, consider doing it from Bookshop! A percentage of every purchase with Bookshop goes to support independent bookstores. Pretty cool! You can read more about it in this post! Also, feel free to join our Summer Reading Challenge group on Facebook to share all of your picks and see what everyone else is reading!

If you’re looking for more summer fun, be sure to check out these posts:

Book Club for Kids: 5 Tips to Get Started

Park Scavenger Hunt

How to Start a Butterfly Garden

And if you want to be sure to check all of our fun family ideas, sign up for my mailing list!!

Freebies, Kids

A Day at the Park Scavenger Hunt for Kids

April 9, 2018 No Comments

A scavenger hunt for kids is a great way to explore the world around you. My kids love them. They have minimal exposure to them, but every time we’ve done one they have had a blast. We played a New Year’s Eve game where we hid clues for the kids that lead them around the house finding photos to recap the year. I don’t know if that constitutes a true scavenger hunt, but I’m also not sure what it’d be called otherwise!

There’s also a fun app called “Klikaklu” (click-a-clue for those of you who have trouble with “license plate words” – lookin’ at you dad!) where you can create a scavenger hunt for kids or adults on your phone and share it with friends or family (or make public!) My husband’s family has used this app at our annual Christmas hotel reunion weekend (scavenger hunt + hotel = great fun, if you’re the ones participating!), and my boys have been asking me recently if we could do more scavenger hunts.

I thought it would be fun to make an outdoor scavenger hunt, and what better place to search than our local city park? Having a park scavenger hunt was also a win for me because, to be honest, I sometimes get tired of the same old park trip. We always have fun there, but there is very little way to “mix up” playing on the swings, going down the slides, and looking at/being terrified of ducks. Seriously. Why are they under the park equipment? Go to your home! Wait, is this your home?

In any case, Klikaklu is still under development for Android users, and at this time us Droidies (can we get this nickname to catch on?) can only access scavenger hunts created and shared by others, not create new ones. So I figured I’d just start from scratch and make one up that we could print and take with us. Ditch the phone and play the old school way. Incidentally, it was also a great way to get some quality time in rather than just watching them play. (If you missed the discussion on love languages, read more here!)

What Age to Play?

I made the scavenger hunt for kids ages 3-6. My oldest boys are 3 and 5, and I had both of them in mind when I created the categories. That’s not to say that an older child wouldn’t have fun – they probably would – but the target age group is 3-6. I took a young 3 and an older 3 to the park to try it out, and both of them enjoyed it and were able to participate. I included pictures on the page to make it easier for them to recall what they are looking for. This way they can be somewhat independent as they search. The younger the child, the more “reminding” you’ll have to do as you search, and the more breaks they will need as they lose focus quickly!

Learning Through Play

I’m a teacher by trade, but I very rarely do any “formal” learning activities with my 3 year old. I’m a believer in learning through play and wanted to be sure to include some age appropriate learning opportunities in the game. We were able to talk about a variety of topics throughout the course of the scavenger hunt:

Size/length comparisons

Counting

Color recognition

Physical health – talking about types of exercisers to look for, the reasons people would be exercising and why exercise is important

Imagination

Citizenship – taking care of the park by helping clean up a bit

The kids knew they were learning something, even though it was not explicit. In this picture, he had just found an item and yelled, “I’m a genius!”

And also, isn’t he so sweet in his rain boots!? These are falling apart from his hard use – time for a new pair. Totally off topic, I know, but have you seen the “Hunter for Target” collection that’s coming out?! So cute!

Prepped to Go

Before we went, I told the boys we had a fun game to play at the park and got them excited about participating. We looked at the scavenger hunt page and talked about every box and what the pictures said to look for. I also explained to them that the white boxes were to mark off the items that they’d found. They each picked their writing utensil, and we were on our way. Finny of course wanted a sparkly crayon!

I think that prepping the kids before you leave the house is essential for this activity – especially with the younger ones. If you get out of the car and say, “WAIT! We’re not just playing today!” chances are that you’ve already lost them to the distractions going on around them. After we talked about the scavenger hunt, they knew what to expect and that they had a mission upon getting out of the car. (In fact, my son had an item knocked off before I even had everyone unstrapped from their car seats!)

Ready, Set, Hunt!

As soon as we got out of the car, the boys were ready to see what they could find. They remembered as soon as they saw a squirrel shoot past that they had animals on their list. The race was on! When we got to the play area, I first let them search for things at their will. We, of course, spotted litter very quickly, and they were eager to help clean it up. (Use your judgement here – if you think litter is too gross to touch, take a look around. There’s plenty of litter that is likely not too disgusting. We found a plethora of zip ties – creepy – and left over cracked plastic eggs from Easter hunts. In fact, Finn acted like he’d just found an Easter egg with each piece of trash.)

If you spend much time with 3 year olds, you know their attention span is pretty short. I had no illusion going into the day that we would go and they would be totally focused on the hunt the entire time. We went back and forth between playing and hunting. After they played for a few minutes, I’d either say something like, “Is there a box on your sheet you haven’t checked yet?” (they loved checking items off!) Or, “Oh wow! I think I see something purple!” I wouldn’t point out an item directly, but giving them a teaser like that made them eager to see what I was seeing!

We were able to play, mark everything off our lists, and have a fun morning out of the house. Our total time spent at the park was about an hour, but the hunt could’ve been accomplished in a 30-45 minute trip.

Park Scavenger Hunt for Kids

I created this scavenger hunt in the hopes that my boys and I could have a fun out of the norm activity to do together. I hope you’ll do the same. One thing I didn’t want to come from this is stress – for me or the kids! If they’re not into it, try again another day. If you try it, let me know how it goes! I’m always open to making improvements, and would love to hear if your kids (and you) enjoyed it! Feel free to share the link to this post in your moms groups on Facebook. What do you think about a scavenger hunt for kids of different ages?

Looking for more summer fun?? Try our Summer Reading Challenge for Kids or learn How to Start a Butterfly Garden!

Tag me in your scavenger hunt photos on Instagram if you try it out! @moretimesdesigns #moretimesscavengerhunt

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DIY, Freebies

Summer Doormat DIY – Free File Download

April 2, 2018 No Comments

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of the links in this post, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra charge to you!

Please only use my file for personal use! Do not create items for sale to others using my handlettered design in any way. You also may not use the file in its original or in an altered form to sell it as an .svg or any other type of digital download.

A Fresh Greeting

I’ve been seeing fun DIY door mats all over social media lately (if you haven’t – remember, I run in crafty circles!) Anyway, I was more than ready to get one made up for our porch since ours was old and gross. I was able to find some time over Spring Break to knock it out!

Come In We're Awesome Doormat DIY — At least I think we are…

This was suprisingly simple after following a few YouTube tutorials for tips on stenciling. There are lots of methods out there, but I went with a freezer paper stencil pressed onto my mat. I used acrylic paint marked as safe for outdoor use (found at WalMart!) and a stiff bristle stenciling brush to paint on a plain coir doormat. (I got my mat at Home Depot, then found this one at Target cheaper!)

DIY Doormat materials

From Handlettering to Doormat DIY

After this successful project, I really wanted to do one that I could share with you. (The one I made was created using free for personal use fonts – so the file I used to cut my stencil can’t be shared! I’ll be happy to tell you what fonts I used if you want to create it for yourself!) My sister was putting together a summer themed basket for an auction at her daughter’s school, so we thought a summer-themed door mat would be a unique addition.

I started with a hand-lettered “summertime.” There are lots of pieces of paper in my house right now with the word “summertime” drawn on them. I finally settled on this version:

Summertime handlettering

Once I had my design, I snapped a picture with my phone, e-mailed it to myself, and uploaded it into Cricut’s Design Space to convert it to a cut file. If you’ve got a newer Cricut yourself, you should definitely play around with getting some of your own handwriting uploaded into Design Space to cut. It’s surprisingly easy!!

Convert to a Stencil

As the word is written, it cuts with “holes” detached for the s, e’s, and r. This is perfect when using vinyl, since you are using the letters themselves (the black of the photo!) When I stencil, I much prefer to have my holes attached for a more traditional stencil. I used to think this was incredibly annoying as you have to go back in later and fill in all of the little lines where the stencil was attached to the holes. But do you know what’s even more annoying than that? Keeping up with/ironing on a bunch of tiny pieces then hoping they stay put when you paint. Here’s what my cut file looked like after I added in the bars to keep the holes attached!

If you are using Cricut’s Design Space, here are links to the public Design Space files for both the original (holes not attached) and the stencil cut (holes attached)! No uploading, resizing, or anything at all needed if you’re making a door mat. If you’re on Silhouette, there is a .png for you to upload into your design software at the end of this post.

Cut It Out!

Once you’ve got your file ready to go, prepare your large cutting mat with freezer paper – shiny side down. Cut the file, weed the words (since it’s a stencil!), then remove the stencil carefully. I used to have curled up papers after cutting, then I came across the tip to pull the mat from the paper, and my life was changed. Go slow so that you don’t make any tears. I did tear one little bar on the big hole of the S in “Summertime,” but luckily there were two connectors – so no little piece to keep track of!

Place & Press

The next step is to place your stencil (& turn on your iron!). Take the time to get a ruler out! I just eyeball my placement first, then measure from the left and right edges to see if the gap from word to edge of the mat matches on each side. Once I get it centered horizontally, I work to get the design level by measuring from the bottom of the mat up to the bottom of the lower line of text in several places. If they all (pretty much) match, then I go for it.

Get the freezer paper placed, then press with a hot iron (no steam). Don’t rub the iron around, just set it down and apply pressure, pick it up, then do another spot. Continue until you get every inch of the freezer paper ironed down. If you pick at freezer paper, it WILL come up. It is not a super sticky bond, but it is stable if you don’t mess around with it. Watch the places you iron. You will be able to notice a difference in the surfaces that are adhered and those that aren’t. I repeat: Do not pick at the freezer paper!

Paint Time!

Once your freezer paper is applied, get your paint ready! I used a multi-surface acrylic paint. Anything labeled for outdoor use should work. The stiff bristled brushes are the only brushes I will ever use for stenciling ever again in my life. They hold paint well, but are great at letting it go. And on these mats, the bristles from the brush get down in the bristles for the mat, and it’s perfect!

While painting, keep the brush perpendicular to the mat. When you start getting crazy and sideways, that’s when your brush is going to get up under the stencil. (Which is a bad thing!) I had one spot where I had to put my finger onto the stencil to hold it as I painted around (I think it was around the hole of the ‘A’). If you see the stencil start to lift, just get your hand in there for extra security.

I do two coats of paint to try to get good coverage. If you have a spot that was troublesome with the stencil, hold off on the 2nd coat and do it with a small brush after you pull the stencil off!

Stencil Success!

I think that stenciling on a door mat is maybe the only stenciling I will do for a long time. Seriously, these things come off so clean! There is virtually no bleed since the excess paint can go straight down into the bristles of the mat. Pull off your stencil as soon as you get done painting, & enjoy your new DIY doormat! I think this is cute for a front porch, but would be great on a back porch too – where the livin’ really is easy! Do some yardwork, kick up your feet with a good book, then admire your handiwork as you slip back inside.

What are you going to use the cut file for? Share pictures of your creations with me! If you’re doing a complete porch makeover, check out my shop for a custom wreath to freshen things up or this post for a DIY floral wreath!!

**Please use my file for personal use only! Do not create items for sale to others using my handlettered design in any way. You also may not use the file in its original or in an altered form to sell it as an .svg or any other type of digital download.