Deal or No Deal?

My boys have fallen out of the habit of reading. Truth be told, it's never BEEN a habit. With school just around the corner, it's time to start! I wonder why the kids don't like reading? Is it the constant draw of something faster, bigger, better in the electronics world that makes them say that "reading is boring" nowadays? I just don't get it.

To help THEM get it, I am instituting a new rule this month and for all time going forward. No electronics until they've completed 30 mintues of reading, daily. Period. I keep trying to tell them that reading is the foundation for all of their school work. You cannot excel at math if you don't know how to read. You cannot get lost in social studies and go on an adventure, if you don't know how to read. You cannot play the trumpet or sing, if you don't know what pianissimo or forte means.

We've taken trips to the library this summer and looked for adventure, series books, or anything that is beyond pictures that will capture and hold their attention. I think that we might have found it for Henry (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) but are still searching for Oliver. I'll take suggestions, if you have any?!

Funny how I am looking forward to a day this fall when I can read for pleasure again. I want to get lost in a book (that isn't a textbook) and spend an hour snuggled on a couch with a good novel. Hopefully I can get them to join me in this life-long habit too!

So, what will it be boys? Deal or No Deal?!