Books.
Do you like books? Do your kids like books?
Let me tell you my kids love books. They love to read, Boo more than La. Love to be read to. I like to read too, but find I have less time because we spend a lot of time reading aloud.
I started reading to my kids when they were 6-8 weeks old. Before nap time and bed time we read little books. They have always been drawn to books. And now I am seeing the benefits. I hear two well spoken kids with an ever-increasing vocabulary. This is not being boastful. This is an observation that I don't want to miss or lose site of.
My kids could huddle up in a corner and read to themselves or cuddle up next to me and read, but there is a remarkable bond we have formed as mother/child through this 9 year ritual of listening to me read (stumbling often). I actually dread the day one or both of them say, that's ok mom, I will read that book later by myself. They are more than capable of reading the books we read aloud now, but they still like the family time and I hope it doesn't change anytime soon.
Early last year, we used the SonLight curriculum and a lot of their read aloud books were Newbery Award Winners. Well written books. Great Plots. Entertaining. So for our summer reading we opted to just randomly pick Newbery Award Winners. We have yet to find one to disappoint.
We are currently reading Lois Lowry's 4-part series of The Giver (started Messenger - book 3 - tonight). Truly remarkable and imaginitive books. I have had several conversations with friends that say these books wouldn't be right for their kids, but as Boo La get older and their minds sore with creativity and understanding, Lois Lowry has given us the perfect books to climb to new heights with their imagination. We talk about what if, and whens, and whys. We engage in detailed conversations. It is so heart warming and intriguing to dive into a discussion of something you have all been a part of. It amazes me that La has this keen sense of what will happen next. She knows where the story is going long before Boo or I do. She can identify who the unspecified character is long before the book tells us. What a great way to grow with my kids. I don't have much desire to read after they go to bed, but that is okay. I am often read out for the day, but it is partly because our book selection expands my mind as much as it does theirs.
So we read.
We, also, homeschool and one of the glorious benefits is we can read. We can call it a day and just read or when school is done and it is still only 1 in the afternoon, we can read. On the days one of us doesn't feel well, we can read. That happened to be La the other day and I read about 80 pages aloud. Better than TV. Better than video games. Better than so many things. My kids create in their own minds what the scene and characters look like and my heart sings a little song.
Reading is life in my opinion.. reading and comprehending. So as part of homeschooling, it is something I want my kids to do and do well. I still have them read aloud to me several days a week. I want them to have the right pause, inflection and speed when reading aloud, which is something I didn't develop until later on in life...who am I kidding, I am still trying to get it right. No big surprise that I was having trouble finding the right homeschool reading program, but stumble onto Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading. It is just what we needed. No more straight up comprehension questions, but something that requires them to think of their answers and come to their own conclusions. We are only on book 1, but I think it is a keeper.
So ... Books...everywhere books .. and I LOVE IT.
Crazy fact about our household ... I find my kids reading the dictionary.. SERIOUSLY...we actually had to replace our first children's dictionary because the binding broke from so much use. Now, Boo has taken to reading the thesaurus dictionary and quizzing me on the words he looks up ... ummm sometimes I don't do so well. Crazy and I may need some extra word education soon or start reading the dictionary and thesaurus after they go to bed at night.
A MUST READ IS...
The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud by Jenny Cote
An animals view of Noah's Ark. It is a long book to read aloud, but it expanded my mind and my kids' minds on how big our God really is. It was entertaining and well written. It would be perfect for someone who is good with mimicking accents..
What are you reading to your kids? I am always up for recommendations.
