About 4 months ago, my husband and I noticed our son, Joe, spending a lot of time reading. Upon closer inspection (not that it was a bad thing) we discovered that he really was reading. If he came across a word he couldn't pronounce, he would sound it out slowly and then keep going. We thought maybe he had memorized that particular book so we handed him a different one and opened it to the middle. He read that one, too. As the months have gone by, Joe is now reading just about everything (including the scriptures). He won't watch a movie unless the subtitles are turned on, so he can read along. And he finds it particularly funny to stand over my shoulder and read my emails (he knows it bothers me)!
Joe is two weeks shy of turning 5 and he will be starting kindergarten in August.
Needless to say, this was something that we have been encouraging!! So this summer we signed Joe and Samantha up for the summer reading program at the local library.
I had forgotten how much I love children's books!! I could sit in the childrens section for hours! When we go each week, I let the kids pick out 5 books each. Well, this week we came home with 22 books because I kept finding ones! I don't keep track of authors well, so I pick out books by the illustrations. If the artwork is good, it goes into the library bag (or the bottom of the stroller if the bag is too heavy, haha).
Here are some titles that we picked up during our most recent library trip that the kids (and I) have enjoyed:
Chickens to the Rescue (John Himmelman)
There Was a Bold Lady who Wanted a Star (Charise Mericle Harper)
Pancakes For Breakfast (Tomie DePaola)
Smash, Mash, Crash-There Goes the Trash (Barbara Odanaka)
The Squeaky Door (Margaret Read MacDonald)
Cluck o'Clock (Kes Gray)
Reading is SO healthy for our kids! Just 20 minutes a day makes such a difference. 20 minutes...thats like 3 books by the time you read the book, look at the pictures, go back pages, talk about the funny drawings, etc!!
It really doesn't matter how old they are. Even Samantha, who is 3 1/2, loves it! She will take all the library books, lay them open-faced on her bed until she can't fit anymore on there and just flip the pages randomly! And every night I have to take at least three books off of her bed that she has fallen asleep with.
So this is my encouraging note to take your little/not-so-little kiddos to the library and HAVE FUN!!
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2 comments:
i love illustrations too....king bidgood's in the bath tub;
cloudy with a chance of meatballs;
junie b. jones is a chapter book my almost first grader loves. i am typing with one hand while i nurse my baby...sorry.
Mollie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is one of my all-time favorites from when I was young! I love the images it conjurs up in my head!! That is actually one I own!
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