Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Reading Your Way to a Great Relationship


We are a reading family. One of the first conversations Matt and I had was about a book. You know when you meet someone there's a bit of awkwardness at first. You ask how they are, they ask what you do, you comment on the weather. Then, if you are kindred spirits, you hit a topic that rings true to both of you and the friendship is begun. For Matt and I it was the Chronicles of Narnia. Actually the conversation started because we ended up in the same vehicle while heading to a church service with a group of friends. The van we were in had a video player and someone had the bright idea to watch the infamous "Find Me a Woman" video. If you have no clue what this video is, well, how do I describe it? Let's just say, it was a home video several friends and I did as a joke for a single friend. Needless to say, I had no desire for someone who didn't really know me well to watch that video. So to distract Matt from the video I asked him if he enjoyed reading. The rest, as they say, is history.

And so we read. Before we had children Matt and I read aloud together. The first book I read aloud to Josiah was "The Two Towers". I was nursing him every 2 - 4 hours and so for something to do I would read. I thought why not read aloud? And so I did, he ate, I read. Micah got to hear the Ben Carson story entitled, "Gifted Hands". I don't suppose there is a child alive who doesn't enjoy being read aloud to. It works out nicely that I enjoy reading aloud. That's one reason I love Summer so much. We get to read. Throughout the school year we read aloud, but we usually only have time for 30 mins to an hour 3 or 4 times a week. In the Summer we can read in the morning and then after lunch and again before bed. So far this Summer we have digested several Hardy Boys Books (I confess, Matt reads these and I pretend to listen. The plot lines are a little too predictable for me. Not to mention, I feel so sorry for poor Chet.)


Stuart Little


The Indian in the Cupboard


The Return of the Indian


The Sign of the Beaver


The Matchlock Gun


Currently we are reading Ben and Me


Various short stories


Various lapbooks

Reading aloud is not only a great way to ignite the flames of learning for your children, it boosts their vocabulary. My favorite benefit from reading aloud though, is the bonding that takes place. In our world it's so easy for families to be disconnected. Each individual is doing their own thing, in their own world. Reading aloud puts you in a room together, most likely cuddled up. You are sharing an experience. And if you choose the right books, you have lots of opportunity for discussion. For instance in The Sign of the Beaver, we talked about being teachable, trustworthy and responsible. We talked about making judgements before really knowing a person or situation. Valuable character lessons and opportunity to transfer your values can come from reading good books.

If you don't believe me on the merits of reading aloud, check out the studies done by Jim Trelease. We don't just read aloud because Mr. Trelease says so, but he does give a lot of evidence for the educational benefits. And so I would encourage you to curl up with your kiddos and a good book. It is another tool to building those strong relationships with them that will pay off now and in years to come.

10 comments:

Josh said...

WOW! Loved this post. My brother and I have been readers all of our lives (before we even started school) - all because our Mom took the time to pull us up onto her lap, open a book and read it out loud. What a gift!

Best to you and Matt!

Making Memories 1999 said...

Good post, and you're right, good merits! Thanks for reminding me!

Charity said...

Yay for great books! Nathan has been reading the Hobbit to the kids of late and I've been going through Beatrix Potter's beautiful complete collection with them. Do you have any experience with Lamplighter Publishers? My kids really enjoyed listening to Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince. If you have any favorites for little, little boys, let me know. Alex is a little distracted as of now.

Tara said...

We read Stewart Little a month ago or so. We really enjoyed the story though it was rather quirky. I didn't really know what Stewart Little was about. Finding out a boy who looks like a mouse being born to a human being should have cued me in to know this would be an interesting story. Right now we are reading Heidi, William is really enjoying it and so am I. I can barely wait for reading time.

Tara said...

You've been such a good girl...back to blogging! I'm jealous!!!!
This was a great post, and of course BRAVO to the reading. It's one of life's sheerest joys I think.

My kids (particularly the older ones) have come to much prefer reading to themselves, which I do find odd. To each his own, I suppose. As long as they're reading, I don't care. :)

Kim M. said...

I think it is very important to always have a good book going.

We are about to finish a fascinating old book about bugs.

It is so funny to hear my boys telling random people what they are learning from the books we are reading (sometimes even the lady at Walmart!)

Kim M. said...

If you are interested, here is a digital copy of the book we are currently reading. I printed ours and put it in a binder.

It's a great summery boy book!

http://www.archive.org/stream/firstbookofbugs00willrich#page/n1/mode/2up

P.S. This book doesn't come from a Creation perspective but obviously we moms get to do a lot of pointing to the Creator even when reading secular books.

Julia said...

I'm remembering now ANOTHER reason I love blogging. All your comments have been so wonderful. Thanks for the input.

Julia said...

Charity, I've drooled over Lamplighter books, but haven't taken the plunge...expensive. Our boys were pretty distracted when we tried to do GA Henty...I think Josiah could handle it now, but Micah would still be distracted I think.
Books that captivated the boys a year or two ago were, The Chronicles of Narnia, Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan, Charlottes Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Little Pilgrim's Progress, The Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse books etc... These books they still love, in fact we are reading some of them again. Any lapbook is pretty captivating too. Our favortie was the Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood.

sarahmfry said...

Amen and Amen to all! I must admit, I'm a kid when it comes to reading time. I just LOVE diving into books with my kids.

It's kinda like pure grape juice or strawberries....it's just happy that something so yummy is so good for you!