Monday, August 31, 2009

A Reading Journey.... Together

While on vacation, with a couple of hours to kill, the kids and I found a HUGE bookstore. It was fun to wander around and just browse. Oh, to have hours and hours to read and ingest knowledge and facts and just have fun. Among my wanderings, I found Little Pilgrim's Progress adapted from the John Bunyan classic, written by Helen L. Taylor. It is designed for ages 6-12. The book is 323 pages, but the chapters are only 2-3 pages long so it is ideal for short attention spans.If I let her, my daughter would have taken that thing and read it in a day, skipping meals if need be to get to the end. My son, on the other hand, would have looked through the pictures and been content with that. What I really wanted to do however, is read it nightly, out loud and together. The first few nights were rough for them, having to actually focus on my words and listen. It has been a struggle. Usually I read two chapters and call it a night feeling somewhat defeated, however tonight was the first time that both of them wanted me to keep going. Breakthrough! I am really enjoying this time together and they are using their imaginations to hear this story in a unique way. So, even at ages 7 and 9 and 38, it is so worth it to read together and have this special time that I will never forget.

14 comments:

Jeanette Levellie said...

Diane: This is just wonderful! I am so happy for you and your kids to start down this path of family reading. We read to each other from the time we were first married, read as a family when our kids were growing up, and still read together at night and on trips now that the kids are gone.

It's a sweet bonding time and develops a love of literature. Plus, it's fun to hear the cadence of sentences read with the voice, not simply in your head.

Congratulations!
Jen
Audience of ONE

septembermom said...

Family reading is a great idea! I would love to find that book store. I think I'll try family reading too. Thanks, Diane.

Stephanie Faris said...

Absolutely. How great of you to share all of that together.

Me said...

One of my best school memories is our second grade teacher reading that to us every day after recess.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Han

Diane said...

Thanks for all the positive comments. We are really enjoying it and the allegory in this book is great to really get your brain thinking! :O)

Andrea said...

Oh, how I love bookstores and my kids do,too. While in the Outer Banks last month we found a little bookstore in Historic Corolla. Blessings, andrea

Keli Gwyn said...

I think it's great that you and your children read together.

When our daughter was young, we read stories as a family. She's now an incoming college freshman who devours books. I like to think that we helped instill that love of reading in her with our family reading times.

Karen G. said...

Wow, you posted this at 5 in the morning? You are an early bird! I loved reading with my kids and thankfully they are both now avid readers. Melissa came home this summer from college and she and a few girlfriends even did a book club. She had fun ordering books online. I don't know what site she used but she found books for as little as 97 cents and minimal shipping. She had a ball ordering some.

What a great book you picked to read with the kids! If you like allegories, you might try "Hinds Feet in High Places" by Hannah Hurrnard (sp?) for you.

Warren Baldwin said...

Thanks for the visit and comment at Family Fountain. I was nervous about posting that video b/c it is so graphic, but everyone has been for it. Even some adults said they text while driving and wouldn't any more.

Shammickite said...

Keep reading to them! I loved reading to my boys when they were little. I despaired of them reading on thier own or loving books when they were in their early teens, but now that they are grown up they always have a book on the go.

Azure Accessories said...

I love reading and browsing through old/new book stores...I could spend hours doing either one!!!

I always read to both my children...

Cheers

Heather Sunseri said...

Hi, Diane. I will definitely have to get that book for my little ones. Thanks for sharing!

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

What a wonderful ting to do! My kids always had the same problem...one would like the reading and the other two would horse around. Amazing though what even the ones that were horsing around heard. By the middle of the book, they were content to sit and listen..time is great! Not only will you remember this, they will and will pass it down to their kids. Pretty neat!

mommanator said...

Great, my daughter is always looking for interesting books for her kids! She has even gone to the library and gotten books on tape for them all to enjoy in the car, sure makes the travel quieter, and they listen to some great books! One of the grands teachers last year made them do it for a project and now they love it!

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