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Children's books

Read to and with your child…

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This post is going to be the first in, what I hope to be, a series of posts presenting and discussing children’s books.  Today, I just want to introduce the concept…

 

In my home, we take a lot of time to read.  Every month, my children get a book allowance and visit the library.  We have a reading area in our home and spend time reading everyday.  Well, just about everyday. 🙂  My children read for a  set amount of time when they come home from school and I read for at least an hour a day. I try to encourage my children to read in various ways.

As we take time to read, I have found such great joy in reading to my children.  Not only do I enjoy reading with my children, but I often find that I learn something new, as well.  I have also recognized the benefits in reading with my children.

Here are a few benefits of reading with my children

  • I get to connect with my children through, what we normally find to be, a great story.
  • I get to hear how much they are improving in their fluency and vocabulary.
  • I give them an opportunity to share something with me that they enjoy about the story.
  • I am able to explain some of the hard topics that they find difficult to comprehend when we read together.
  • I am also able to spot situations, placed in books, that I find conflicting to what we believe and what we teach our children.  With this, I now have an opportunity to teach them the differences between what we have read and what we believe.  (This one is one of my favorites)

In this series, I will be sharing books that I have read with my children. I’ll be discussing the topic of the books and doing a mini review of the book. Sometimes, I will even share thoughts from my children on the books. My hope is to encourage you to read to and with your children.

Today, I would like to encourage you to take some time away from your busy schedule to read to your children.  I am not telling you when to do it, how to do it, or for how long.  In our house, we don’t normally do bed time stories.  Instead we do afternoon or quiet-time reading.  My children can also read at any other time of day that they want.  I am simply suggesting that you take some time, if you don’t already, to enjoy a nice story with your children.  Perhaps you can take a trip to your local library, book store, or used book store to find some hidden treasures.

Whatever you decide to do, get excited about reading and enjoy sometime connecting with your children through a great story.

Do you have any children’s books to recommend?  Let me know in the comment section.  I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

 

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV

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One of my daughter’s favorite book series is the famous Berenstain Bears. Yesterday we took a trip to Barnes and Nobles and she found what she wanted.

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Like many of the other Berenstain Bears books, this one was filled with great knowledge about life and the importance of living a healthy balance life. As Precious (4), looked at the pictures, she told the story the way she thought it was happening. She said the Brother and Sister bear were watching television when they weren’t supposed to. She also became concerned when’d she saw Mama Bear talking to Papa Bear like a child. She said “he’s an adult.”

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After reading the story to her she understood that the family had been watching so much t.v that they no longer enjoyed the rest of their lives. They forgot how to talk to one another and the simple pleasure of life were no longer a joy. As Mama Bear told the family that they were taking a week off of watching t.v, Papa thought that he was excluded. Although the picture portrays Mama Bear scolding Papa Bear, this isn’t really the context of the story. In the end the family finds out they they can still watch t.v while having balance in the rest of their lives.

I like this story and the message. It teaches our kids that too much t.v is to good for them or for our family. It also shows the value of family time and communication. There is even a part where the rest of the family is watching t.v while Mama reads a book. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that although she read books, when she addressed the family, Mama included herself in the problem. Gotta love Mama Bear.

The only thing that I disagree with is some of the illustration. Since this is a kids book, the pictures say a lot. There are certain photos, like the one above that make Papa look like a child. I don’t think fathers should be portrayed in this light.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars