A Year Of Books

It was Christmas last year when Megan received the book The Little Princess from her sister.  It was about that time that I stumbled upon The Read Aloud Revival  a podcast by Sarah Mackenzie.  Then I read the novel The Reading Promise By Alice Ozma...  and my homeschooling and even parenting strategies were altered.

 

I have always read to my children.  A bookworm myself, reading to my children is something I knew was important.  I chose Heart of Dakota because of all the read alouds and literature for my daughters.  Here we are, nearly a year later, and my youngest, age nine, and I have been on many adventures. 

It simply clicked.  While I had always read to my children, it was the first thing set aside when life was busy.  It wasn't the priority to me it should have been.  It was something nice to do.  I had never really considered building our "family culture around books," as Sarah Mackenzie likes to quote in The Read Aloud Revival.  I had always thought that our family culture was around our faith. I didn't realize the two didn't have to be in competition. 

 

I bought Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson.  In this legendary homeschool book, I read repeatedly about how reading good books was foundational for multiple skills as well as for life.  I knew that reading to a child was amazing academically, but this put reading aloud into an entirely new realm.  Books could be used to open the world that God created.  Books, like Jesus, told stories to teach lessons.

 

I read a book written by Clay and Sally Clarkson's daughter, Sarah, called The Storyformed Life.  I felt a connection to Sarah, having been such a reader myself as a child.  I understood how books can reach your heart when nothing else can.  I knew I wanted that for my littlest daughter.

 

My daughter and I have read around 35 books together this year. We began with The Little Princess delved into entire series, such as the Borrowers series and The Chronicles of Narnia.  We have devoured a few Andrew Clements, and are now working through the Betsy Taci series. We have enjoyed Robert Lawson and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  

 

This has been a wonderful year.  My daughter loves being read to, and will often beg for one more chapter.  We read every night before bed, with few exceptions.  It has changed our night time routine.  Often, the older kids will come hang around to hear our stories.  The entire family got into The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

 

My own reading has picked back up again.  For a long time I struggled to read the way I used to, to get into a book and lose myself.  Some of it was just because I am a busy mom.  However, I also think my brain was adapting to cell phones and screens.  It wasn't focusing for any long period of time.  Simply picking up a book, putting my phone away, and shutting off the tv has helped me to regain my focus and love of reading.

 

I like be that I have the opportunity to homeschool and to share so many amazing adventures with my children through books.  Recently, my nine year old has begun reading to my infant grandson, her nephew, when he is over.  I see him listening and watching the pages and I get excited that we are igniting a fire in the mind of a little one.