Just thought I'd pass along a couple of good book suggestions. Awhile back I read these books to my kiddos, and we had some really great times in the process. Over the summer we read Goodnight Mister Tom, by Michelle Magorian, and before that we finished The Miracle of Miss Willie, by Alma J. Yates. My goal is to always be in the middle of a good book with them--but I fall far short of that. I don't know why I don't make it happen every night, since I love it so much! These moments are what mommyhood is all about!
Anyway, these books are SO GREAT--we laughed, cried, and had lots of discussion on topics that never would have come up otherwise. The reason these two books were especially good were that my older kids liked them. The younger ones are always up for a story, but the older ones often have homework or other activities going on, and have to be "persuaded" (and yes, sometimes forced) to sit down and listen. My kids know that one of my rules is that "you're never too old to be read to."
As is often the case, the first few times we opened these books the older kids grumbled and said they didn't have time. I have to admit that even I questioned myself a couple of times as I made them join us, knowing they really did have homework that was going to keep them up late. Sometimes I just told them to work on their homework while I read. I was only asking for 10 or 15 minutes--and I knew it could possibly be the most worthwhile few minutes of their day.
We didn't have to get too far into either book before we began to see some changes in attitude. The kids were gathering faster than they had at first. We had comments like, "Don't read Miss Willie while I'm gone!" as they headed out the door to mutual. And my favorite was one night when we started reading Mr. Tom and Ashlee popped her head up (from her pillow) and said, "What's going on?!?" (She had fallen asleep during the story the night before.) The other kids started filling her in on what she had missed. They were all trying to talk at once, and Ashlee was just as caught up in listening to them as I've ever seen her watching American Idol. By the time they finished telling her about what she had missed she was sitting up, ready for the next chapter. Actually, my ultimate favorite attitude change was the one that happened in Rob. He's always been a TV kind of guy--(why spend days or weeks reading a book when you can watch the movie in 2 hours?) But after overhearing us a few times he actually started joining us, especially toward the ends of the books--and even doing the reading some nights!
There's nothing quite like the excitement of a good book--and reading as a family just makes it 100x better! I can't wait to find our next good read! Any suggestions???
Oh, one more I just thought about: That Quail, Robert, by Margaret Stanger, is a really great book for all ages too. Especially for animal lovers! Your kids will start begging you for a "Robert."
Goodnight Mr. Tom has some hard issues in it, so if you're concerned you can pre-read it before reading it with your kids. And FYI--you'll need tissues for these ones...
Anyway, these books are SO GREAT--we laughed, cried, and had lots of discussion on topics that never would have come up otherwise. The reason these two books were especially good were that my older kids liked them. The younger ones are always up for a story, but the older ones often have homework or other activities going on, and have to be "persuaded" (and yes, sometimes forced) to sit down and listen. My kids know that one of my rules is that "you're never too old to be read to."
As is often the case, the first few times we opened these books the older kids grumbled and said they didn't have time. I have to admit that even I questioned myself a couple of times as I made them join us, knowing they really did have homework that was going to keep them up late. Sometimes I just told them to work on their homework while I read. I was only asking for 10 or 15 minutes--and I knew it could possibly be the most worthwhile few minutes of their day.
We didn't have to get too far into either book before we began to see some changes in attitude. The kids were gathering faster than they had at first. We had comments like, "Don't read Miss Willie while I'm gone!" as they headed out the door to mutual. And my favorite was one night when we started reading Mr. Tom and Ashlee popped her head up (from her pillow) and said, "What's going on?!?" (She had fallen asleep during the story the night before.) The other kids started filling her in on what she had missed. They were all trying to talk at once, and Ashlee was just as caught up in listening to them as I've ever seen her watching American Idol. By the time they finished telling her about what she had missed she was sitting up, ready for the next chapter. Actually, my ultimate favorite attitude change was the one that happened in Rob. He's always been a TV kind of guy--(why spend days or weeks reading a book when you can watch the movie in 2 hours?) But after overhearing us a few times he actually started joining us, especially toward the ends of the books--and even doing the reading some nights!
There's nothing quite like the excitement of a good book--and reading as a family just makes it 100x better! I can't wait to find our next good read! Any suggestions???
Oh, one more I just thought about: That Quail, Robert, by Margaret Stanger, is a really great book for all ages too. Especially for animal lovers! Your kids will start begging you for a "Robert."
Goodnight Mr. Tom has some hard issues in it, so if you're concerned you can pre-read it before reading it with your kids. And FYI--you'll need tissues for these ones...
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