Our Kindergarten Reading Alouds

We set a goal to read a novel every month during Kindergarten, and we did it! Here is a list of the books we read.

1. Magic Tree House 1-6
2. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
3. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo
4. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
5. Sarah, Plain and Tall
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
7. The Chocolate Touch

We started with Magic Tree House. These books are really great for introducing read aloud chapter books to your kids. The chapters are short, they are easy to understand, and very fast paced. But after six of them, I was ready for something with a little more depth to it.

As you an see, we went on a Kate Dicamillo kick. My daughter will tell you that she is her favorite author. While we were reading Jane would say, "How does she always write such good books?" I worried that some of the ideas or plot points would be above Jane's head, but she caught onto most of it really well, and I feel like the challenge was good for her. She has become very good at listening and understanding a story in the last year.

Sarah, Plain and Tall was received well and understood better than I expected. They played and talked about it for several days after we finished. I never finished a chapter though and had the kids beg for more.

Charlotte's web is a huge hit. We're almost finished with it, but the kids always beg for one more chapter. Always a good sign!

Jane's First 100 Books

This is a book list/reading log. We've set a goal for Jane to have read 100 books by herself by the end of August. We started with the Bob Books, which as you will see takes care of the first 50 titles. But the next 50 books I'm hoping to see a growth of confidence and a growing passion for reading.

1-50: Bob Books Sets 1-5
51. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
52. What Can You See? by Sharon Callen (Reading Seeds Level 1 Readers)
53. Zoo Hullabaloo by Sophie Valentine (Reading Seeds)
54. It's Good Enough to Eat  (Reading Seeds)
55. Maddy's Mad Hair Day (Reading Seeds)
56. This is my Story  (Reading Seeds)
57.  Edward the Explorer  (Reading Seeds)
58.  When I Grow Up  (Reading Seeds)
59. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
60. Playground Friends (Reading Seeds)
61. Max  (Reading Seeds)
62. The Princess and the Pea (Reading Seeds)
63. Safari Party  (Reading Seeds)
64. I Can Fly!
65. The Life of a Bee (Reading Seeds)
66. Boris the Basset (Reading Seeds)
67. And Then it's Spring by Julie Fogliano
68. Hat by Paul Hoppe
69. In a People House by Theo Le Seig
70. Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
71. The Little Red Ox from "Hay for my Ox: a Waldorf School First Reader"
72. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
73. Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
74. Lazy Jack by Kelley Morrow
75. More Spaghetti, I Say
76. Giraffes Can't Dance
77. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
78. Three Little Kittens
79. The Prince and the Dragon by Kelley Morrow
80. Splash!

So right about here, Jane's reading really took off. She would just sit in the reading corner and read book after book and I couldn't keep up with this list anymore. I've tried to remember them all, but I know I've missed some. Especially the ones read on vacation. You'll notice some of the books are baby books (that she read to her brother), some are early readers (that she tells me are too easy now, but likes adding to her 100 books), some are magazines (that she reads cover to cover several times), and some are early chapter books and more advanced picture books.


81. Chicken Little
82. Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
83. Ranger Rick Jr. July issue
84. Hunpty Dumpty magazine September/October Issue
85. What do you do with an idea?
86. Little Bear's Visit
87. Room on the Broom
88. Rock-A-Bye Farm
89.Get Dressed, Dudley
90. Going to the Beach (Carousel Readers) by Maxine Rose
91. Help! by Susan Green and Sharon Siamon (Reading Corners)
92. Moo, Baa, La La La!
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.

Simplicity Parenting: Food for Thought

I am currently reading "Simplicity Parenting" by Kim John Payne.  I have only read three chapters, but so far it is wonderful.  It is based on the fact that our familie's and children today are confronted with "too much".  Too much stuff, too many activities, too much information. I would highly recommend it to all families.  However I just wanted to share with you a quote from the book for you to chew on.

"By starting at home-embracing experience over things, and "enough" rather than always more-you've made room.  You've cleared out space, literally and emotionally.  You've made a container for relationship and the slow unfolding of childhood.  You've allowed room for your child's own imagination and their explorations through play.
It's a small environment, an even smaller circle of light we draw around those we love.  But for a while, when they are young and growing, we adults can offer the protection of more time and ease, less speed and clutter.  We can be the stewards of our child's home environment, setting limits and saying no to too many choices, to much stuff."

Interested?  You can read more and get more of an idea about this "simplicity" approach at simplicitiyparenting.com.

Banning Books

With the release of "The Hunger Games" movie, there has been some talk about the appropriate age of the audience of the movie, as well as the books.  Some parents go so far as to say they will not allow their children to read "The Hunger Games", just as some parents have forbade "Harry Potter" and other books.

The thought of banning certain books in a household is somewhat foreign to me.  My mother encouraged such a love of reading, that oftentimes we were reading books that she had never read before.  We would sometimes have to stop reading a book, when we no longer felt it was appropriate, but those guidelines were never explicitly stated anywhere, they just came through our own consciences.

I don't believe in banning books.  I believe in talking with your children about what is and is not appropriate, and letting them decide from there.  Even if you do not agree with the content of a book, I think it is much better to let your child decide whether or not to read it, and then leave the lines of communication open.  Talk with your children about what they are reading.  Sometimes, a book that you disagree with can lead to some great discussions where you can lay out your opinion and discuss openly with your child.

A far better solution, in my opinion, is to put an age requirement on certain books.  Rob and I have decided that no one younger than 9 or 10 in our family should read "The Hunger Games" simply due to it's violent nature.  However, the gruesomeness in the book can lead to some very thought provoking discussions about government, rebellion, and so forth.  I would not want to give that up.

So far we have one other age limit in our house.  You must be in at least 8th grade before reading Tolkien.  This has nothing to do with the content, and everything to do with the difficulty of the book. It is a story Rob and I both love so much, that we don't want our children wading into it too early and souring on the complexity of it.

But what about if you get a teenage daughter who only wants to read trashy romance novels?  Or a son who can't veer out of the comic books?  I think these kind of books, mind candy, as I call them, are ok in small amounts, but too much can make one feel dissatisfied with life or have false illusions of love.

Try to encourage books with more substance to them.  Read a chapter book aloud in your family.  Perhaps put a stipulation of your child reading a book you choose before another book they choose.  Then try to choose an appropriate book for their reading comprehension that still fits some of the same story lines that they love.  "Little Women", "Anne of Green Gables", "Witch of Blackbird Pond" are all wonderful stories with some romance to them.  In the action-adventure set, try "Percy Jackson", "Harry Potter", "Peter Pan", etc.

What are the reading rules like in your house?

Avoiding Mommy-Mushy Brain - Part 3

What are you reading?  For some of us the better question is, are you reading?  Books are a great way to enjoy learning.  We all know this.  That's why we read to our kids.  But we need to read, ourselves.  We also need to make sure that we aren't just reading junk romance or other escapist fiction.  I understand that picking up some light reading every now and then is really enjoyable.  But make sure that you are also reading books that make you think, stay with you, present another point of view, or teach you something. 

Try to intersperse non-fiction in your reading.  For some really interesting non-fiction reads, I suggest the following "starter" list.

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

anything written by Malcolm Gladwell
"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

Historical Fiction can also be a great way to learn about history and enjoy a good story at the same time.  I don't have a starter list for you, just search historical fiction on amazon and you will find plenty.

I am also a big fan of good fantasy and science fiction, which can present interesting moral dilemmas and insights.  I personally love Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Ender's Game and many more.

Then there are the classics.  You can find all sorts of lists on the Internet of things everyone should read.  But for a really thorough, well-rounded foundation for your mind, I think the list from Thomas Jefferson Education is a great place to start from.  They have a list for adults, youth, and children.

Remember, don't be afraid to look in your library's juvenile section for good literature.  Anything worth reading when you're 10 should be worth reading when you're 50.

The Rhythm of Family

I got this book for Christmas and I love it.  It has thoughts, activities, recipes and crafts to do every month and season.  If you want to establish a love of nature and what each season has to offer, I would highly recommend this book!

Benny Bakes a Cake

I always find it hard to find really good books for Miss J (2.5 y). She is beyond the extreme simplicity of baby books, but not quite ready for the involved narrative of most story books. This book by Eve Rice is perfect. The story is simple. The wording is perfect, short, sweet, and child-centered. It is easy to involve her in and ask questions about what will happen next, etc. My little man loves it too!

The Five Love Languages

Studies show that one of the greatest indicators in the happiness of a child is whether or not their parents have a healthy marriage. This means that we are more likely to reap the fruit of our mothering labors if we are sure to focus on our marriage. So with this in mind I would like to introduce you to "The Five Love Languages" by Dr. Gary Chapman.

The Five Love Languages is a fantastic book that I would recommend to everyone. The basic premise is that everyone receives love in one of five basid "languages". These basic languages are:

Words of Affirmation

Quality Time

Receiving Gifts

Acts of Service

Physical Touch

Communicating your love to your spouse in his or her love language and helping them communicate in your love language can have an amazing effect on your marriage. This book can help rescue marriages on the brink with this concept as well as just deepen an already healthy bond between husband and wife. Rob and I use the terms in this book to keep tabs on how we are doing with eachother and it really helps out a lot!

I think reading the book is your best bet, however, you can go to 5lovelanguages.com and get a healthy dose of the advice there too. At the website you will find a discussion guide anda profile to help you discover your love language and your spouses. I have also put their widget on the sidebar of this blog.

Read the book, check out the website, just start today! Let's be good mothers by making sure our marriage is in good shape!

Malcolm Gladwell Books

These books are for mom! Many of you have probably already read Malcolm Gladwell, but he is too goo not to recommend on this blog. I have already spoken about one thing I learned in his book "Tipping Point" and I have learned even more since that post. Some of it I can apply to family, but most of it is just plain interesting and brain boosting!

Malcolm Gladwell has written "Outliers", "Tipping Point", and "Blink". He also wrote for the New Yorker and you can find a compilation of his articles in the book, "What the Dog Saw".

Check out this author: Iza Trapani

I just recently found Iza Trapani books and they are a huge hit in this house. My kids love Sing Along books. Iza Trapani takes common kids songs and then makes up several new verses, usually about going on adventures and what not, then she illustrates them beautifully, binds them as a board book, and Wah-La, instant hit!

So far we have only read I'm a Little Tea Pot and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Miss J had me read the Tea Pot book over and over again, and as soon as I opened up Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star she got this huge smile on her face that was plastered there the whole book.

There are lots of titles to choose from so check her out!

Baby Gym Books

Everyone loves snuggling a sleeping baby, but some of us feel at a loss as to how to interact with our little bundle of joy when he is awake. I want to talk and interact with my baby...but what do I say? Maybe you have memories of silly songs and fingerplays your mom did with you but can't remember them exactly.

If you are looking for new ways to engage your newborn then you should check out Baby Gym Books. There are four different board books in this series from Child's Play.

Each book has 4-7 different activities to do with your child. They usually involve a song or nursery rhyme as well as the actions and illustrations of parents and babies doing the activities. The ideas are very simple, but they are good for when you feel like you are staring at your baby with nothing to say!