Apparently, the boys are always heading straight to the childcare's book collection.
I must admit, my heart glowed when i heard this.
She then asked if we read to the boys often?
But of course! We've started reading to them since they were 2 or 3 months old (I can't be sure, most of the first few weeks were a blur for me) . And books have been a large part of their winding down routine before bed.
She then said," You MUST have a large library of books for the children!"
I looked at Mr Eveel, and we kinda shrugged our shoulders and said, "Not really. We have a couple of books that we really do enjoy reading. And we just read them again and again."
The conversation later made me think about a book that I had picked up- 'What to read when'. I was at Kino looking for books for the boys. But because I was so overwhelmed with the selection of books there, I ended up looking for books about selecting books for your children. And i found this book. And OH MY! It was SUCH A GEM!
"Through books and stories that are designed to be read aloud, we convey to our children the beauty of language, the joys of rhythm and rhyme; and in the books we choose to read and the way we read them, we also convey the values we hold dear.
Everyday as you pack a lunch, wave a goodbye to a school bus, tie a shoelace, braid a ponytail, the words you want to say to your child hum inside you: I love you, be safe, I love you, be free. I love you, I love you, let the world treat you kindly, come back to me. Here are the values of my life, our family, here is what I hope for you, here is what I dream for you."
Isn't that just wondrous?
Pam Alyn, in this book, was able to convey what is in the deepest part of my soul when I think about the connections that I am building with my children through the stories we share together.
Her book served as both a reminder as well as a guide for why we must read to and with our children, talks about how we can help our children be life-long readers and provides a reading ladder- what to read to your child when.
One important thing that i got away from her was when you read what level of difficulty books with your kid, and the fact that reading to your child is NOT an activity that stops as soon as they learn to read. It is about the opportunity to dialogue with your child.
I will definitely blog more about the book soon!....because...it's worth sharing it! I mean, there's sooooo many books out there. If there was a way for us to be able to filter the not so great books from what are going to be the CLASSICS of our children's time, wouldn't you want to know how to do so?
Call me kiasu. But when it comes to my children's reading experience- I am definitely prepared to go ALL OUT!