OUR own Reading Rainbow

Was anyone else obsessed with Reading Rainbow?  I sure was.  It was a highlight not only singing the song with my older brother as a kid, but I LOVED the books.  

I have always enjoyed reading and am so grateful to parents who instilled the joy of literature into my life at such a young age.

So some of my friends have asked "What do you read with your kids?"  So I thought my blog would be a great place to share this with some of you and I will try to do a regular update on the books we are reading.

And now days not only with the library but also technology iPads, Kindles, etc there are ALWAYS books (just around the corner).

Now I will admit at this point in time, we do have TV, and I may or may not occasionally let the cartoons babysit my children so I can get some things done.  But I always like to encourage them to (take a look in a book) on their own and read every night together as a family.

Ella (6 years old and in 1st grade) is my only child that can actually read herself at this time.  So every night I usually let the kids each pick out 2 books (so 4 total) that Dad or myself will read to them, then Ella will pick out 1 or 2 books to read to us or her school (mini) books from homework.


So right now some of the books that can be found around our house (that we own) are:

Before I Go to Sleep by Hood

This is a great imaginative book and one to encourage bedtime, which means I love it!

Amelia Bedelia by Parish

These were always a childhood favorite of mine, I remember her "putting the lights outs" as she hung the light bulbs outside.  So as soon as your kids begin to understand her crazy antics, that Ella is just starting to finally getting, they become a household favorite.

Harold and the Purple Crayon Adaptation by Garfield

These are always a good choice for kids.  Basic, but always encouraging them to explore using their own imaginations.  Don't forget to explore with your kids as you read or after the book by asking lots questions.

Fancy Nancy by O'Conner

This of course is almost always Ella's choice for her book to read to us.  She loves the girly books like Fancy Nancy. And although we often get sick of them, I ALWAYS let her choose, because I want her to LOVE reading and enjoy it.  (She already has her eyes on a few gems I loved that are a few levels harder, but I am making her master these basics before we move on.)

Let's Go to the Farm by Fisher Price

We usually get a very annoying whine, "ASHER! Not that baby book!" when he picks a book like this at night. BUT again I want them to enjoy it, and they BOTH still enjoy doing pop up, windows books even if they pretend they don't.  They also still have a little story associated with it. So I use these book choices to really ask questions, get them thinking about things, since it wont distract from the actual story line by doing so.

SO let me know if you enjoyed this and I will be happy to continue to post more about the children's books we are reading. Also I loved reading as an adolescent so if you need book ideas for your older kids let me know. OR if you know of or find any books you have just loved PLEASE SHARE! I am always looking for new books to read for myself, my kids and to share with other.

But don't take my word for it...

 Here's my kids with their own library cards. They were very excited about this. (If you can sign your name you can get a library card.)  Isn't Asher's name so cute!