As you can see, there has been a lot of reading going on at our house since the discovery of the Magic Tree House books at the library last week.
Tristan had shown an interest in reading chapter books, so I checked out five from the Tree House series, thinking they'd last him for quite awhile. Both he and Oliver have blown right through them and are begging for more.
They have always liked reading and being read to, but these books have opened up a whole new world for them. I just started letting them have their own "reading time" in their beds at night - I usually read a little book to all the kids, and then go put Rachel and Elizabeth to bed while the boys read for 20-30 minutes (or until 8:00). They love this new system. Lately they've been wanting to go to bed earlier and earlier so they can have more reading time, which has been nice. The other night they had cleaned the whole upstairs and were in their pajamas ready for bed by 6:55. They were unbelievably excited to have more than an hour to read, and I was just as thrilled with the idea.
My favorite thing is when I go upstairs to turn off the lights and they beg me to let them finish "just one more page". It's so fun to see them get so excited about something that I also love (I spent many nights as a kid secretly reading long past "lights out" time - although now that I think of it, maybe my parents knew all along, and were just happy to let me).
Tristan has also started trying to squeeze in a few minutes of extra reading time before school in the morning (he doesn't have Oliver's luxury of staying home and reading all day). He asked me if he could start waking up at 6:00 a.m. so he could have more time to read before breakfast. I said no. I'd like to just stick to the earlier bedtimes, please.
The only one who has not been so happy with this new passion is Rachel. She just does not understand why Oliver would rather be curled up with a book somewhere than playing with her. She finally started cuddling up next to him and convincing him to read aloud to her, and they both seem okay with that arrangement.
I feel bad that I didn't introduce chapter books earlier - I had no idea that they were both so ready. It's just funny when your kids jump to a new stage and you don't realize it for awhile. That happens to me a lot. I think I tend to assume they will stay the same forever, and it's not till I try something new that I realize, "Oh, maybe they were ready for something different."
Anyway, we're probably headed back to the library soon, and I have a feeling they'll be done with this Magic Tree House series before long, so does anybody have any other favorite chapter books to recommend for 5 and 7 year old boys?
Daniel suggested starting Tristan on Louis L'amour books, but I'm not quite sure that's the next step (I think my grandpa waited until I was at least eight before starting me on his collection).
6 comments:
Oh, I just loved hearing about how they love to read. And it's so adorable that Oliver will read to Rachel. Also I loved hearing Lizzy's reaction to Londy's shoes. I love that she tried to 'get it.'
doesn't that sound just like us when we were younger? i don't know if i started that early, but i sure remember feeling like there weren't enough hours in the day to read as much as i wanted to. in fact, i still feel like that. i'll try to think of some books they would like. what about boxcar children?
Wow! That's impressive that they're both reading so well at such a young age! I love the pictures of them reading all over the house! I used to prop up a book to read while I washed dishes on my dish night as a kid. : ) Books are awesome! That must be a very nice guilt free break for you too!
i also thought of the boxcar children books. some of the beverly cleary books might be good too (ramona series, etc.) maybe roald dahl? i can't really remember when i started reading those books.
OK!! I will get rid of my TV. That is so cute that he is reading to Rachel, what a great thing to be doing with your time.
That's so great. I remember Tristan started reading (and doing mental math) really early. But you taught him, right? Could you tell me what the name is of the reading program you used? I recall you telling me about it, 'Teach your kid to read in 100 days'? Something like that.
I'm looking around for things to keep Gracie busy. She can almost say the alphabet and recognizes 80%of the letters by sight. I just want her to stay interested, and reading seems like the next step this year. We've got flash cards, and alphabet toys that teach the sounds of the letters. I just need some more ideas!
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