"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.
Love of books is the best of all."
— Jacqueline Kennedy
Reading is not just something that I do in the evening after the kids are in bed. I was raised in a family of readers, married a reader, and am trying to raise another generation of readers. From the time we brought our firstborn home, we've been reading to our kids. We are a homeschooling family, and our approach to just about every subject is literature-based. What I'm saying is: we read a lot around here. Heard daily around our house is this question: What are you reading now?
Today, here are the answers:
The Firstborn, age 15, just finished a John Steinbeck marathon and has now moved onto H.P. Lovecraft.
The Princess, age 10, is reading Understood Betsy, and we are reading through the Little House on the Prairie series together again.
The Rascal, age 7, is reading all kinds of street signs and store signs; in other words, he is emerging into the realm of the written word, making daily strides. The last book he read by himself was Danny and the Dinosaur, and Dr. H. is reading through the Harry Potter series with him for the first time.
Dr. H., having just finished a rather ponderous biography of Thomas Jefferson, is now reading HP and the Deathly Hallows for approximately the 812th time.
And this week for me: I finished Ami McKay's The Birth House and gave it a lukewarm review here. I'm more than halfway through Sue Miller's The Senator's Wife and am enjoying it very much. I picked up that and a couple of other books off the library's new arrivals shelves last week: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhuma Lahiri; A Beginning, A Middle, and An End by Avi (it's a kids' book on writing); and Deborah Weisgall's The World Before Her. I plan to read these three before I tackle my new stack of books. And then comes the ethical dilemma: do I add these library acquisitions to my TBR list even though they weren't really on my TBR list? What would you do?
Harry Potter only gets better and better. The last book is my favorite. I wish she would have left the last chapter out of the book, however.
ReplyDeleteI think she felt the need to wrap it up in a nice little bow but I think it really shot a hole in the end for me.
I'm going to link to you, fellow homeschooling mom. :-)
Shelly M.
The Mom With Brownies
I have recently discovered a love of historical fiction thanks to my boss. She introduced me to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and I'm halfway through the second book... I forgot just how much I love to read :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post and beautiful family. I think we have similar tastes in books. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeletethat is so neat, it is cool to see what your kiddos are reading too!
ReplyDeleteI really want to read The birthing house (or something like that) from you list and the new one by Jhumpa Lahiri as well!!!
I LOVE Understood Betsy. I subjected my son to it when he was younger, it was one of our read alouds. :-) I can't wait to read it to my daughters.
ReplyDeleteAlso love the Little House series. Again can't wait to read it to my daughters.
I never add the books I randomly choose from the library to my TBR list.
I think it's great that your entire family likes to read. :-) I hope you are enjoying the weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! I loved it! When I was your youngest daughters age, I also read the Little House on the Prarie books. My aunt gave me the entire collection one Christmas and I held them very dear. Unfortunatly I don't have them anymore (30 yrs later) and I regret that. I almost picked up THE SENATORS WIFE several times, but it never makes it home with me. I'll be anxious to read your review once you've finished. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm going to try to rid myself of the guilt about my reading time. I would rather read than pretty much anything. Take care!
ReplyDeleteMom with Brownies: Nice to see you over here!! It's fun getting to read the HP series again to another child!
ReplyDeleteSlices of Sanity: I tried Gabaldon and didn't like the first one. I know I'm the only person in the universe who didn't, but...
Kristy: Thanks for stopping by!
Bethany: I've been seeing Jhumpa Lahiri everywhere!
Eileen: Now I guess I can't add the books to my TBR list!
Feline: What IS a fabulavore?
Lisa: Have a guilt-free reading week!
Belonging to a readers family feels good, does it not? I inherited loads of books from my maternal grandfather. All in leather bound. I truly cherish those books.
ReplyDeleteYour kids are doing good!
My Salon moments I
My Salon moments II
Isn't it great to be raising readers?
ReplyDeleteAnd, what ethical dilemma? What good is a TBR list if you're not going to add new books to it? Maybe that's why I don't keep a TBR list; or maybe I do, but I call it my "books to look for" list. Doesn't imply actually ever reading any of them...
Add the books. Or just read them without adding them.
I got Winter Wheat from the library today!
A fabulavore is someone who gets nourishment from stories. It's a word my husband made up one day and I grew attached.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI was not of the generation that home schooled.
However, education,and reading were a part of our children's lives even while in the womb.
Now one is a professor of English Literature. She got her PHD with a 3.98 GPA.
The other is an RN, who is head nurse on her shift in the ER at a major hospital that accepts abd treats trauma.
She has 4 boys. Two of which are of school age. She home schools and this year they both tested two years ahead of the grade they would be in if in the public school system.
I applaud all of you home schoolers. You are helping to improve the next generation that will run our country and contribute greatly to the world!!:-)))