Read Alouds

Sometimes when a subject is really close to me, I have a hard time writing about it.  Such is the case today.  I've been dancing around the idea of writing about reading, specifically reading aloud, ever since I read the book The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie earlier this summer.  It has been years since I've read something so informative, affirming and enjoyable.  When I was about halfway through the book, Shawn looked up at me from his spot on the couch and said, "wow, I haven't seen you have this much fun reading in a long time."  I knew I was going to enjoy the book because I love reading aloud to Nicole, but I didn't expect Sarah's story to echo so much of my own or to synthesize the countless benefits of reading that I learned during my teacher training.

Wearing her goggles to play outside :).  

We unknowingly created a read-aloud culture in our family when Nicole was six months old and we signed up for the 1,000 books before Kindergarten program at our library.  I brought home our first log and told Shawn that I was just going to hunker down and go for it because I had the time to log everything and more importantly, because Nicole wasn't crawling yet, I had her attention.  It took less than a week to read the first 200 books and less than 2 months to finish all 1,000.  I would pull Nicole onto my lap and grab a bulging bin of board books and we would read and read and read until we had read everything in the bin.  A few hours later we'd do it all over again.  It was fun and warm, light hearted and a welcomed escape from the monotony of our daily life.  Reading together gave us a shared activity that was easy, interactive and filled with exploration.

Jonah is almost big enough to ride Nicole's tricycle! 

I loved every minute of all 1,000 books but I wasn't sure if Nicole's budding mobility would be the end of our reading or not.   As it turns out, it was only the beginning.   She did learn to crawl and eventually walk, but she still loved books and I still loved having her nestled into my lap for story time.  I don't know how many books we've read together since we completed the 1,000 book program two years ago, but I know that each and every story has woven its way into our life in some way.  The books we've read together have been the catalyst to her rapidly evolving language development and they have served as a shared and ongoing dialogue in our home.

I plan to read to my kids for years and years to come.  I hope that we have many evenings cozied up in the living room together, munching on popcorn, and sharing a story.  I hope that the books we read aloud lead to meaningful conversations and deep connections.  And I hope that by being a family who reads aloud, my children know that we will always make time for them.   I look forward to the stories we have yet to share and the rich experiences we will have in the process.

What's your favorite read aloud?

Love,
Erica

P.S. I will be taking next week off in an attempt to unplug and recharge a little bit but I'm looking forward to catching up again in two weeks.