But, like the good mom I am, sometimes I have to completely ignore their opinions!
I am going to list a few of our favorite read aloud books/series here in case any of you would like to torture your children the same way I do. If I was more of a Pinterest mom, I would have a beautiful graphic labeled Top Ten Read Alouds...or something, but, since I am...me, you get a willy-nilly list that you will have to slog through if you are interested in my thoughts.
Favorites:
The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne
I liked these ones because they pack a lot into their skinny little binders. Action. Adventure. Intrigue. You don't necessarily have to stretch these ones out and can finish them in just 1 or 2 read aloud sessions. These are a good choice if you have someone under your roof that doesn't have a huge attention span.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
This is the first real book that I can remember being read aloud to me my Mrs. Toll in 4th grade. When I was in K through 3rd, my two favorite parts of the day were going to the milk cooler and counting out the little milk cartons for our class and going to the library and sitting at the librarians feet while she to read us reading upside down. But, when I moved on to the next school level, as a big kid, I was surprised when our teacher made part of our day read aloud time - and it was a big chapter book. It was also the first time I can remember wanting so hard to sob, but knowing that I would be mercilessly be teased (I am looking at you Mike O.) that I had to swallow it back and pretend that I was completed unaffected by the story. The beauty of homeschool is that all the other students have already seen everyone cry numerous times so it isn't that big of a deal.
Anne of Green Gables Lucy Maud Montgomery
This is still one of my favorites and I read this one just as much for me as I do for the kids. I have not made it through the whole series with my kids, but I feel as though their education would be lacking if they didn't know what a "bosom friend" is or that "tomorrow is a new day without any mistakes in it yet".
The Impossible Quest by Kate Forsyth
This us a book series that I got at a friends Usborne Books party. I personally enjoy fantasy and science fiction, so I am fine with those types of books even for my kids. This was a fun little series that has 4 kids as the heroes and lots of adventure, bad guys trying to get them and the need to work together and appreciate the gifts and talents that other people have to be just as important and useful as your own gifts and talents. There are some dark magic type moments, but there are those in the old Disney classics too.
I am also a big fan of mysteries, so the kids and I have done a few of those as read alouds too. These we just randomly picked up at the library. These are also skinny books, so they don't take too long to get through the whole book.
Cam Jansen
Encyclopedia Brown
Jigsaw Jones
We have read a few of the Boxcar Children books. There are a ton of them, so I don't have an exact one to recommend.
Not So Favorites:
We have tried to Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books - but my kids don't love them as much as I would like. I am not sure if they are too old fashioned, but not as old fashioned as say, Anne of Green Gables.
The Little House on the Prairie Books have had mixed reviews from my kids - which I find amazing - because I remember being entranced by the stories. I still love these books and I would say my kids "like" them well enough.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
This series is great! However, I don't consider them great read aloud option because there are a lot of wordy description sections that make the kids eyes glaze over. I have found these are better read by yourself, because it is easy to skim those parts and move along. I did the same thing when I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - great books - just not great read alouds - at least for my kids.
One other quirky thing about me is I have a rule that if I know there is a movie about a book - you HAVE to read the book first. No exceptions. (I will admit sometimes one will sneak by me that I have no idea was based on a book though!)
Yes, when you see the movie you are almost always disappointed because they left out so much detail or cast a completely wrong person in the role you connected with the most, but, I think it is better to have the true full picture/intent of the book before you see it on the screen.
This rule was where I got my reluctant readers to really read though and it was all because of....Harry Potter!
Now, I will say that I actually read the books first because I had heard a lot of talk when they first came out, from the Christian community, that they were horrible books. After reading them, I understand their concerns, but I found a lot of good in them. So, instead of banning the books, I had the kids read This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti first. Then we talked about how there really is evil in the world at work behind the scenes and talked about why some Christians were choosing to stay away from Harry Potter. I think this approach worked really well and we have enjoyed the Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling series with no guilt.
Honestly, my list really could go on and on. I LOVE to read. I am hoping to instill a little of that into my kids. One of my favorite memories of my dad was the time I realized that he liked to read as much as I did. When I was a kid, I remember him reading the newspaper every day and I remember him reading the Bible, but not really much other stuff. Looking back now, I am thinking it was just because he was too busy working, taking care of the house/yard/cars that he didn't have time to read for fun. I get it. There were many years in the middle of this parenting thing where I just couldn't read....or would start a book, full of hope that I would have time to finish it, and there it would sit on my bedside table - slowing accruing library fines - because I was too tired at the end of the day to read.
Back in 2001, Rainman had a long term work assignment in The Netherlands. We only had D-man and A-girl then, so we packed up and moved to the apartment his company had rented over there. At the end of his work assignment he took 2 weeks of vacation so we could tour Europe and asked his mom and my parents to fly over and meet us. It was so much fun being able to see the world with them. Back to the reason I started this story...when we were in Italy, I needed to run to the store (probably for diapers) and my dad said he would go with because he needed a few books. As he and I were perusing the books we could find printed in English we chatted a bit. I told him that I panicked a bit if I was almost done with a book and didn't have one waiting in the wings (even if my time to read was slim - I still needed one waiting for me as an option!). He chuckled and did his little sideways smirky-grin and said he was the same way. He explained that he was almost done with his Tom Clancy book and didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere in Europe and not have his next book ready to go because he wouldn't be able to relax without knowing he had a book.. I remember my mouth dropping open because I had no idea that he and I had that in common (since every one, including him, used to tell me that I was exactly like my mom).
Now that my kids are older, I have a lot more time to read. I have also stopped watching t.v., so most of my free time is spent with a book in my hands. I am hoping that all of my kids will follow my example and become readers. D-man has definitely become a reader, but he is following in Rainman's footsteps and seems to enjoy non-fiction more than fiction. But, hey....at least he is reading in his spare time and not doing all the other things a 21 year college guy could be doing, right?!?
We are getting reading to start our new school year next week and I only have 2 students still at home. Crazy! I have already started to gather my read aloud pile for the year....and they have started the moaning and groaning, like usual. It actually makes me smile a bit to hear them complain about this particular thing, because I know that at least one of the books I have chosen will get inside their heads and mean something to them or inspire them to go dig up information on ancient Egypt, or the depression, or even Norwegian recipes. I know it.
This is what homeschooling is all about....tackling favorites and the not so favorites - whether it is books, chores, school, or life... together.
big of a deal.
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