On Reading: Beyond the Story Time

As a preschool teacher turned stay-at-home mom, I’ve tended to keep my days at home with the kids structured in similar ways with how I lived my classroom life. We have snack time in the morning (or what my three year old often calls “second breakfast”), and they have time to play indoors with art materials, building toys, and games. We try to go outside every morning, unless it’s just too darn cold for Mommy, and we cap off every day’s lunchtime with a story or two shared together on the couch before heading upstairs for the naptime tucking in. We read together every day. It’s wonderful.

Except… I’ve been thinking that I really need to move beyond the “story time” exclusivity of our reading habits. During the period of reading all the Cybils nominees in the picture book category, almost 250 books came into our house, and I wanted to read the vast majority of them with the kids, which simply wouldn’t have been possible at just two to four books a day. Add to that, we usually have anywhere from 30 to 60 books on our “library shelf” from our weekly trips to our newly renovated and incredible public library. All these books, and never enough time!

Since I’m truly the type of person who basks in the regularity of a routine schedule each and every day, branching out from a prescribed “story time” is a bit of a challenge for me, but I want to make an effort and the only possible outcome is more books read with my kids, which is always a good thing. Here are some ideas that we’re trying or will try:

• Learning to love the audio book— Our library has some great kids books on CD, both picture books and early chapter books, and I’m sure the kids wouldn’t complain if my usual playing of NPR during breakfast was occasionally replaced with a story on the kitchen CD player. We’ve listened to the audio version of The Talented Clementine, which is read by the FABULOUS Jessica Almasy who captures the spirit of Clementine perfectly.
• Starting some chapter read alouds— Upon strong recommendation by Carrie of Reading to Know, I suggested Tumtum and Nutmeg as a holiday gift for my daughter, and now all the kids and I are spending longer sessions reading together in the evening. Sure, the three year old really doesn’t care to sit still, but he pulls a pile of picture books onto the floor with him and moves around a lot, and he’s still doing something bookish while we’re all reading. We have to make extra time in the evening to fit in this longer reading time, but the feeling I had the other night while we all snuggled up on my daughter’s loft bed while I read aloud was more than worth it.
• Relating books to play— The other day when the kids were really into playing a cool game we have, Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABC, I decided on the spot that as soon as they were done with the game, I’d pull out a couple of alphabet books for an impromptu reading time. We’re fortunate to have a good stock of kids’ books at home, and I can think of several different titles at the drop of a hat that would relate to alphabet play, construction and block building, counting and math activities, playing “house” and any of the other types of play that my own kids frequently partake in. I’m thinking I just need to be attuned to the moments when I can offer a book that relates to their play without disrupting it.
• Keep on reading aloud, no matter the age— My oldest child is ten and is a voracious reader in his own right. Even though he’s been reading on his own for many years now, I’m thrilled to report that he still enjoys when we read books aloud together. Just this week, his online gift card purchase of Jon Scieszka’s Spaceheadz Book #2 was delivered, and his first words were, “Wanna read it together?” Even though we spend many mornings locked in the get-ready-for-school-battles, when we read together, we share laughter and even the occasional tears, and we’re indulging our shared love of books.
• Books, books, everywhere books!— I’m not sure how much more I can do this, but I’m happy that everywhere I look in our teeny townhouse are reading materials. Bookshelves with our books up high and lower shelves for the kids are pretty standard, but we also have a special shelf in the living room, and one in each of the kids’ bedrooms that are designated for the books that we borrow from the library. Then there are the baskets under the side table in the dining room that are for seasonal or topical books– even though we’re the only place on the East Coast that hasn’t had measurable snow yet this winter, our baskets are full with wintry fun books. Back when we were raising earthworms (yup, you read that right, and you could get the cool kit, too!!), we had a basket of both nonfiction and fiction picture books on the topic. And then there are the National Geographics that seem to get a whole lot of attention in the bathroom, too!

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and from the time when I was pregnant with my first child (ahem) eleven years ago, I hoped with every ounce of my being that my child would love it, too. I’m blessed to have three children who often have a book nearby, and of all the habits that I could potentially pass down, this is by far the best of them all. Thankfully, it’s not something that I have to push on them, but it definitely is a habit that I want to nurture in any way that I can.

Knobby knees and an extreme predisposition for sunburns are two not-so-lovely traits Dawn handed down to her offspring. A love for reading is much more worthy of celebration. Dawn blogs at my thoughts exactly.