What Our Family Is Reading This Summer

by | Jul 3, 2018 | Resources and Encouragement | 2 comments

During the school year, we read A LOT of books. We read books for our Literature curriculum, but we also spend time with our individual choices. Reading time looks differently for my 10-year-old versus my two-year-old. My 10-year-old spends time reading in bed each night and also during our time together in the morning. But, even my two-year-old can now sit down for at least 20 minutes and look at a variety of board books.

Today, I’d like to share the books we’re reading this summer.

Our Morning Time Basket

When we started homeschooling last year, I knew I wanted to do something different and intentional to start our day. One of the blogs I follow had suggested doing a Morning Basket. She gave examples of things that could go in them such as a Bible, book, Scripture, or anything else you want.

So, I created our own basket that we use each morning after breakfast. Even in the summer, we continue our after-breakfast routine of “Morning Time.” Right now my basket has:

    • Our Bible
    • Robert Frost Poems
    • Belong To God: A Catechism For Young Children

My daughter and I work on memorizing a short poem each month and we love talking about the different writing styles. She wants to move to Emily Dickinson next! I often do a theme for our basket to match the seasons or coincide what we’re studying on Sunday mornings.

“Little Man’s” Favorite Toddler Choices

I love how my son enjoys the same classic stories that my daughter did when she was younger. Although my children were quite different at the toddler stage, there are some stories that are loved by all toddlers. Some of these beloved toddler choices include:

My Daughter’s Current Reads

I am thrilled that my daughter is as much an avid reader as I am. As a word of encouragement to you mothers of littles, don’t stress about the reading stage!! They’ll get it when they get it, trust me!

My daughter had some trouble grasping onto reading in Kindergarten and somehow the summer before First Grade, the light came on. Since then I’ve never been able to pry a book from her hands! She’s currently reading:

What I’m Reading

Ok, it’s time for an honest moment. I have huge goals in reading but ever since “Little Man” arrived, my reading stack has remained untouched. I’m doing better now that it’s the summer and he’s 2-year-old now. But, I honestly have to grab a few minutes here and there. Here’s what I’m currently reading (or trying to):

I can say that I am making excellent headway on each of these books. In our family, we always read a few books at a time. They usually consist of fiction, theology, or cooking.

My Husband’s Reads

There was a time when my husband read much more than I did. We’ve enjoyed reading different genres over the course of our marriage. Many of these have been enjoyed together. He is currently enjoying these books:

The Third Plate by Dan Barber

In this book, Chef Dan Barber explains the problems with processed food. He creates a case for the Farm-to-Table movement that begins with soil quality.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

We are definitely huge C.S. Lewis fans! This book is part of Lewis’ Space Trilogy series. While the Narnia series was written for children, this series is geared toward young and older adults. This is would fall into the genre of science fiction.

Our After-Dinner Read Aloud

Ever since our daughter was an infant, my husband and I have read aloud to her. We cherish these precious times whether we have an hour or 10 minutes to read. Now, instead of board books, we make our way through timeless treasures after dinner or before bedtime.

While it may not seem like our toddler is listening, the act of hearing our voices put sentences together has a great impact on his small brain. Our current family read-aloud books are:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

We are now on book three, The Horse and His Boy. We’ve had enjoyed reading the first two novels many times. Now, we’re continuing the series after dinner each evening.

Give Your Child the World by Jamie C. Martin

This book is not necessarily one we read aloud. It’s actually a reading program we do together with the children. The book is divided into 8 sections (one for each week). Each section focuses on a different part of the world that you read about.

There is a reading list in each section and you can choose which books you’d like to read. This is our second summer doing the program and we’ve learned so much! We find most of the books in our local library.

How Do We Find The Time?

I’ve had several people ask me how I possibly find time to read when I homeschool, work from home, and manage two children. Well, it’s all about priority. If you don’t prioritize something that’s important to you, it’ll likely never happen.  In my next post, I’ll give you some practical ways you can make it happen in your home too.

-Danielle

 

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