Tell me. What did you do?

I love to read with my kids.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  We start the day with books.  We end the day with books.  We read. 

And some days I am not sure who loves it more, me or the kids :)  If you aren't currently surrounded by a library of young children's literature you are missing out!  I have my own favorite pages, favorite sentences, favorite illustrations - there is some great stuff out there :) 

I am going with the 

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

philosophy for encouraging reading.  I mean, obviously at some point a child needs to know the B says buh, that's foundational.  But much more motivating (for me) than teaching sounds and letters is dreaming that they will one day "yearn for the vast and endless sea" that reading offers.  

And as soon as Julianna could consistently combine sounds into words and stumble through sentences she settled down with On the Banks of Plum Creek and opened to page one.  She didn't get very far, but she knew what she wanted to do :) 

In the past few days Isaac has developed a charming habit of asking for specific books by quoting a line from the book.  Earlier today he walked up saying "Tell me, what did you do, tell me, what did you do.  Mom, can we read that book.  Tell me, what did you do?"   I mumbled under my breath, 'tell me what did you do tell me what did you do, what book is that?'   Isaac noticed my confusion.  "The Cat in the Hat Mommy, tell me, what did you do."

So we located Cat in the Hat and settled into the couch.

At dinner tonight he asked "Can we read stop thief?"  Matt and I looked at each other.  "Stop thief, yep, that's from a book.  Which one?"  As soon as he was down from the table he sprinted for his bookshelf and I found him there, muttering "the rabbit is in the garden, stop thief".

Of course, The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  Mr. McGregor, "waving a rake and calling out 'stop thief'".

The girls and I recently discovered the Magic Tree House series (short chapter books that we can usually finish in just one sitting) and we've also been reading some Boxcar Children (which I totally read when I was in elementary school!!)  There is a western owned bakery in town with a collection of children's books that you can informally borrow.  I've never actually been there (it's a bit of a drive from our area of town) but a friend picked up a stack of books for me the last time she was there - what a treat! 

And today Julianna was telling me about a book they read at school.  The main character is a monkey, and he is funnier than George (the curious one, that is).  Julianna talks like George is a real monkey and a perfectly legitimate standard for monkey-funny-ness comparison.

We moved bedtime prep earlier and now treat the girls to "candle reading".  They each have a fancy pink candle on their treasure shelves (gifted by Xiao Li)  that they have been dying to light!  So now we get ready early, light the candles, and Matt reads from Chronicles of Narnia.  This is such a special time that when Matt is away at night we still light the candles and read, but not from Narnia, since they know Daddy wouldn't want to miss a single chapter :)

Lydia struggles to follow along with Narnia, but she's delighted to participate in the candlelight experience and usually pages through other books while Matt reads.  At least something is sinking in though, because yesterday she noticed a picture of a lion (in a different book) and said "Mom, look, it's Aslan". 

As I write this Matt is surrounded by the kids in Isaac's room reading  巴士到站了   [No, I almost never read to them in Chinese.  But they have a stack of Chinese books and are quick to ask local friends for a read!] 

Do we read for hours every day?  No.  Is reading time always a picture perfect experience with smiling kids and a pleasant-voiced mommy?  No.

Some days we squabble over which book to read first. Some days little brother kicks and big sister can't forgive and I put down the books, walk to the bathroom and lock the door behind me.  Some nights Lydia gets candle wax on her pajama shirt.  Some months are filled with hurt, or chaos, or transition and we hardly read at all. 

But I do love reading with them so much.  And I love the shared language that comes from reading books together.  And I'm eager to see what 'one-liners' Isaac pulls on me tomorrow.  Here's hoping I'll be ready....