Reading is an Adventure

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Last week my kids and I started reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Our World History curriculum has landed us in America during the 1800′s when people looked to the West for a new life and cheap land, and the Ingalls family is to be one of our tour guides on this adventure.

Reading the “Little House” books to my kids is bittersweet. I can remember reading the series with my older girls about 10 years ago, and I can still picture them falling in love with the prairie. Hand-washing clothes and churning butter seem magical tasks to children used to modern convenience. We made vanity-cakes, the girls wore sunbonnets, and we even stitched a quilt that summer. My girls loved the stories so much that we decorated their bedroom with patchwork quilts and a wall-border made of Little House paper dolls. Little did I know that those memories we made would live long in our minds.

When it comes to reading aloud, my biggest hang-up is time. It is easier to hand the kids a book and let them know that it needs to be read by Friday. I do this with some books, but at least one book per week is read aloud by me. I make this a priority, and on normal school-days we rarely bypass this.

Making room for reading in your schedule is as simple as picking a time and a place and sticking to it. Everyday after lunch my kids know where to find me: on the couch with a book in my hand, ready to go.

Taking the time to read books to your children is not only a great way to learn, but it is also a perfect way to create memories as you meet new people, visit new places and encounter new ideas. Reading instills a love for learning and a curiosity about life and people, but it also forges a bond that only comes through sharing adventure and visiting magical places together, even if the adventures are undertaken from the comfort of your couch.