Reading Aloud (and Oregon trip notes)

Guest blogger! First of all, instead of a day to day update of our recent trip back to Oregon City, skip on over to Mom's blog, where you will find descriptions and photos galore. We really had a great time...it was a very good VACATION, in the sense that I came back refreshed and recharged. We did lots of day trips and also spent lots of time at home just talking and spending time together. It got pretty busy with all five kids running around, but never overwhelming.

Here's one picture of some of us at the beach (see Mom, you were there!):




I also wanted to post about Sophie and my first foray into chapter books. While in Oregon, Mom gave me some pointers and I felt ready to go. I pulled out my Read-Aloud Handbook and marked several books that looked about right for a four year old (there weren't many). Then Sophie and I went through that list and picked a few out and reserved them at the library. Monday after work we went to the library to pick them up and found a few others (including a large selection of Arthur chapter books-yay).

Ever since Sophie was born, I've been itching for her to be old enough so that I can start reading aloud to her. I'm not talking about reading board books and picture books, which she and I have been reading since day one. I wanted to recreate some of the special memories I have of my Mom reading out loud when I was a child, stories like Charlotte's Web or Summer of the Monkeys. I also want to start exposing Sophie to more concepts/stories/words/adventures than she is getting through the picture books so she can continue to grow as a reader and as a citizen of the world.

Now, Sophie has been reading independently for several months now and has improved very rapidly to the point where she can now read most picture books/Friend articles/stories on her own. I was surprised that the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was Sophie's insistence that she can read by herself now and that she didn't need me to read to her. If you know Sophie, you know that it can be difficult to change her mind when she fixes in her mind that something 'is' or 'isn't' done a certain way. I tried talking to her about when I was a little boy and talk about how fun it can be just to listen to a good story. Luckily, she finally agreed to give it a try and chose her first book - Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest. Not exactly my first choice, but it made her happy.

We first set some ground rules: 1) This is a special time for Sophie and Dad after Elanor goes to bed; 2) We have to read to Elanor and sing her songs and help her go potty (her routine) and close her door before we start; 3) The overhead light must be off; 4) Her head must remain on her pillow. She agreed and I began to read. The story is actually fairly entertaining and we made it through 2 chapters (and could have done more) before I called it quits. She listened raptly, laughed at the right parts, appreciated my dramatic pauses, and gave me a big hug before I left. Tonight we read a few more chapters and we both enjoyed it just as much and I was impressed that she was able to pick the story right back up.

We should be finished in a few nights and start on another book (hopefully not the other Arthur book we checked out). Here's to hoping this stays a part of our routine for a long time to come.