story time
Look at those two monkeys, enjoying their story. Richard is a great story teller. He is really good at making a story come alive and has lots of voices. He is the designated bedtime story reader in our house. A few days ago, Alistair dug up picture book that was given to Richard when he was four years old. It is called 'The extraordinary tug of war'. It is about a hare that outwits a hyppopotamus and an elephant. We have lots of books from Richard's childhood and - given a choice - he would always read one of those, rather than a 'modern' children's book. These he doesn't like much. His loss I guess. James and Alistair are still firmly in the picture books stage, although chapter books have made an appearance recently. Neither of the boys confidently reads their own books.
What do you read to your children? Do you read every day, or just some days? Do you take turns? Or do you have a designated story reader?
Have a lovely week. xx
What do you read to your children? Do you read every day, or just some days? Do you take turns? Or do you have a designated story reader?
Have a lovely week. xx
When the girls were small, we read everyday to them and as they progressed we listened to them as well. They are all grown and have children of their own but they still have a love of books and are passing that love on.
ReplyDeleteHaving grand children has meant I read children's books every day (I'm their care giver weekdays) there's always a library outing with the 3 year old, and then during the week we read the new stack as well as ones on their bookshelves. If the at school older one comes home for lunch there are books while we eat. I love the absolute quiet rapt faces as the story unfolds.
ReplyDeleteWhen our daughter was young my husband was the designated reader, it was their time together and they read everything, long after she could read to herself.
ReplyDeleteSuch precious times! I was the designated reader in our home when my children were young. And also when they were older. We kept up the tradition of having a book we were reading aloud right up until they went off to university. Now I'm anxiously waiting for my granddaughters to be old enough to read books to.
ReplyDeleteHey Christina,
ReplyDeleteI guess I am the designated story reader, although Marc may do it occasionally at the weekends. He doesn't like to do it for some reason. I have read to all three boys, until they preferred reading alone. Olly and I have nearly finished The BFG (Dahl), and we are also reading Paddington Bear. He is not a fluent reader yet. If I'm honest I sometimes find it a chore, but that's usually when I'm tired or had enough of him!!
Leanne xx
It was me, there dads had no interest in them never mind reading a book, I collected a complete set of the Life Books Of The Gnomes and Around The World Gnomes, they were a part work and I used to love reading them to the kids, My eldest has them now for her children :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Christina. Both my girls love stories and I read to them a few times most days and every bed time. My husband sometimes read to them but mostly it's me. It's usually picture books although we did finish 'Matilda' over the summer holidays. We read to them a few pages every night for several weeks and they liked it, although they did complain that there wasn't as many pictures.
ReplyDeleteI read to my two youngest every evening before bed. We're on a reading streak, as in Alice Ozma's Reading Promise. We've read some good ones lately, including "Black Hearts in Battersea", I really got into doing the accents there. I've been thinking I should do a post about some of the books we've enjoyed, you've reminded me. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteWe take turns. My husband and I read to our daughter that is disabled and she just enjoys seeing the pictures :0) the eyes of your children are so precious :0) mari
ReplyDeleteused to love story time. my husband was hopeless at it though, he would be so tired after work he would always fall asleep half way through the story........
ReplyDeleteI only remember reading to myself, but I would always stick my nose into a book whenever I could, wherever I was! I still would, unless I was crocheting or something else! I think that it is great that you read to your children and that they obviously enjoy it so much. I expect that they will come to reading on their own in their own time. xx
ReplyDeleteTheir faces are adorable, they look so interested in the story. I love to read to my children and try to do it every day. My husband is very good at making up his own stories and we all really love that.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet they look so absorbed by the story. I miss those times with my boys. My two always enjoyed the Alfie & Annie books - anything by Shirley Hughes actually & we were all fascinated by the pictures xx
ReplyDeleteAs an ex prinary school teacher I had a skill for sharing stories but my man was amazed that when he came to read to our baby he couldn't do it. He said it was hard and I couldn't understand. Now he is really good after years of practise and he does voices now too (as well as a bit of comical ad libbing) Jo x
ReplyDeleteI love their little faces. I miss reading stories to my boys... It is many many years since I was needed to do that. I do still have their favourite picture books in a box in the loft though.
ReplyDeleteI don't have children yet but I work with books and reading to your children on a regular basis is the best you can do for them! They learn to concentrate, to listen, to follow a story and they get a feeling for their language which will help them in school, both with their mother tongue and with foreign languages as well. I'm an avid reader (always have been) and I can't wait to have children of my own to read them my favourite children books! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous expressions...totally absorbed . Having taught year 2 for many years I have to say story time was definitely a favourite time. You just had to start reading and they would be totally with you with those rapt expressions..one of my favourite stories was Harry the poisonous centipede. Always went down well.. Can't wait for grandchildren to read to, my boys are definitely too old! B X
ReplyDeleteWe read everyday. In fact, we have "quiet book time" every night for about an hour. Everyone reads independently and sips hot chocolate an hour before the kids bedtime. The younger two kids still get a story book before sleep too. I dont think I am ready to give that up yet!
ReplyDeleteThe look on their faces! They are hanging off his every word. My two read to themselves every night and also every morning when they first wake up (we never told them to do that, they just do!) and of course we listen to them read their school reading books. I love to read aloud to them too, especially if it's something I'm enjoying too. But it varies, and we're not militant about it.
ReplyDeleteTheir wee faces! Pure magic! We have both been story tellers in our house but I think (if I do say so myself) I am more dramatic and I do love to put on very silly voices etc. Mostly though the children read to themselves, it's a bit sad, I suppose, but we have had such an intense decade with an autistic one in the house that we are just glad of a rest!
ReplyDeleteJillxo
My husband or I used to read every night to our two until they no longer wanted us too. Bath, stories, songs and tucking them in with a sheet and blanket made for a good night's sleep for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI love that story although we don't have the picture book version here. I read a lot to my children but as I spend all day everyday with them there is lots of time to do it. We read non fiction together for our projects. We always have a chapter book on the go which I read four days a week immediately after eating dinner/lunch. I read to my daughter a few nights a week before bed. I also read lots of picture books to my youngest when she requests it. My eldest tends to read to himself mostly and leaves a trail of books behind him.....
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, when our children were young, I was the primary storybook reader in our household, and I tried to read something to/or with our four children every day...but I suspect my kids especially enjoyed it when their dad read to them...he was more adventurous :) xx
ReplyDeleteI read to my older boys everyday and now I do with Little Buddy, who can recite most of the books we read him by heart. My husband read all the Harry Potter books to my kids when they were a bit older, a chapter a night.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Gorgeous photo's! I read incessantly to my boys from when they were babies. My oldest started wanting to read his own bedtime stories when he was about 9, but I still read to my youngest every night (he is 13). We both love it. He reads by himself too, but loves a story at bedtime. We recently finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, now having a bit of light relief with the Harry Potter series! X
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I couldn't wait to be able to read. Once I could read I was the person who read to my brother and sister. I loved reading stories to my children when they were younger, re-reading some of them until I knew them off by heart. They're too old to have stories read to them now!
ReplyDeleteI think the time spent reading to children is very special, I mean, you only have to look at James and Alistair's faces to see they're engrossed. We used to read to our two most days when they were small, in fact, Eleanor and I read The Secret Garden together when she was in her teens. I love the closeness that you get at story time.
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