Recently:

We finished up the two books I mentioned in the last post a while back:

My Father' Dragon was a great starter chapter book.  It's the perfect bridge between picture books and chapter books.  I also got the audio book for $1 one day through amazon, I think, so that's fun.  Jonas read aloud the majority of this book after dinner.

This book has deep childhood memories associated with it for me.  :)  The kids were really into it and it produced all sorts of spin-off conversations about playing instruments, birds, camping, science, travel, etc.  

Most recently we've been reading this book.  It's actually a compilation of 3 books in one binding, so right now we are 1/2 way through book #3 in there, and we're on page 400 or so.  I asked the kids just today if they wanted to read something else (because I would rarely read 3 books in a series, or even by the same author, back to back), but they protested that they were loving it and didn't want to stop now.  I'm always a big fan of stopping if a book bores you...life is too short...there is so much good stuff out there!  Only read the good stuff!  :)

Anyway, I was not aware of these books until my friend Amanda recommended them for Layla and Finn's ages.  They are really perfect for the 4-7 age range.  Who doesn't love some wholesome animal character fantasy?  :)

I just unpacked all of my room books from teaching, so now we have shelves and shelves of books that are appropriate for the 5-6th grader to read independently.  However, several of them would be just fine for my kids if I read them out loud, so now I have a new source for read-alouds other than the library.  I had a heart-warming time of unpacking those books...good memories!  I loved reading out loud to my class, too.  Books designed for upper elementary/middle school are generally just fun to read!

Next up??  Maybe "A Cricket in Time Square."  Oh, be still my heart.  :)

Finished recently:

The kid listened to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz on audible, while coloring and writing at night.  Finn especially loved it, but Layla really enjoyed it as well.  I think it very much helps for them to listen to audio books that they already know the story line to, or the general plot.  We listened to the audio version narrated by Anne Hathaway, and she did a fantastic job with voices.  I'd recommend it for sure.  

After we finished the Wonderful Wizard of Oz on audio book, we started Peter Pan.  Again, both kids were highly invested in this book.  I'm so grateful for good audio books available to us, and for readers who do a far better job of reading some books than I ever would!  Thank you, professional readers and actors, for making my life so much easier right now.  :)

This is a book I wish I had maybe waited 1-2 years more before reading.  I have friends who swore their kids loved it, especially boys, when they were ages 4 and 6, so I thought it might work well for my kids.  I think they thought it was "fine," but it was LONG, and I think they checked out a bit somewhere in the 350+ pages.  It would have been wiser of me to stop and go on to another book, but it's hard for me to stop books that *I* am interested in right in the middle.  So, live and learn!  It's a good book, just maybe not right for my kids right now.  

I've also been trying to read a LOT more picture books lately.  I finally bit the bullet and am checking out lots of them from the library every week, to help balance out the annoying disney stuff that Layla and Finn like to bring home as well.  That's going splendid, and I read *my* books out loud to them during breakfast and lunch.  Picture books are so wonderful, and so I'm trying to keep the great ones coming through our house often as my kids are still so little, and it's one good way to entertain Cora during read-aloud time, rather than trying to find something for her to do.  

Two books we've started recently.

Jonas is reading a chapter of My Father's Dragon out loud after dinner most nights.   I really want the kids to hear HIS voice too, and see him valuing reading as much as I do.  :)

We've started this at bedtime and are just 6 chapters in now....it's a childhood favorite of mine for sure!  

Finished last night:

Well, we're done with Little House on the Prairie.

To say the book was disappointing to me would be an understatement.

The blatant, in-your-face racism in this book made me choke at least 30 times in the book, if not more.  I could barely stomach reading it to my kids, and we for sure are taking a break from the rest of the series until the kids are much older and we can have detailed talks about why the talk, attitudes, and behaviors shown in this book are so wrong.  

Sigh.  There were fun moments, but overall, I'm just glad to be DONE with it.  Bah.  

Trying to read out loud:

Oh goodness.  If there is just one thing that is hard about homeschooling, it's sweet little Cora.  :)  Since so much of our schooling is heavily linked to reading out loud (by me), and since Cora no longer takes a nap (reliably...maybe 2X a week, at most), I am having to be creative in what I DO with her while I try to get a few minutes of reading in!

Today, we tried all sitting at the dining room table while Layla and Finn did a big space puzzle, Cora played with playdough, and I (attempted to) read.  It worked long enough for me to read about 1 chapter in "Little House on the Prairie."  

Then I just put her in the toy room with my Kindle paying a movie and the door shut.  She tolerated that for about another half a chapter.  Sigh.  

If you have any good ideas for keeping a 2-year-old quiet, let me know!  I'm all ears!  :)

That face says "You think this thin strap is going to keep ME here??"

They are really into puzzle right now, and work very well together putting them together.  I love that.  

SQUISHING something.  

A new issue has come up, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it.

We are on page 150 (approx) of Little House on the Prairie, and man...I'm having a hard time with a few things:

1.  Ma Ingalls, and her attitudes/blatantly racist statements she says, and 

2.  The racist recollections of little Laura.

I mean, GEEZ guys.  I have no memories of this, from when I read the books, but I am so uncomfortable reading these thoughts and ideas out loud to my kids right now!  Maybe I should just read it all as it's written, then have some serious talks about how this was probably *accurate* for how settlers thought about Native Americans, but it is not a Christian way to look at another human being who has been created in the exact image of God, just like everyone else.  Sigh.  NOT sure what to do here, yet, but I am struggling with this.  I clearly can't just keep reading it and letting my kids think that is an okay way to think or talk, no matter how old you are.  Wish me luck!!

Finished today:

Today we finished the book Stuart Little, with illustrations by Garth Williams (the best, of course).  The kids liked it quite a bit and always asked for more chapters, so that's my measure of their enjoyment.  :)

After we finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe we watched the movie...BIG hit by the kids.  Even though they'll never quite measure up to the books, it's a fun way to celebrate the completion of a book.  Tonight they are eating a late dinner and watching the movie version of Stuart Little.  Hearing Finn laugh is one of my most favorite things in the world. 

Just finished:

We just finished this yesterday afternoon, during a rare nap for Cora:

It's such a delightful book to read out loud, and frankly tons easier than the Wind in the Willows...haha!  I only cried in one part, which surprised me:  it's was the part where the 4 children were crowned king and queens of Narnia, and they were describing how each of them was as a ruler.  The description of Edmund had me in tears..."Edmund the just."  Ah, redemption.  Layla wanted to know why I was crying, and all I told her was "because these are beautiful words to describe a beautiful change of heart."  *happy sigh*

Good literature is worth a mountain of gold.

Some reading for me:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201505/early-academic-training-produces-long-term-harm

Interesting that the one below comes from the NEA:
http://neatoday.org/2015/06/19/the-reading-rush-what-educators-say-about-kindergarten-reading-expectations/