You Never Know What You Might Find

You never know what you might find when you clean out the basement.  As I was straightening up our basement the other day, I ran across a box my son had labeled when he was about 12 years old.  The box read, "books I want my son or daughter to have" as I opened up the box I was reminded of some of the great books that we read together when he was small.  I thought that you might enjoy reviewing some of these titles and why we enjoyed them.

The wide-mouthed frog is such a fun book.  It is a pop-up book written by Keith Faulkner and illustrated by Jonathan Lambert.  The wide-mouthed frog hops along asking the different animals he encounters what they like to eat, until he meets a big green alligator and finds out that the alligator likes to eat wide-mouthed frogs.  The reader will then enjoy the frog's reaction.  My husband especially enjoyed reading this to my son.  He liked doing the voices of the different animals and he would tease him with the last page of the book opening and closing near my son's face.  My son would laugh and run from my husband as he chased him with the book.

This predictable pop-up is just one of the many books we enjoyed together as a family.  Reading is a wonderful way for families to enjoy spending time together.  As a reading specialist, I know how important it is for a child's academic success.  As a mom, I know how important it is for a family's togetherness.

I think I would like to spend the next few weeks reviewing some of these books that I found stored away.  I thought that you may find the list helpful for Christmas shopping.

I also thought I would share some of the very rudimentary books I made for my son to help him learn to read.  These books were for my son to read.  The wide-mouthed frog and other picture books were read to my son helping him to develop a love for reading, to enjoy language and develop a sense of story and many other reasons.  The little books I made were to help him develop some concept of print.  Each page I wrote, it was either necessary for me to give him the pattern or give him a way to get to the words on the page.  Some were sight words, when he was first learning, he could use picture clues, first letter and prediction.  My goal was to make it easy and help him to feel successful.  I also wanted to scaffold him to the next level.

It is obvious that my son gets his art talent from me.  The great thing about this book is the last sentence he wrote.  He had already learned that stories often slightly change their pattern at the end.  He even chose the correct verb form because he was so immersed in language.

It is probably not necessary to do all of this to teach your child to read.  I did it because I enjoyed it.  I would carry little blank books with me and if we were waiting for our order in a restaurant or sitting waiting in a doctor's office I would make him a little book.  Making your own books is probably not necessary.  Although, it is important to immerse your child in language.  So, keep reading!!!

Don't forget Kim's Custom Books when you want to create that special book of memories for your family.

Thanks,
Kim