The first organized activity I enrolled Thomas in was story time at our neighbourhood library. I grew up with a strong love of stories, rhymes, poetry, prose and illustration, and I want to instill that same love in our son (or at least expose him to the joys that can come from the written and drawn word).Every day I make sure we take time to sit in the living room -- I on the rug and Thomas on my lap or in his lounger -- and enjoy a story or two. I like to combine short stories with poetry and songs (composed and made up) to make the time interactive and stimulating.
Right now we're working our way through The Family Read Aloud Christmas Treasury. If you're looking for a Christmas anthology of short stories, poetry and music, I highly recommend this book. In fact, our copy (a hardcover that seems out of print now) was mine as a girl. I was introduced to this book by my librarian in elementary school, and I recall begging my mom to buy the book for me. I'm starting this tradition early so that our son might think of this book as part of the Christmastimes of his childhood as I do. I'm having such fun sharing this collection with Thomas.
This post is the first in a new commitment to myself to regularly chronicle our story time. When selecting books, my emphasis right now is on exploring various themes and plots (particularly those absent from many childrens books such as sadness and anger -- so that Thomas might understand that these are normal and healthy feelings when dealt with properly), and exposing him to stimulating illustrations. I'd love to hear what you're reading and to receive recommendations on what we too might read, so please do leave a comment. xo
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