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
Greg and I now work for the same office, but prior to the recent election we worked for separate entities. However, our co-workers got together and threw us a joint baby shower. It was so much fun!
One of their presents to us was the fantastic ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby. With so many ABC books available, one has to be pretty special to stand out from the pack as this one does. I love love love the illustrations. It's also a fun themed addition to some of the more general ABC books that we have (hello A is for apple, F is for frog).
I think this book would make a great launching pad for a circus-themed party for a child.
