We are ALWAYS looking for great children’s books to add to our collection. Personally, I get so bored reading the same ones over and over (of course they all have their favorites)! Cody loves when we get new books to read together. Who would have thought that sometimes books are even more exciting for kids than toys! Some of our favorite time spent together is when we are reading. Most days we read before nap and bed and then here and there in between. Now he has been “reading” to Grayson before his naps which is soooo adorable!!
Books allow us to let our imaginations run wild and are great teaching tools for the kids. Since having baby Grayson, I have less time to do all the “learning stuff” I would love to do with Cody and reading is a great compromise. We get quality time together and I don’t have to make him sit and “learn something” (although he secretly is! ) from a flashcard etc. I do believe in teaching your kids at home, but I think they will have plenty of time to sit and learn in a structured environment when they get to school. For now, I want to make learning fun for him and not something he despises or feels like I am making him do! I was a little stressed about the reading thing because Cody was getting so frustrated that he didn’t know how to read the words. I started feeling like I needed to sit down and start trying to teach him, but I was nervous it was going to feel too much like school and forced. Kim got Cody a wonderful gift for Christmas that I can use as an early learning tool for beginning reading BUT it is totally fun (more on this to come). I guess my point is, regardless of what your child is showing interest in, don’t feel like you have to sit down and have “school”. You can still teach your kids at home, while doing every day tasks!! Reading is something that is fun for the family to do together, regardless of the age, AND they are have FUN while learning things they pick up in books! WIN-WIN!
A recent book we received, The Changing Colors of Amos, is another great one you should add to your list. Not only does it allow kids to learn about colors, but also the days of the week! 2 for 1!!
Amos, a Leprechaun, hides on each beautifully designed page of this book. He changes colors! Each color change is determined by the day of the week it is, except on Sunday. Sunday colors are always chosen the night before, as Amos’ nighttime dreams become a daytime reality. In Amos’ world, dreams do come true!
As children travel with Amos through the pages they discover that each day of the week brings a new color and a place in the beauty of the outdoors. This cleverly written and easy to read tale is in rhyming verse and includes numerous similes and metaphors that can be used for even more discussion as the story is read.
The author, John Kinyon, has a passion for teaching children as he strives to expand their imagination and thirst for learning. Mr. Kinyon is a speaker and a second grade teacher. John offers something special for his young fans – a telling of his delightful story complete with full Irish accent on the downloadable mp3 audio on his website at Cherished Publications.
I have really enjoyed reading this to Cody and the pictures really are amazing. Now that we have passed the board book stage and have taken on more “big boy” books, I am so impressed with the colors and pictures that are in children’s books. They really make the book that much more exciting to read!!
Kim also really enjoyed this book in particular with Luke and especially loved the pictures! It felt going on a magical journey with each page through the different colors that was a little different from your usual book with colors! Kim felt like this book was just as much fun to read as it was for Luke! Each page was brighter than the last! She also liked that the words on each page rhymed and would recommend this book to have in every child’s book collection!
What are your favorite books to read to your kids?
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