Tag Archives: family storytime

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You

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Tyler and I enjoy reading together. Reading has always been a part of his life. I firmly believe that the reason he reads so well is because I’ve always had reading material sprinkled around the house. He assumed that everyone had reading blocks at their house and was surprised to find out this is not the case. Initially for our reading block, I read to him. When he started reading independently, he would read a few books to himself while I read a few pages from one of my books and then I would read a book to him. The … Continue reading →

Fun Family Storytime Activity

Here’s a fun activity that you can incorporate into your family storytime. It will introduce your kids to poetry and make reading poems fun. I got the idea from the public library storytime that Tyler attended last year during the time I was teaching him at home. The kids loved it and I hope your kids will too! (1) First, make a copy of this poem by Shel Silverstein. Bear in There There’s a Polar Bear In our Frigidaire– He likes it ’cause it’s cold in there. With his seat in the meat And his face in the fish And … Continue reading →

Family Reading Blocks

The other day I made a joke that we should have a family reading block. My 29-year-old niece and I were discussing the fact that the last time she read a book was when she was in high school. My family does not read for pleasure (the newspaper does not count). I never knew this until I moved back home after Katrina. For some reason I just assumed that since I love to read and was a writer to boot, then my family had to have the same literary zeal. But they don’t share my enthusiasm. I’m glad that Tyler … Continue reading →

Story Circles

A great way to spark your child’s imagination is to encourage them to make up stories. No, no not little white lies, I’m tallking about creative fiction. When you create these stories together with your kids, you will not only ignite the flame of their imagination but it’s a great family activity. A story circle is a great way to create such a story. It’s really quite simple to do. You can do this when you have a bunch of kids over, with your own kids or if you have just one child like I do, the two of you … Continue reading →

Using Audio Books During Family Storytime

Don’t get me wrong, I love family storytime with Tyler. But sometimes I feel like I just can’t read one more book, no matter how much he begs. But then again I want to instill the love of reading in him. So far it’s working. At times when I can’t read any more, I have an old standby– an audio book. I remember when I was a kid, one of my favorite activities at school was going to the listening table, putting on those big old headphones and listening to stories read to me. I loved the turn the page … Continue reading →