For the love of reading...

I love books and I LOVE that my kids love books.  I've always tried to make sure books are a large part of our day and our life.  I'm sure you know this, but a love of books and reading sets such a precedent for early learning and achievement.

I wanted to share how I try to make sure my kids enjoy reading.

Book nook

Sweet Girl and I set up a book nook in her closet one afternoon and it's been fabulous!  Together we put all her books on her bookshelf and created a little basket for all those small books and paperback books.  Then we moved her chair into the closet.  She loves it!  I catch her in there reading often...especially during her nap/rest time.

Books, books and more books

I always make sure books are out and easy to get to.  I move them around a lot too.  Sometimes I set them on our television stand, sometimes I will stand them up on our fireplace.  Basically....I try to keep them new and exciting.

Read together

We read lots of books together.  I really think Sweet Girl would sit with me all day and read books.  Reading together is probably the single most important thing you can do with your child.

Library time!

We go to the library about every other week.  I try to get the same number of books each time so I always know how many I need to return...it makes it a little bit easier because the books usually are all over the house by the end of the two weeks.

Electronic books

Both of my kids love the iPad, but Sweet Girl is an Apple addict.  I try to limit how long and how often she plays around on the iPad, but I love that she generally prefers to listen to the books on there.

Books on CD

You can't really tell from the photo, but here Sweet Girl is hanging out in a "fort" listening to some books on CD.  These are great, and may very well be my favorite.  I usually set up some type of "fun" and different environment and invite her over for some reading and listening.

Activities based on books

I try to incorporate lots of activities to expand upon our books.  Above, Sweet Girl is working on hanging some mittens (from our Goodnight Moon activities) and shadow matching with buttons (from our Corduroy activities).

Happy reading!!