Homeschool Diaries: Favorite Books

Jayden's Picks:

{left top to bottom right} The Poky Little Puppy// Little Monster {learn to read book} //  Mater Tales Little Golden Books // Sesame Street: Grover Takes Care of Baby // The Berenstein Bears and The Messy Room // I Am a Bunny

Titus' Picks:

{left top to bottom right} The Golden Book Encyclopedia // Mr. Peabody's Apples //The Book of Australian Nursery Rhyme //Just One More Swim //Before I go to Sleep // Wreck it Ralph

 I think that the books they decided to share are such perfect examples of how they learn.  Jayden likes simple books... that are not too long.  His attention span is much shorter, but he does enjoy picking out letters and small words.  We have had to read "The Messy Room" book many times. ;)

Titus, on the other hand, likes to sit and read.  He really loves pictures, particularly of nature, trains, and engines.  But I can read him longer books, or more than one, without him getting bored.

One thing I found helped the interest level in reading for fun was finding books they had seen the movies of.  They get really excited about Disney cartoon books, because they already know the story and can pretend to read it on their own.

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We have been spending a good hour most days simply tracing, writing, and painting. I have been keeping it simple just so that I don't get overwhelmed. I find creativity as a homeschool mom hits me in spurts, and when it hits I run with it. But when it's gone, I have a tendency to become despondent and not put the effort into teaching them that I should. Like most things, it is easy to view our children as a competition and we are trying to turn out the best "product". But truthfully, they are so much more than the sum of lessons learned. Even though some other mom out there has probably turned out a four-year-old who is reading Tolstoy while we're over here tracing circles... it is the time together practicing life essentials that is important to me. Each day I teach them something... their world becomes a little bigger, and they learn to trust me a little more. And I learn how to be more patient and gentle. We're growing together, always.  If anyone was to ask me what I personally thought was the most satisfying thing about having a family, I would say this is it.