{evening read aloud}
One of my favorite times of each day happens when the kids all cuddle around me for a nightly read aloud. We've been on an American Girl mystery kick ever since we got back to St. Louis after Christmas. The books are well- written and wholesome enough that they are suitable for all in our span in ages. Reading one book to all of the kids is a change for us because usually Drew listens to his own selection- usually a Magic Tree House book- and then Gracie and Luke listen to a different selection chosen by me or by Ben, and then Katie gets a couple of books of her own before her bedtime, making three reading shifts each night. Unfortunately, though, Ben has been pretty busy in the evenings with travel or work lately, so I've been handling bedtime alone many nights. It's really been great to have one series that the older three all enjoy so that I don't have to split the reading into so many different shifts.
This month they've also begun to request that we read in my bed. It is so cozy to snuggle in with all four of them on these cold, dark January nights. The littles bicker about whose turn it is to sit on my lap each and every time, but other than that, everyone is pretty content to just get comfortable under a blanket and enjoy a book for thirty minutes. They throw out so many predictions that it takes quite long to get through some pages, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Drew makes us laugh by frequently declaring, "Yeah, I thought that was going to happen!" after an unexpected turn in the story. Katie amuses us by joining in on the laughter, even when we are pretty sure she has no real idea what she is laughing about.
Ben was home early tonight and since I finished the book I was reading to them last night, he excitedly declared it his turn to read to them. (We always take turns choosing a chapter book to read to them, but sometimes my turn gets to last for a few books if it is a particularly busy time at work for him.) I felt a little bummed to give up such a sweet time of night with the kids, but also happy for Ben that he gets to have the special time with them.
This month they've also begun to request that we read in my bed. It is so cozy to snuggle in with all four of them on these cold, dark January nights. The littles bicker about whose turn it is to sit on my lap each and every time, but other than that, everyone is pretty content to just get comfortable under a blanket and enjoy a book for thirty minutes. They throw out so many predictions that it takes quite long to get through some pages, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Drew makes us laugh by frequently declaring, "Yeah, I thought that was going to happen!" after an unexpected turn in the story. Katie amuses us by joining in on the laughter, even when we are pretty sure she has no real idea what she is laughing about.
Ben was home early tonight and since I finished the book I was reading to them last night, he excitedly declared it his turn to read to them. (We always take turns choosing a chapter book to read to them, but sometimes my turn gets to last for a few books if it is a particularly busy time at work for him.) I felt a little bummed to give up such a sweet time of night with the kids, but also happy for Ben that he gets to have the special time with them.
Comments