One of the things my husband and I believe has made a huge difference to our family life and to our children's vocabulary has been reading aloud. We are grateful that when we first were considering homeschooling we discovered both Charlotte Mason's ideas and Classical methods. Both of these stress the benefits of reading aloud good literature (CM would call them "Living books") as often as possible. Since then (about 5 years ago) Eeuwe has attempted to read aloud to the girls every night that it is possible. It doesn't happen on night when he has to go out to church meetings or other things. It always takes place after dinner each night, and after family devotions. Occassionally he'll make up a chapter on a Sunday afternoon if we don't have visitors. So on average he probably gets to read to the girls about three, maybe four nights a week. It is amazing now to look back at all the books he has managed to get through in this time. I am often asked for ideas for read alouds and usually pass on my favourite lists. I thought today I would brainstorm and try and remember all the books that have been read aloud in the past five years!
The Complete Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ~ A.A.Milne
The Chronicles of Narnia (second reading at the moment!) ~ C.S.Lewis
Several Paddington Bear books ~ Michael Bond
Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan ~ E.B.White
Pinnocchio ~ Carlo Collodi
Many of the Beatrix Potter tales
Treasury for Children (several stories) ~ James Herriot
Most of the Little House on the Prairie series ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
Caddie Woodlawn ~ Carol Ryrie Brink
The Treasure Seekers, Five Children & It ~ Edith Nesbit
The Incredible Journey ~ Sheila Burnford
The Secret Garden, A Little Princess ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Courage of Sarah Noble ~ Alice Dalgleish
Shadrach ~ Meindert de Jong
Just So Stories ~ Rudyard Kipling
The Cricket in Times Square ~ George Selden
Heidi ~ Johanna Spyri
Odd and several other titles by Amy Le Feuvre
Many "Twins" books by Lucy Fitch Perkins
Swiss Family Robinson ~ Johann Wyss
The Hobbit ~ J.R.R.Tolkien (and The Lord of the Rings are sure to come when the girls are a bit older!)
The Little Pilgrims Progress ~ John Bunyan, abridged
Mary Poppins ~ P.L.Travers
Pollyanna ~ Eleaner Porter
The Tanglewood's Secrets ~ Patricia St.John
The Sheep-Pig (Babe, the book), Ace, Daggy Dogfoot ~ Dick King Smith
Lassie Come Home ~ Eric Knight
Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass ~ Lewis Carroll
The Borrowers, The Borrowers Afloat ~ Mary Norton
Anne of Green Gables ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Veveteen Rabbit ~ Margery Williams
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew ~ Margaret Sidney
King of The Wind ~ Marguerite Henry
The Silver Brumby ~ Elyne Mitchell
There are probably a few more, but this gives you and idea of how many books a committed Dad can read to his children over five years, just a few nights a week! Many of these have enriched our lives deeply, we can refer back to favourite characters, funny sayings, and the girls are often acting out the latest book. I asked each of the girls which book was their favourite, and they each named one of the Chronicles of Narnia. Bethany's & Ainsley's favourite is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Emily's favourite is The Horse & His Boy. I'll have to ask Eeuwe which is his favourite! Well, surprise, surprise, Eeuwe's favourites to read aloud are the Chronicles of Narnia (he especially likes C.S.Lewis's sense of humour) and The Hobbit.
Happy reading!
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