Now don't panic! I'm not shutting down my blog or anything drastic.  We have finally just finished a year long read aloud!

   And no, I don't read that slowly! LOL! We started just over a year ago to read the full 7 books of the Chonicles of Narnia aloud together. This has been our 'Mommy's handbag' read aloud though. And I'm sure I lost you all there, so I will explain!

   We read other books aloud together at home, but I always carry a chapter book (a small size paperback one) in my handbag to read aloud when we have to wait somewhere. Whether it is the Dr's waiting room, a long line in the post office, in the car while Daddy runs an errand in a shop, or waiting for food to come to our table in a restaurant. Anywhere that involves waiting means 'Mommy's handbag read aloud' comes out! We get some interested looks from people, but most often they are quite impressed that active boys will sit so still and quiet to listen to a story without pictures being read aloud!! LOL!

   Well, it has taken us AGES to get through all 7 books, but this week we finally finished The Last Battle!! Horray!! The boys have loved hearing the full set read aloud and we had lively discussions along the way at times. McGee has become quite the 'Narnia Expert' by now and I found him a really neat book on the market about two months ago called 'The Narnians' which tells about all the different interesting and colorful characters in the books. He reads it over and over, often running in to look something up in it after we have been reading out somewhere.

      The rule with the 'handbag readaloud' is that it is never read at home, so sometimes we sail through several chapters a week and other times we go weeks without cracking the book open, just depending on what is going on around here at the time.

   Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Narnia and all of the books in the set. But I have begun to feel like I've been reading them FOREVER!!!!  It will be nice to have a change!

   So, it feels like an end of an era. We have had a conference yesterday to determine a new 'handbag book' and of course that involved much discussion!!! LOL! Size of the book plays a big role in the decision making. We would have liked Huckleberry Finn, but our book is large and hardbacked, same with Tom Sawyer. We narrowed it down and finally decided on 'The Railway Children'. The boys saw this film at Christmas time and we bought the video in a charity shop a few weeks ago. Now they will only be allowed to watch it again when we finish the book.  

   If you have never tried carrying a book around to read aloud, give it a go. It makes for quieter, more well behaved children in situations that would otherwise become quite difficult. I have often had strangers come over and comment on how impressed they are with our children's listening skills after watching us read aloud in a restaurant or waiting room! It has made going out far easier! Give it a go!