There are a great many simple pleasures in life. Many with no cost and many more with little cost. Perhaps, gone are the days of fire side story telling, but reading aloud with your family can be such a joy.As a family we really enjoy hunting for that next good read. Used books are a simple pleasure, one that can draw your family together. If you're saying right now, "how can I find time to read aloud"? Well a dear friend (who has since gone to be with the Lord) always said, "If you're too busy, you're too busy." Studies show children want their parents attention for more than extracurricular activities. Believe me when I tell you 5, 10, 15 or more years down the road you will not miss the extra activities and no one will be interested 20 years from now if you played ________________. However, Mom and Dad, as a mother of grown children they will remember those times laughing over a funny book together.
My 17 year old son and I are reading Randy Alcorn's Book, Money, Possessions and Eternity. A statistic he quotes that I found distressing was "the average parent spends 14 hours a week shopping, but only 40 minutes playing with their children. Folks "time is a flyin" way too quickly, get off the consumer tred mill, seek out a great used book and cuddle up with the family for a old fashion story telling.
Some Books we have read aloud and loved:
- Ten Peas in a Pod by Arnold Pent III
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
- The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson
- The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
- Who Gets the Drumstick by Helen Beardsley
- In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
- Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery
- Short Stories by Washington Irving (especially The Spectre Bridegroom)
- Gib Rides Home by Zipha K. Snyder
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
- Christy by Catherine Marshall
- O'Henry's Short Stories
Tell us what books you would suggest to families to read out loud?
P.S. Reading a book out loud as a couple is wonderful too. It makes a great addition to date night.
P.P.S. My grandchildren know me already as "the book grandma" and I love it!
