Reading With Our Kids

Time Well Spent

I love to read!  I have loved it since I was a small child and I attribute it to my dad faithfully reading to me before bed each night.  I have done the same for my daughter since she was very little.  I began reading to her when she was about 6 months old but began a nightly reading ritual when she was around 18 months old.  I can’t say that we never miss a night but overall, I’ve done my best to create a love for reading in her heart.  Olivia has owned so many books over the years.  I’ve given away the books that she outgrew, except for a few that are near and dear to my heart.  There are those that have stood the test of time and age.  We have a select few that we have read since she was one!  Here are a few that we really enjoy and that we have read repeatedly.

Give Me Grace by Cynthia Rylant

Olivia’s Nana bought us this book when I pregnant with Olivia “Grace”.  It’s book of short prayers and it was always one of my favorites when she was small.

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

We discovered this book about a year ago from the library and Olivia liked it so much, I bought it.  I found a copy at Joseph-Beth Booksellers for $5.50! 

I Love You, Good Night by Jon Buller and Susan Schade

This is such a cute book.  It’s very short and simple but it is a great book for the nightly story time.

Olivia the Pig by Ian Falconer

Everyone loves Olivia the Pig!  She’s adorable, spunky and she has my daughter’s name!  ; )

The Preschooler’s Bible

All of these books have sweet stories for you to read to your little one.  I would recommend them for ages 6 and under.  The Preschooler’s Bible is a great resource for small children but now that Olivia’s getting a little older, I am planning to look for something more advanced.  But for preschoolers, it tells Bible stories in a short and simple way which is what children that age need. 

Reading with our kids is definitely time well spent!  It creates a love for reading in them which will help them in so many ways through life and it gives us a specific time to sit down and focus on them for at least a few minutes.  I love cuddling up in the bed and reading to Olivia and she loves the time as well because she has Mommy all to herself!

Photo Walk

Currently, we only have one car.  My husband works minimum 10 hour days Monday through Thursday so there's a lot of hours in the week when Olivia and I are at home.  It is quite a challenge to keep her busy and entertained!  Being an only child, she depends on me to be her playmate.  So, I try to come up with fun activities that are also educational.

Recently I had the idea to go on a "photo walk".  Olivia loves to take pictures, especially of animals, so I thought it would be a nice way to get outside, move around and learn a little while having fun.  I allowed her to hang the camera around her neck and take all the photos on her own.  Very exciting.  :)

She really enjoyed pointing out the pretty flowers and trees.  It gave me lots of teaching opportunities when she would see birds nests, rocks, and other little pieces of nature.  I even warned her of the dangers of smoking when we came across some cigarette butts.  :)
    

What a fun age she is at right now.  So inquisitive and still full of wonder at God's creation.  I love my girl. <3

How Does It Go Sooo Fast?

My baby starts kindergarten in 2 weeks!  Oh my heart, how in the world did the time go so quickly?  I remember just dreaming about holding a precious baby girl and here she is, about to go to school!  The first night I brought her little sleepless self home from the hospital, I held her and cried because I knew she would grow up!

I feel like its crunch time…teaching her this and that.  I'm scurrying to make sure she's academically ready.  Not too worried about that...more worried about her heart!  She's just got the sweetest spirit and doesn't quite understand that not everyone is going to treat her like their best friend.  I'm trying to give her pointers, don’t play with the mean kids!  lol  Find a friend that is kind and BE the kind friend to others!  Tell your teacher if someone hurts you and even more importantly, tell MOMMY if someone hurts you!  How do I go from being full time mommy, 24/7, to sending her off to the care of another for 35 hours a week?  Maybe this is just the natural progression of life, mommy has to learn to let go a little here and there.  Whatever it is…I don’t like it!  ;)

This is my Calling...

I wanted to share this link because I really enjoyed it and thought someone else might as well. 
You know, I am far from being a perfect parent.  I get frustrated, I desire time away, I even lose my temper with my little girl from time to time.  But, at the end of the day...I would not take anything for this life of parenthood.  Living for God is not that we are perfect in flesh and never make mistakes!  We are only human!  Serving Him is that we strive to do well and please Him.  And when we fall (because we most definitely will) we get down on our knees and repent to God and our children and then we try harder.  I am so thankful for the gift that God has given me.

 http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank#.TiBYAqJUA42.facebook