Choice Stories for Children

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Today I want to quickly share with you a wonderful book that we are thouroughly enjoying during our daily read aloud time! If you are looking for helpful resources for instilling character qualities in your children, then I highly recommend Choice Stories for Children.



The stories in this book were written in the late 1800's. The writing style is beautiful and the language is rich. Children of today will definitely benefit from hearing this "old fashioned" book read to them!

The stories are short; most of them are just a couple pages long. Big Brother looks forward to me reading one story to him from this book each morning. These would also make great bedtime stories!

These stories promote good Christian character qualities such as honesty, contentment, initiative, generosity, obedience, etc. They are stories about children who face real life situations and decisions.

This book of stories is a great starting point for having very meaningful discussions with your children about character issues and matters of the heart. Sometimes the characters in the stories make poor decisions and must face consequences for their actions. We also get to see the good things that come with making wise choices. Applying the messages in the stories to your child's own life experiences will make this story book a valuable parenting tool.

The stories and morals that are taught are good for any age, including grown ups! This book makes a delightful family read aloud, but it would probably be most enjoyed by children between the ages of 5 and 12.

Choice Stories for Children is a book we will look forward to reading over and over again!

Helpful Hints for Raising a Reader!

March is National Reading Month. Here are some helpful hints for raising children who love reading!


Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at Free Digital Photos.

1.) Shoot the T.V.

OK, don't actually shoot it, but you get my meaning! Too much screen time kills the attention span and stifles imagination and creativity. Seriously limitting or even ommitting screen time in your children's schedule frees them to spend more time reading. Books seem so much more interesting when T.V. is not even an option!

2.) Read aloud!

It is never too early or too late to begin reading aloud to your children! It is recommended that parents spend at least 20 minutes reading aloud to their children each day. We read much longer most days simply because we enjoy it so much!

Once when I was growing up, our family decided to read The Swiss Family Robinson together in the evenings. Each of us took turns reading a few pages, and we covered about a chapter per night until it was finished. This is a great way to enjoy a story, teach important lessons, discuss new vocabulary, have family time, and build memories! This also helps children form positive feelings toward books and reading in general.

3.) Find a good book series!

Introduce your children to some good book series. Once the child has enjoyed one or two books in the series and gotten to know the characters, they are very likely to want to read more stories about them.

This worked for me as a girl! I received a book from the popular Mandie mystery series as an award at Bible camp one year, and I enjoyed it so much I had to read every Mandie book I could get my hands on after that! Here are just a few more favorites to get you started:

Concord Cunningham Scripture Sleuth

The Little House series

The Sugar Creek Gang

The Farm Mystery Series

The Boxcar Children series

Encyclopedia Brown series

The Adventures of Nathan T. Riggins

4.) Treat reading like it is something special!

Give your child the message that reading is enjoyable by giving books as gifts or as awards for their accomplishments! Some children might enjoy setting reading goals and being rewarded when they meet them.

Let your children see you reading! They will want to immitate you!

5.) Offer books on subjects that interest them!

If your child has special hobbies or interests, be sure to offer them plenty of reading material related to that topic. Are they enjoying learning about a certain topic in history or science? Help them find books to read and learn more!

Does your child have a hero? Find a good biography! We have recently learned through studying our family tree that we are distantly related to several important individuals in American history, so Big Brother has been extra eager to read books to learn more about his "cousins!"

If you have little ones, be sure to also check out tips in my post Preparing My Baby to Love Learning

How do you encourage your children to read? What are your children's favorite books or series of books?

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Preparing My Baby to Love Learning

I am a big proponent of parents reading with their children from a very young age! Some of my favorite early childhood memories are of snuggling up with my Mom listening to her read to me. I have always loved books, reading, writing, and learning; and I attribute a big part of that to the environment in which I was raised.

Both of my babies LOVE books, and snuggling up to read with them is one of my absolute favorite things. Right now my youngest is 9 1/2 months old, and he already has several books that are definitely his favorites!

Babies need to have books read to them! They are like thirsty little sponges soaking up words and language even before they are able to speak. Looking at pictures, hearing Mommy or Daddy's voice saying the words, pointing, turning pages, even chewing on the book are all wonderful first steps on your baby's journey into the world of books, learning, and literacy!

The biggest thing you can do to prepare your baby for a life of learning is to read to them!!!

Here are some tips and thoughts for reading with your baby, and then I will share 3 of Little Brother's current favorites!

* Provide your baby with lots of sturdy board books and put them in easy reach. These books are going to get loved and chewed, so make sure they can handle it! Encourage Baby to explore books both with you and on his own.

* Try to set aside a special storytime each day as part of baby's normal routine. Before naptime and bedtime are great times since reading may helo calm Baby for sleep, but anytime that seems to work for you will be fine!

* There are lots of great children's books, Bible stories, poetry books, etc. out there. Just take your pick! Baby just needs to hear those words being used. He or she may not be so much interested in the storylines at this point, and simple books with lots of repitition and big clear pictures are great.

* I also include Little Brother as much as possible even when I am reading chapter books or Scriptures to Big Brother. His little ears and brain are taking it all in even though he may not yet comprehend the stories just yet. What you read to your baby is up to you; just read to them!!

* Look for ways to engage your baby. Take your time if Baby seems interested and point out familiar things in the pictures. Label everything verbally for your baby, and this is also a good time to teach ASL signs. Find ways to play games or act out what you are reading about with your baby.

* Let your baby see you reading. Make reading and learning natural parts of your own life. Your baby will want to imitate and follow the examples you set.

As promised, here are Little Brother's current Top 3 Favorite Books!



Goodnight Moon by Magaret Wise Brown (I still have this one completely memorized from reading it SO many times to Big Brother when he was this age! This simple rhyming book is very soothing. It is definitely a classic and a must-read!)

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? By Dr. Seuss (This is a fun rhyming book about all kinds of silly noises! This book encourages Baby to play and experiment with making all different kinds of sounds from "moo's" to whispers! Love it!)

My First Read and Learn Bible (This colorful board book gently introduces Baby to God and many beloved Bible stories and people. There are just a few simple sentences on each page, so it is not too much for short attention spans! Definitely a favorite!)

What are some ways you prepare your baby's for a lifelong love of learning? What are some of your little ones' favorite books? Feel free to share!!

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