Readaloud

I used to read several books to Sparkle every day. Then we got Glitter and Sparkle learned to read, and my reading to them dropped dramatically. I still read the occasional picture book to one girl or the other (usually if I start, the other girl will come snuggle and listen too), but I wanted to do readalouds more consistently.

So, we now have two regular readaloud times.

The first time is a lunchtime. I downloaded some free audio books and put them on my iPod. We listen to a chapter at a time. Sparkle likes it and will remind me if I forget. Glitter isn't so keen on it, mostly because it means we don't talk to each other, but she is getting used to it. We don't do this every day, as some days we eat lunch away from home, and other days are too rushed to listen to a story. So far, we have listened to

• "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• "Jack and Jill" by Louisa May Alcott
• "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie (in progress)

It isn't as good as a true readaloud that allows for discussion and interaction, but it is free and easy to do.

The second readaloud time is at bedtime. Although we have always read to the girls at bedtime, until recently it was always bedtime board books. Then I decided to try longer stories with them. Wander and I take turns putting the girls to bed, and he still reads them the picture books, so they only get the longer stories about every other night. So far, we've gone through

• "The Big Picture Story Bible" by David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker
• "James Herriot's Treasury for Children" by James Herriot

On nights when we don't have time for a long story, I also have "The Macmillan Book of 366 Bedtime Stories." There is a story for each day of the year, and the stories are only a few paragraphs each.