With a magic hat
Children love stories. Children love hearing them both from books or from your own creation. Adelynn has reached an age where she has the desire to listen to longer books. Having a newborn baby changes your day. My time availability to read countless books to Adelynn has been drastically reduced. I miss our days of reading book after book on cold afternoons. I wish we had more time right this minute to read to her for hours. Even though I can still read to her with a baby in my arms it's just not the same. Holding a book and baby is tricky especially when the baby may choose to be fussy. Nevertheless we're going to make the best of it even if that means we can only read one or two books. Since we have limited time to read together I'm trying to choose shorter books to allow time for a few stories each day. We always read before nap time and bedtime. Usually Daddy takes on the bedtime reading. No matter who does the reading we make sure to get those stories read to her each day.
Magic Hat by Mem Fox was one of her favorites when we first began reading to her at night. Over time the book has been put on the bottom of her pile. We'd try to read it to her and she would ask for another. We let it go knowing that favorites do fade in and out. Today I found out that this book is still a favorite. I did something different today while reading it to Adelynn. She had found an old Easter hat that belonged to her big sister. She was wearing it as she told me about looking for eggs wearing her "new" hat. I looked at the hat and admired her adorableness. Thoughts of the upcoming Easter and her wearing it filled my mind as she began to select a book to read. That's when I noticed the Magic Hat book on the floor. I had an idea. I decided to use that hat to create an interactive reading experience. This book is written with a certain fun rhythm, almost song like, that appeals to little ones. I usually read-sing it to her. While reading the words I took the Easter hat and moved it about. Swishing it over her head, flipping it, spinning it, a twirl or two and finally putting it on her head. Seeing the excitement in her eyes was fantastic. She loved every minute of that story all over again. She requested I read it to her another dozen times.
Reading to children is so magical. The fun of a new story is such an exciting experience. I had forgotten how books can be fun even books that have been read to a child 100's of times. Changing something by adding a beat or a prop can create a new experience for them. I may not have enough ideas for her other books but I'll gladly take them as they come to mind.
Magic Hat by Mem Fox was one of her favorites when we first began reading to her at night. Over time the book has been put on the bottom of her pile. We'd try to read it to her and she would ask for another. We let it go knowing that favorites do fade in and out. Today I found out that this book is still a favorite. I did something different today while reading it to Adelynn. She had found an old Easter hat that belonged to her big sister. She was wearing it as she told me about looking for eggs wearing her "new" hat. I looked at the hat and admired her adorableness. Thoughts of the upcoming Easter and her wearing it filled my mind as she began to select a book to read. That's when I noticed the Magic Hat book on the floor. I had an idea. I decided to use that hat to create an interactive reading experience. This book is written with a certain fun rhythm, almost song like, that appeals to little ones. I usually read-sing it to her. While reading the words I took the Easter hat and moved it about. Swishing it over her head, flipping it, spinning it, a twirl or two and finally putting it on her head. Seeing the excitement in her eyes was fantastic. She loved every minute of that story all over again. She requested I read it to her another dozen times.
Reading to children is so magical. The fun of a new story is such an exciting experience. I had forgotten how books can be fun even books that have been read to a child 100's of times. Changing something by adding a beat or a prop can create a new experience for them. I may not have enough ideas for her other books but I'll gladly take them as they come to mind.
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