Week 4 - Books, Books, Books

We've declared this to be the year of the book around here. Although Dean has long been an avid reader and he and myself read to Grace nightly (along with other pockets of time throughout the day), I'm a bit lacking in the area. So I've decided to read more this year, with an initial goal of finishing twelve books (considering that I've already read three, I'm off to a decent start).

When Dean heard my goal he decided to join the challenge and suggested we step out of our reading comfort zones - for him, fantasy books and for me, romance - and choose books from different genres. We both agreed to give it an honest effort. Who knows, we may discover a new favorite.

To keep us motivated I've made a reading journal (it's just a simple handmade book created from a pizza box with a book-themed patchwork sewn on the cover). For each book we finish, we'll write it down under the corresponding month. We're also recording the chapter books we read aloud to Grace (I wish we could keep track of all the pictures books, but I'm afraid that would be too overwhelming) by having her write those titles in her handwriting. Then as space permits, she's drawing images that relate to the books she's listened to.




And in other book related news, Grace just reached twenty points in her school's "Reading Counts" program, making her the sixth kindergartner to do so. That earned her an eagle (the school's mascot) on the RC tree in the library. This made for some exciting times for our little reader.



I'll finish this post with a quote that I found while searching for something totally unrelated. I found it quite fitting as Dean and I find pure joy in reading to Grace.....

You may have tangible wealth untold,
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be -
I had a mother who read to me.
~S. Gillilan

Good night and happy reading!