Buying peace and quiet for Christmas

[Anonymous]

I can't wait until Christmas when my DD opens her gifts and then we get at least a week of contentment. Grandparents bought too much stuff this year but I decided not to care because it includes a lot of books, puzzles, and games, not just random plastic toys with limited entertainment value. Throw in what we got her, and for the next couple weeks we don't have to read the same books over and over or play the same games over and over. Tomorrow is our first official day of the school break and it will be easy to occupy ourselves with Christmas activities the next couple days (baking cookies, watching classic Christmas movies, going to see the lights and decorations) and the she gets plenty to do and read for the rest of break.

Anyone else look forward to this aspect of Christmas? Tonight I read a book I've read possibly 100 times in the last few months and I'm so excited to not have to look at it for while!

[Anonymous]

You're a better parent than me - I would never read the same book multiple times!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're a better parent than me - I would never read the same book multiple times!!!

Hoooooow do you get away with this? My kid is in the stage where she can read but only just, so reading an entire book, even a picture book, is pretty difficult. But she's obsessed with a few different series for young readers, and can't yet read them on her own. I have read every book from the Princess in Black series so many times.

Her grandmother got her the Magic Treehouse books for Christmas and I'm excited because (1) something new, and (2) I think this might be a good bridge book for her that she might be able to start reading on her own in the next few months, since it's more explicitly aimed at new readers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're a better parent than me - I would never read the same book multiple times!!!

As a reading teacher, I encourage you to read books multiple times to your kids if they ask. It's very important for their literacy skills and can help them become life long readers!

[Anonymous]

This is a very optimistic view. I hope you are right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a very optimistic view. I hope you are right.

Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're a better parent than me - I would never read the same book multiple times!!!

As a reading teacher, I encourage you to read books multiple times to your kids if they ask. It's very important for their literacy skills and can help them become life long readers!

PP you replied to. Hmm - my kids are now 17 and 12, they're bookworms and have no problem with literacy Princess in Black and Treehouse are trash books, and there was no way on earth I was going to read more than one to my kids. I read copiously to them throughout preschool and elementary school, but GOOD books: Winnie-the-Pooh, the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, the Redwall series, a lot of lesser-known older classics, myths, fairy and folk tales. When you're reading to your kids, you can punch way above their reading level, and pause to explain vocab, character motivation, etc. And if they're learning to read, they can totally decipher a few words, then a few sentences of those higher-level books. This is what kids used to do in past generations, before the explosion of easy readers and kiddie fast fiction.

It's really nice of you, OP, to re-read her favorite books, which I suppose is a comfort thing at bedtime, but if PIB is coming out of your ears, you can always try to tempt her with new-to-her, better, stories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't wait until Christmas when my DD opens her gifts and then we get at least a week of contentment. Grandparents bought too much stuff this year but I decided not to care because it includes a lot of books, puzzles, and games, not just random plastic toys with limited entertainment value. Throw in what we got her, and for the next couple weeks we don't have to read the same books over and over or play the same games over and over. Tomorrow is our first official day of the school break and it will be easy to occupy ourselves with Christmas activities the next couple days (baking cookies, watching classic Christmas movies, going to see the lights and decorations) and the she gets plenty to do and read for the rest of break.

Anyone else look forward to this aspect of Christmas? Tonight I read a book I've read possibly 100 times in the last few months and I'm so excited to not have to look at it for while!

Why not just go to the library to get new books?

If she’s asking you to read the same book all the time because she loves it, new books may not solve the problem though.

[Anonymous]

I remember when my kids were in the “Dogman” phase. We had hundreds of books available to read in our house, but all they wanted to hear was the same Dogman book over and over again.

[Anonymous]

I remember those days. I handed my kid an iPad and told them to go to Storyline Online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a very optimistic view. I hope you are right.

It’s definitely true in our house. The week or two post Christmas and birthdays is always kind of blissful because there is always something novel available. I shop fir gifts with this in mind. We will buy off their wishlist (within reason, no ponies) but then I assess and make sure they are getting a good mix of things that will engage them in a variety of ways. Like gifts always include fun new markers/crayons/colored pencils and paper, and sometimes an art or craft book. Always a new puzzle and often a new game. Always one “builder toy” usually to supplement an existing but sometimes to level up. Books, a few new yoto cards, and then an item or two to support a hobby or interest area (new sheet music for the musician, some baking tools for the baker).

I really look forward to kids opening gifts, partly because it just makes them happy, but also partly selfishly because I know it will distract/engage/delight them for a bit and I’ll get a little break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're a better parent than me - I would never read the same book multiple times!!!

As a reading teacher, I encourage you to read books multiple times to your kids if they ask. It's very important for their literacy skills and can help them become life long readers!

PP you replied to. Hmm - my kids are now 17 and 12, they're bookworms and have no problem with literacy Princess in Black and Treehouse are trash books, and there was no way on earth I was going to read more than one to my kids. I read copiously to them throughout preschool and elementary school, but GOOD books: Winnie-the-Pooh, the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, the Redwall series, a lot of lesser-known older classics, myths, fairy and folk tales. When you're reading to your kids, you can punch way above their reading level, and pause to explain vocab, character motivation, etc. And if they're learning to read, they can totally decipher a few words, then a few sentences of those higher-level books. This is what kids used to do in past generations, before the explosion of easy readers and kiddie fast fiction.

It's really nice of you, OP, to re-read her favorite books, which I suppose is a comfort thing at bedtime, but if PIB is coming out of your ears, you can always try to tempt her with new-to-her, better, stories.

Thanks, we also read “better” books. But she also gets to pick books and I don’t judge the books she chooses— I don’t want to discourage her interest or make her think that some books aren’t good enough. I read a mix of literary fiction, nonfiction, and genre— I don’t see why she shouldn’t have the same freedom to choose between high low brow.

I will say that for someone who is starting to read, it really is beneficial to read the same books over and over. She has them memorized and then will look at them on her own and apply her memory of what the words are to her new understanding of phonetics and she’s learned a bunch of challenging words this way. It’s how she moved from cvc and ends with e words that always follow the rules to more challenging words with more complex letter combos. She can’t do that with the chapter books we read because they are too long and wordy to memorize or re-read. And she doesn’t find picture books engaging enough for that at this age. But stuff like PiB, Mia Mayhem, Magic Treehouse, etc.? They are perfect for this because they are the perfect length for memorization and rereading, and kids tend to get obsessed with them and turn to them over and over.

[Anonymous]

Pro tip: Once you’ve memorized the book, you can “read” it with your eyes closed and get some extra rest.

“In the big red barn in a great green field, there was a pink pig who was learning so squeal…”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pro tip: Once you’ve memorized the book, you can “read” it with your eyes closed and get some extra rest.

“In the big red barn in a great green field, there was a pink pig who was learning so squeal…”

"One hippo all alone calls two hippos on the phone"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember those days. I handed my kid an iPad and told them to go to Storyline Online.

Slow clap. Your parenting is remarkable