Lucian has always been very interested in books and reading. He has enough books to start his own little public library. He reads to himself in his room before he falls asleep at both nap and bedtime. We have been reading to him each night since he was born. A few months ago, he started asking me to read to him anytime he saw me reading. And depending on the book, I would. Skipping the inappropriate parts of course! And when I realized he enjoyed that, I decided we should get his first chapter book.
My mom was a teacher when I was younger. One of her favorite things to do with her students was to choose a book to read aloud to them. And she brought that tradition home. I remember sitting on the floor of her room listening to different books and loving it. I know her students loved it too! So, when Lu started showing interest in chapter books, I was excited to continue the tradition. What a gift to be the reader now!
I googled for books that were appropriate to read aloud to a 3 year old. We settled on the My Father’s Dragon series. I read one chapter to him each night. We loved guessing what would happen next and recapping what had happened the night before! Every night, he reminded me it was time for another chapter in his chapter book. We read through the series and Lucian absolutely loved it!
Nana has sent us some books to try soon too. But I wanted to pass down another tradition, going to the bookstore! My parents were both big readers and they passed that down to me. We would often go to the book store and I could pick out any book I wanted. I remember picking a lot of Nancy Drew and maybe some Babysitters Club! So, tonight we took Lucian to the book store and let him pick out his next chapter book. He quickly chose Winnie the Pooh. The other books did not stand a chance because, there was a map of The Hundred Acre Woods at the back and front. Right now, Lu loves maps as much as he loves reading!
So, we started Winnie the Pooh tonight. We will do a Chapter Book for Preschoolers list once we have read a few more and picked some favorites! I might miss the babbling, the fresh giggle and the new baby smell, but this new stage of wonder and learning we’re in is pretty great too!
