Fostering a Love of Reading and Writing!

Many of our library books were due back at the library this morning and this led to quite the reading frenzy.

My boys love the books they take out and rarely want to return them when it is time.



We tend to check out multiple books each and it can get confusing when they renew some books and return others while checking out new books.  After a while I can't remember what books are due when so there are days like today when I announce all books are going back.

We had 8 books that the boys wanted to read one last time before we left so we split them up; Ian read 2, Alec read 2 and I read 4. 

I was OK with this compromise because I know that while Ian can read he really does not like to read out loud.  When I suggested we all take turns and they could pick out which two they would like to read I didn't get a single argument or complaint.

It was the perfect way to start our day. 
     
Once we finished reading our pile of books we headed to the library where my boys all used the card catalog and found books to check out. They looked all through the stacks and the books, taking time for reading, picture walks and even learning how to request books from other libraries.

I allow my boys free reign of what they read and they are free to pick out anything that interests them. 

 We were in the library for over an hour. 

On the way home we listened to a few books on Cd's that we had checked out.  The boys recently discovered the pigeon series by Mo Willems.  They love these books and think they are a riot.

After we finished listening to two of them they started coming up with other funny Pigeon titles-- "Wouldn't it be funny if they had a Don't let the pigeon drive the skid steer."  After at least 20 more pigeon titles that kept cracking them up I said "well, you have a bunch of ideas for titles but what would the pigeon say then."

That was it.

That was all it took for my boys to start telling their own stories!

We got home and they were still talking about it.  I said would you like to actually write down your story ideas after lunch and their eyes lit up!  

They were excited about writing and brainstormed all through lunch.  I told them they could even change the characters and have something like a cheetah instead of a pigeon.  That started another whole round of discussions and title ideas.

For the next hour my boys sat down and worked on their stories.  I was pretty impressed; even Evan wanted to "write" so he dictated a story idea to me (Don't let the bear eat my stage).

Ian made all the pictures to go along with his story as he wrote Don't let the fat bear drive the jet ski and finished about half of it.

Alec decided to write a "let the" book instead of a "don't let" book and titled his Let the Peacock eat the salad.  Midway through writing he told me that the peacock was going to offer him 100 million dollars to eat the salad bowl and then changed his mind to infinity.  While infinity money doesn't sound right in a story... he knows that infinity is the highest possible amount so I chose not to say anything and let him take creative writing license with that one.  He also stunned me by asking "would I just write the sideways eight that means infinity or would I write the word infinity?"  I asked him how he knew the symbol and he said because dad told me one night and I remembered.

I love that all this writing was hardly even guided by me.  This was mostly their idea and their excitement that fueled all this learning with only a bit of prompting and help from me.

I may be a bit prejudiced but I loved these stories.

They made me laugh and I was so proud of their ideas.  Best of all they're excited to write more of them! 





Comments

  1. I just love this! Your library escapades sound much like ours!

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    Replies
    1. They sure do! I was thinking that to myself this morning as I was reading this. Now that they're older they don't seem to pick out quite so many books. They each grab a chapter book or two and we're done.

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  2. This is nice. I often see my son sitting in some corner flipping through pages of a book. It's the cutest thing ever, since he has only begun reading short words, yet that doesn't stop him!
    :)

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  3. This is so great! Reading will always now be a part of their lives!

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    Replies
    1. I sure hope so! I love to read and can't imagine not passing that on..

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  4. This is awesome how children get excited about books they want to read. my children loved the library. Thanks for stopping by anointedtoday.blogspot.com.

    ReplyDelete

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