The Reading Hour's aim is to encourage parents to read to their children for 10 minutes a day or an hour a week. The current belief that this will increase the likelihood that children will themselves become readers, along with all the inherent social and educational benefits that this brings. Most brain development occurs between birth and three years of age, so The Reading Hour aims to have parents read to their children right from birth.
You all know that for me, reading aloud to Jemimah is a passion. There are very few days in Jemimah's life when I have not read to her for an hour or even more. We have always read whenever possible, and our bedtime story time is sacrosanct. Nowadays, Jemimah is quite capable of reading to herself, but we haven't stopped reading together. Sometimes she reads aloud to me; at other times I read books to her. It is one of my very favourite parts of being a Mummy, and through it I think we have formed a very strong bond and many lovely family memories. All those books have the added advantage of increasing Jemimah's comprehension, grammar and vocabulary as well as making her into a reader herself, but for us these are incidental to the fact that we just love to read great books. If it has benefits for her future then all the better.
Tonight between 6 and 7 pm we'll be reading Rudyard Kipling's Kim. It's actually a school book, but it is a story that we are both enjoying very much, so that's what we've chosen. We have a lovely box of doughnuts, which Jemimah tells me that she will have to eat because I will be reading. I think I shall have words about that. I dare say they'll play havoc with dinner, but hey, The Reading Hour only happens once a year.
What are your plans for tonight? Are any of you joining us? What books have you chosen to read? Will you be eating doughnuts too? Come share your plans with me. We'll be right with you in spirit. What colour icing is your favourite? We'll save a doughnut or two for you.
Well, I've learnt something new again ... happens most times I visit your lovely blog! Reading hour :)
ReplyDeleteAs it happens, we did enjoy a cozy, delightful reading snuggle tonight. We have two main books on the go and I like them both VERY much. The 'Betsy Tacy' series by Maud Hart Lovelace - we are up to the 3rd book - this is what we read tonight. We are also sharing 'The Door In The Wall' by Marguerite de Angeli. Oh, and Little Pilgrim's Progress, the Bible, many picture books and a steady stream of non fiction ... I'm glad my children share my love of reading!
We didn't have donuts, but that's more of a blessing to me than a loss, sorry! I won't spoil your fun with them though.
Lots of picture books and early childhood favourintes are getting a re-run in house these days. The kids love any books but I find them often trotting out these (silly :-( ) new dinosaur books. They are crazy about them. I am T-rexed and Stegosaured half to death!!!!
ReplyDeleteTo the boys I am reading "The Bronze Bow" but our reading hour is usually during the day now.
There is nothing like a well told yarn to get the imagination going!
No, didn't know is was reading hour day. With the AO schedule we read for hours in the week, it really does bond us all together. Love chocolate doughnut icing. xxx
ReplyDeleteDidn't know either! Hope you did manage to eat some donuts though:) love donuts but they don't love me :(
ReplyDeleteNope. Didn't know & mine are all big enough to read for themselves. lol
ReplyDeleteHowever I will point out our story time used to run for several hours every night as mine were growing up & they are all readers ~ even my hugely dyslexic boys. ☺ Even as teens being read aloud to was a pleasure they asked for when the electric went down ~ which it used to do quite regularly round here!
Nice idea and great looking donuts! Sadly, I read aloud to my daughter and she DOES. NOT. LIKE. TO. READ. I think her friends and school culture play into that. My son wouldn't hold still to be read to, but now DOES read. Go figure! Just Do It! Great idea for the Reading Hour!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite icing is chocolate. I trust you are still saving me a doughnut. The freezer might be best. Or you could eat it for me. That would be fine with me.
ReplyDeleteWe read aloud quite a bit. I still read most of our schoolbooks aloud to the girls. We all enjoy it best that way. Like Jemimah, they are capable of reading (most) selections to themselves. But reading aloud together is one of our greatest pleasures.
We are waiting on Kim, but enjoying Oliver Twist. It's taking us a long time to get through -- it's a long book, and this summer, the girls have been doing more of their own reading. xo
Oliver was just so good though, wasn't it, Ellen. We adored that book. You will like Kim as well, I am sure. I do recommend reading the Wikipedia summary of the story before you begin though so that you don't miss the nuances of The Great Game. Other than that it is great. We finished it this week. A Christmas Carol is next.
ReplyDeleteDelicious donuts.
ReplyDelete