Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Reading With My Daughter

One of my favorite things the past couple years has been reading classic girl chapter books with my older daughter (she is 8 now).

She loves books as much as I did as girl and it is such a joy to see her delight in the stories I read at her age!

After I read a book to my two younger children and tuck them in, I climb up into the top bunk bed with my 8 year old daughter and we read aloud for 15 minutes or so.

We just finished Anne of Green Gables and it was even lovelier than I remembered!


In fact, my daughter and I both fell so in love with Anne, that I've now purchased the box set!

It was fascinating to me to read Anne of Green Gables now as an adoptive mom.  I felt so sad for Anne when she was delivered by mistake to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who had requested a boy and they contemplated sending her back!  But, oh how I related so much to the quiet Marilla as she parented the spirited, talkative Anne!  Because parenting a child with a personality type so opposite your own is exhausting!  And how many days has the constant chatter from my younger daughter adopted as a 3 year old also led me to tell her to stop talking.  But, oh how well the book illustrates the ultimate gift of opening your home and heart to a child and how those spirited little girls can bring such joy!

Reading with my older daughter is not always easy, sometimes by 8:15pm at night I am so spent from the demands of my family and the day that I just want to have some free time and be done with kids.  But, I'm so glad that I've made the time most nights.  It's precious one-on-one time with my girl and when I look back over the past couple years those moments reading with her definitely stand-out as the good stuff!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE Anne of Green Gables!!! I remember my mother gave me her dog-eared 1950's hardcover of the book and forced me to read it even though I wanted to read Sweet Valley High instead. I remember it was the first book I ever cried at, when Matthew died. I was so hooked. I couldn't remember how old I was when I read it and have been wondering when to introduce it to my girls. My oldest is 8, so you just answered my question! :) I'm so looking forward to re-reading this classic.

    Next question - when can we read Little Women together? That's the other one I thank my mother for making me read!

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  2. I am here to tell you that you will never regret those times that's for sure. Melody and I read together aloud until she was practically in high school. We loved it! Read all of the series of Anne of Green Gables, probably one of our favorites. It was the perfect way to be entertained and talk about what was happening etc. When she got a little older we did it out of habit. A habit we both loved. I can remember some books that we were both so into and her saying when she left for school, "now don't read ahead without me mom." haha She knew me well. I miss those days for sure. Though now we both read a book and then call each other for a good chew of it. Enjoy your week and this season in your life!

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