What are you filling your head with?

I love to read! Allan loves to read! And best of all my kids love to read! One passion of mine is for kids to really enjoy reading. We read to our kids everyday and have been doing so since they were babies or young toddlers. Now Benjamin and Elizabeth can't read yet, but they will very soon. Since we started homeschooling the kids in September, Victoria and Nicholas have been able to spend even more time reading on their own time. We go to the library almost every week. If there is a movie out based on a book I try to have the kids read the book first and then the watch movie. I'll admit I haven't done that every time. I told Nicholas and Victoria that before they saw "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" they needed to read it. Nicholas was not happy with that because he saw the size of the book. Honestly, it is a difficult read for a 2nd grader, but he met the challenge and loved it. The kids are doing book reports this week and it is fun hearing them summarize the book to me. Plus, they choose 5-10 vocabulary words that were unfamiliar and now their vocabulary is expanded.

Here are some tips that I've learned along the way:
-get them books that they're interested in (Ex: If they like dogs, get them books about dogs) *especially if they don't like reading
-have books or appropriate magazines all over the house (bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, dining room, your car, etc)
-take them to the library, bookstore, used bookstores, etc. (spend time reading there)
-get books that you read when you were little (if they are still in print)(I have at least 40 or more that my parents saved from when I was a kids)
-be an example and let your kids see you reading
-take turns making up stories or tell stories about when you were little (be creative)

I have a lot more tips but these are a few easy ones. Nicholas has been reading "The Indian in the Cupboard" which is a book I fondly remember my 6th grade teacher reading aloud to our class. He is reading all four books in the series. It is so exciting to hear him excited about the story and we can talk about it together.

I know that I've spent so much time watching TV or a movie that really wasn't worth me watching. I have to consciously say, "Is this worth my time?" So I ask, "What are you filling your head with?"