Storytime, Book Recommendations, and Where to Get Books

I read to my children every day (yes, you may now applaud.)

It's not always been my most favorite thing to do, but I will confess that, when given the choice between reading a book and playing something on the floor, I'd chose the books.

And, the more that I do it, the more I come to enjoy it.  Now I even change my voice around, like when we were reading Diamond Jim Dandy and the Sheriff last week, and I read the whole book with a Texas accent. I had a hard time shaking it!

And the kids love it!!

I've also started to ask more questions while we read.  I had a really hard time with Reading Comprehension tests in school, so I'm trying extra hard to help my children learn those important skills.

Guess what else?  They are learning to read as I'm reading to them!

I found this article on I Can Teach My Child so helpful as I was contemplating this Preschool Plan.

So, we have storytime every day.  It's right before nap time (plan it right and you can end with a quiet book that gets them nice and sleepy).  I also read a Bible story out of the Read And Learn Bible before bed every night.

Our Book Recommendations and a Couple of Blog Recommendations

I totally do not plan what books we are going to read.  I go to the library and we get the series that we enjoy.  Then I go through and pull out some books that look interesting to us.  It has to have some kind of story line, and not too many words on each page.  Just the right amount.  I'm very bad about judging a book by its cover.

I am going to be more intentional in our Preschool Plan, because there are some books that I do want to read that I never think to look for when we are at the library.  So, in my book recommendations, you will see some books that I specifically picked to go with the lesson, and you will see some books that I just picked because they looked interesting, or we've read them in the past and they looked fun.

If you can't find the listed book, or don't want to read it, or whatever, absolutely feel free to substitute another book.

I've also found a couple of new blogs that focus on children's books that I've come to enjoy:

Reading Confetti

Adventures in Reading with Kids


There are three places that I recommend to get books.

First, the library.  If you are looking for a specific book, and the library doesn't have it, see if your library has an Interlibrary Loan set up with other libraries.

Here's another tip:  As you go through your Prep for the week, look up the books on your library's website.  If there looks like a strong possibility that the book will be gone by the time you get to the library, put the book on hold.

Second, Paperback Swap.  I am just getting started myself with Paperback Swap, but I've heard lots of great things from them via Money Saving Mom.

Basically, you sign up, then list 10 books that you have and are willing to give to someone else.  When you do that, you receive 2 credits.  You can then use your credits to get books from someone else.  The more you swap, the more you earn.

Third, Amazon.  Whenever I am researching books for my lessons, I always go to Amazon.  There I can search by subject and pick out books that look good, or search for a specific book.  I love to read the customer reviews and I find the "Look Inside the Book" feature very useful.

The best way to use Amazon is by first signing up for Swagbucks.  Swagbucks is a search engine that awards you "bucks" just for doing your normal searching through them.  You can cash in your accumulated bucks for different things, including Amazon gift cards.  You can then use your Amazon gift cards to buy books!

Go forth and Read!