As a little girl, I absolutely loved reading. I was the kid who always racked up on BookIt! certificates (even though I didn’t even eat pizza) and rocked out the summer reading programs. As an adult and parent, I have to admit – I’ve gotten very lax with my reading habits. As a result, my children have gotten lax with their reading habits, as well.
I truly believe reading provides a great foundation for everything we need to accomplish in our lives, so it’s way overdue to make this a priority again.
Enter our family reading project.
Our Family Reading Project Became an Experience
We started reading A Wrinkle in Time (affiliate link) together right before the holidays. Once a week before bedtime, we’d all pile into my bed and take turns reading together, discussing the book and taking a moment to really slow down and enjoy one another’s company.
My children began looking forward to that time together and what we were reading inspired conversations throughout their week. Our weekly reading time became an experience.
My 9 year old even set a recurring reminder on his iPad. When I mentioned that A Wrinkle in Time was going to be made into a movie that came out the weekend of his 10th birthday, it instantly became a part of his weekend celebration plan. (Birthdays are a serious affair around these parts, ok?)
Related Article: A Beginner’s Guide to A Wrinkle in Time written by life with tanay
Lessons in What We Don’t Understand
We’re still in the healing process after my grandfather’s death in November 2016. The questions and tears do not come as often, but when they do we are able to cope, manage and press forward.
When we read the quote below, my teenager said “I kinda like the sound of that. Life happens and we don’t get it always, but it happens.”
Making the Discussion Fit Us All
Each of us are getting different things out of this book. I make it a point to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and pausing to listen and learn. What my 6 year old pulls out is going to be completely different than what my 16 years does – but it essential that everyone knows they can speak up, ask questions and even ask for a passage to be re-read for clarity and understanding.
Thanks to Pinterest there are some hands-on projects, discussion questions and videos we’ll be watching as we get further along in the novel. And, of course, we are definitely counting down the days until we can see our first family reading project on the big screen in March.
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LuAnn Braley says
That would be so cool, to read the book together as a family and then go see the movie? Sounds like more family discussions are in your future!
Michelle D. Johnson Garrett says
Definitely! We’re looking forward to our next read after this. Each kiddo will have the opportunity to pick a chapter book for us to enjoy together.