chapter books

Eli and Micah have loved reading since they were only a few months old. I would lug both of them upstairs, gather a pile of books and we would all sit in the rocking chair in their room and read. It was something we could all do together that didn't require a whole lot of effort on my part. They have this book called Hooray for Fish that they would get so excited about reading when they were probably 5 or 6 months old. I would sit them propped up on my bed and pull it out, and their little legs would start kicking and they would smile these huge toothless grins.
I started reading to them before naptime everyday when they started taking consistent naps, and that is still our routine today. We have read all of our books, over and over, they have them memorized, I have them memorized, and I was starting to feel like if I had to read another Berenstein Bear or Curious George book I was going to poke my eyes out. So, rather than doing that and ruining a beloved tradition forever, I decided to pull out a chapter book and see how they did. We started with Stuart Little, and lo and behold, they sat and listened and followed along and begged for more at the end of each chapter! So, I started thinking back to books I loved when I was little and we made a trip to the library and checked out Charlotte's Web, and The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe. They loved those too! Right now we are reading books by Beverly Cleary, books about Henry, Ramona, and Beezus, and we are all loving our naptime ritual once again. Well, really just I am loving it again, the boys never stopped!