Happy New Year!
Hope you enjoyed the holidays with your family and friends!
I am excited to be back from vacation and getting things planned for this next year. In 2012 I want to simplify a few things at our house and spend more time playing and reading with my kids.
One thing that will help me have more time to play and read is getting organized! I love to set goals, but have a hard time following through with them if they are complicated or require too much from me. I am creative and therefore I justify that it is OK that I am unorganized and messy sometimes.
One simple thing I am planning to do at the beginning of each month is to pick 10 books to focus on with each of my kids during the month.
We will use the books as we plan activities, crafts, and imaginative play centers... but we will also just plan to find ways to read them during the day just for fun.
Rotating books in/out of our library each month will hopefully help us discover/re-discover books that we already have around the house.
I tried to include some favorites and some new-to-us books in the January mix (Our book list is at the bottom of this post). Sometimes I may also include library books in our "book nook" posts, but since I am terrible at returning library books, we don't make it there as often I would like. We rarely borrow... by the time we return library books I have usually had to "buy" them (bc they are so overdue), so it is actually cheaper for me to go to the bookstore than the library!
In addition to choosing books to read/rotate, I am going to try and change up our reading corner each month to make it a fun and special place to spend time. One of the favorite spots in my elementary school classroom was the reading corner and I am hoping I can create a spot in our house where my son and daughter (and I) love to go to read too! Our current set up is too squishy now that my daughter is older!
Some things we'll include in our book nook...
1. Books that are easily accessible and at my child's level of comprehension
2. A comfortable chair or bean bag to sit on
3. Children's art work or other attractive decorations
4. A soft rug to lie down on
5. Blankets and/or pillows to snuggle up with or lean against
Here are a few of the book nooks that are inspiring me right now... (and there are tons more on my Pinterest Book Nook board)
Source: roomzaar.com via Kristina on Pinterest
Source: naptimedecorator.blogspot.com via Kristina on Pinterest
Source: childhood101.com via Kristina on Pinterest
Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Kristina on Pinterest
Source: notimeforflashcards.com via Kristina on Pinterest
Where is your favorite place to read with your child?
What books will you include in your January Book Nook?
January Book Picks for My Toddler
2. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
7. Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?
8. Where is Baby's Birthday Cake?
January Book Picks for My Preschooler
3. Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together
4. Corduroy
5. Firehouse
7. Friends
Love these and those nook ideas! We have what we call a "reading corner" but it is just a blanket in the corner of our living room. Would love to have something like one of those!
Awesome idea! I am sharing it on my FB page and blog!
We LOVE "I Love You Stinky Face" here! And I was just telling my friend that I needed to just NEVER go to the library ever again. If I want a book.. I need to just buy it because I wind up spending the same just to give the book back. I'm so awful. I have some IN MY CAR that I havent taken back. :/ It's ridiculous how bad I am. haha. I'm going to peruse your board! We are living in our new place, but it is nowhere near finished and I'm still trying to figure things out. It's the fun part, but also the overwhelming part. Thanks for sharing!