What We Are Reading
Our new chapter books is The Boxcar Children. The book comes highly recommended but I was dubious because it is about orphans. With this new book we are trying something else new as well, Narration. The chapters are very short with a distinct sequence of events. We tried it with the first chapter. Froggy was reluctant and shaky but I walked her through the process and she did it. Not ideally, not great but she did it which for me is huge for a first time. We did a second chapter later in the week and I wrote down exactly what she said (what little there was of it) And then I narrated the same chapter for her and wrote down what I said so she could look back and read them both. While I was narrating she interrupted to add more details to what I was saying proving to us both she remembered more than she claimed. 
In addition Froggy is doing fun reading as well. Her favorite for the week is Froggy Learns To Swim. I do not understand what makes this series so appealling but Froggy cannot get enough of it. I think my Froggy's favorite part of the book is that the Froggy in the book learns the breast stroke kick with the exact same wording as her swim instructors used to teach her. Prior to that neither one of us had ever her "chicken airplane soldier" but that seems to be the way it is done.
Come join the reading blog hop over at Feed Me Books Friday and Mouse Grows Mouse Learns,.
LHOP took us forever as well - maybe July to October? And I didn't love it at all, though it was nice to watch the TV movie at the end. The movie is very close to the book. (We watched an "abridged" version in 4 parts on YouTube that only took 45 minutes!)
ReplyDeleteAfter you've had a break, you might try Little House in the Big Woods. Much better for younger kids! The chapters (and book) are shorter, and the story is generally more vivid and less racist, though I think I had to edit one song Pa sings (maybe that was in LHOP?).
We're reading On the Banks of Plum Creek now and enjoying it. Naomi's impressions: http://ronypony.blogspot.com/2010/12/naomis-house-on-prairie.html
We still have Boxcar Children somewhere, but somehow I remember hating it, passionately. Others love it, though. Hope it works out for you & Froggy! :-)
p.s. I'm reading one "light" (easy, fun) chapter book in between the Little House books, just to mix things up a bit.
It's interesting - Anna loved both Little House books even though I completely agree with you - they were written at a very different time from different perspective. We used an audio version of them. I am considering Boxcar Children next as well, but a little worried about content. Thanks for joining WMCIR!
ReplyDeleteJennifer - We did Little House in the Big Woods first. Froggy loved it which is why I thought Little House the Prairie would be good. I am glad you commented because I was reading your post and wondering which book it was since I did not remember a sod house.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think we'd ever get through The Long, Long Winter, from the Little House Series, but we enjoyed Little House in the Big Woods. I like that she writes so nicely about her father, even though he clearly demonstrates bad judgement from time to time - she still respects, and loves him.
ReplyDeleteThe Froggy books look really cute. We haven't read those yet. You took me back to my childhood with The Boxcar Children. I remember my mom reading that to me and my 3 sisters every night for a couple months. Great books. I took some time to read the Little House books myself over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteMy son loves the Froggy books, and I must admit I think they are pretty funny, too.
ReplyDeleteMy son loves the Little House books, but he will also go for long stretches where he doesn't want to hear them, and then he'll get back into them. I agree with the need to do some editing in LHOP, but we also used this as a chance to talk about why settlers of European ancestry viewed Native Americans this way. For me the hardest Little House book to get through has been The Long Winter, which is just one blizzard after another, and the Ingalls family nearly starves. Cheery! Yet my son enjoyed it!
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