Bookish Family: What We're Reading: Summer Edition

The summer is rapidly flying by. We are finishing up 2 weeks of swimming lessons for 3 children and preparing for our 5th annual family camping vacation. Besides nature notebooks, we'll be taking all of our regular read alouds plus at least one book of fairy tales for morning time at the picnic table. I try to be a minimalist camper (is there such a thing with 3 kids plus 1 newborn baby?) but a few good books are a necessity for us.

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Poetry

Now that we have officially finished term 3, we aren't focusing on a particular poet anymore. Instead, I've selected some poems to add to our enjoyment of summer pleasures like eating outdoors, camping, and lots of swimming and playing in the water. We read the following every day for one week at morning time:

Keepsake Mill by Robert Louis Stevenson
When We Were Children by Frederick E. Weatherly in The Changing Year: Being Poems and Pictures of Life and Nature [free ebook]
Summer Sun by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Song of a Leaf by John Francis Waller in The Changing Year: Being Poems and Pictures of Life and Nature [free ebook]
Tartary by Walter de la Mare

If you want to see more poems that we enjoy, check out Poetry to Read Aloud.

Morning Time

We've moved most breakfasts outside to the front porch which is fun, but distracting. A fussy newborn baby makes morning time short every day no matter how long I have willing listeners. But that is ok! Even a few minutes a day amounts to many books read over the long haul.

This month, John (6) finished narrating The Aesop for Children, which we began on his 6th birthday in January. He has gained so much confidence and fluency with narration. I know it will serve him well as we begin his 1st-grade year.

We finished the following books at morning time this month:

The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle by Bobbie Kalman

Zero is Something by Marnie Luce
All About Frogs by Jim Arnosky
The Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter
Pet Bugs by Sally Kneidel

We've also been reading at morning time, and will continue to read slowly for some time:

The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

To see even more books we've enjoyed at morning time, check the Morning Time page.

Lunch-time Read Alouds

Black Fox of Lorne by Marguerite de Angeli [Part of my $5 book sale haul]

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter

Night Book

My husband has been reading to the kids:

Ember Falls by S.D. Smith (finished)
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong (started)

Free Reading

My son is finally willing to happily take my reading suggestions! In the past, I would set books out for him, but he would only pick them up in direst need. Recently, we've been going to the library where I will pick out books by looks or reputation that look promising. He is an advanced reader for his age, but still a little boy. He enjoys all types of fiction (when he isn't pouring over the same nonfiction titles over an over) so I can pull out mysteries, fantasies, comedies, and historical fiction for him.

He has been reading:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales by Christianna Brand
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: Twenty Chilling Tales from the Wilderness by Hal Johnson
Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobel
More Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobel
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillio

With the younger children

I know we've been reading, but I can't really put my finger on any particular favorites this month. It has included High Five Magazine and some books I snagged for $.50 at my library's ongoing booksale. John (6) has also been listening to the audiobook of Pippi Longstocking from our library's Overdrive subscription.

I've been reading

With a newborn baby around it is really hard to find time for housework, showers, and blog posts, but it isn't too hard to keep reading. This month I read for self-education, pleasure, and also prereading. I'm hoping to preread history, geography, and natural history on a weekly basis during the school year--something I've never attempted before. Wish me luck!!!!