Charlotte's Web

We read a lot at our house. I bet that we read close to an hour a day to the boys. At least six books a day are worked into our schedule. Our routine has been each boy gets a pick and I get a pick to read before they rest in the afternoon. I love children's books so much that "my pick" is usually something we haven't read a million times before. Doug adopted this practice at night (he puts the big boys to bed while I get Eli there), except he usually lets them pick his "pick".

Within the last month, I decided to start making my "pick" in the afternoon a chapter book. Not surprisingly, I picked Charlotte's Web to read aloud. I still remember being captivated by the story when Mrs. Takamori read it to us in second grade. I was surprised at how much they got into the story. Zach (3 1/2) had a hard time sitting still to listen but that wasn't a surprise. Sam (5) captured all of it. And, in the end, Zach knew all the characters and the jist of the story too. I love all the big vocabulary words.  

Today, the movie (1972) based on the book arrived in the mail from SwapADVD (great site, btw). So, they were eager to read the last three chapters straight through so that we could watch the movie. Fabulous. I even pulled out a couple of old high school medals for them to play with once Wilbur wins the prize at the county fair. Wilbur has captured their little hearts (and mine again, too).

Now, I'm excited to figure out what we should read-aloud next. I have some ideas but would love to hear any suggestions. My guys LOVE animals, but they love all kinds of books too.