You know how summer is such a great time to light a fire in your fire pit or at your campsite and just hang out and tell stories?
Ever considered adding good literature to that mix? Because you totally should.
Everybody loves to sit and be mesmerized by a merrily burning flame, which makes it a great time to whip out a classic book and let your kids get lost in Story.
No, I’m not making that up. Seriously.
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Poetry can make kids cringe and run in the other direction.
You know it’s true.
But you can make it a lot less painful for them and even fun with a few simple tweaks to your curriculum.
Take it outside. Give them something to look forward to. Choose the right poems. Done.
Okay, not done. Let me tell you how to create a poetry experience they won’t dash away from.
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I learned more about rabbits reading Watership Down than I have by raising them. I have read it several times, and each time I fall in love all over again.
My first reading was as a young teen. I didn’t really grasp the political implications and the social commentary until I read it again in my twenties. I can’t say I enjoyed the story more because of understanding it better, but I did find the reading a deeper experience.
My boys fell in love with Richard Adams’ classic book many years ago. And I learned to read it as a child again. Because, in Adam’s own words,“I’ve always said that Watership Down is not a book for children. I say: it’s a book, and anyone who wants to read it can read it.” For him, it’s just a story, not meant to be a parable or an allegory or any of the things we crazy scholars accuse it of being.
It’s best enjoyed as just that–a wonderful, action-packed, astounding story.
In this house, we go tharn when we are shocked, scared, or speechless. Our rabbits go to silflay when we let them out of their cages. And we’re always on the lookout for Owsla.
I don’t think my boys have ever laughed as hard at a book as they did at The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. There is something to be said for a character who continues to be relatable more than 140 years after he was written.
Tom’s antics and adventures are the stuff of every little boys’ dreams. And probably every little girl’s, too. Tricking everyone into doing your chores for you? Running away to a deserted island? A treasure hunt and a dangerous criminal? I mean, Come On.
Plus, the book is just plain funny. Just ask my boys.
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