Rebekah and I read " The Chronicles of Narnia" when she was 5 1/2 & 6 years old. I adore these books and planned to read them to all my kids around the same age. Fast forward a few years to when Emily was 5 & 6 and find me having 2 babies in a year and a half and super busy ... we just didn't get to them.
She has been begging me to read them to her and I keep putting her off. We read the Roald Dahl series (I adore them too - I am currently reading "The BFG" to J&J) and then a few others and Anne of Green Gables .... but we somehow never seem to get around to Lewis' books and that makes me sad.
So, this summer (as we have been making our summer goals), she asked if she could read them as one of her educational goals. She's a fast reader, she loves to read, I know she could probably finish the series in a week. Reading 7 books is a great educational goal. One way or another, Emily will have read those books before the end of summer. So my problem is twofold & I need input from you;
(1) I wanted to read them to her. To share that experience & give her that memory with me. I can only read a chapter a night and we won't get though them nearly as fast ... so what do you think I should do? Let her read them by herself or make her read them with me? OR read a chapter a night with me and read on by herself during the day. That would be disjointed for me, but I think I could remember them well enough to do it.
(2) Whether we read together or another way - which order should we read them in? I was a purist when I read them with Bek and we read them in chronological order. However, there are good arguments for reading them in published order, or at least reading "The Lion" first and then going in chronological order after that (which is how I originally read them as a child)?
How have you read them? What do you recommend?
I am probably making too big a deal of this but there are several books, or series of books, that are on my "My-kids-must-read-because-it-will-impact-their-lives-for-good" list and these are definitely on that list. Also, I feel pretty guilty that she hasn't read them yet & she's already 9!
Please weigh in & help us make our decision!
* (Book order chart from Wikipedia)
* (Book order chart from Wikipedia)
6 comments:
If the books mean a lot to you I think you should find a way to read at least some with her. Why don't you read your favourite book together (a chapter a night) and let her read the rest of the series on her own. She's very clever and I'm sure she'd have no problem managing two story lines at once.
i have the perfect answer. we just listened to the RAdio Theater cds. They are wonderful and we did it while we were in the car. where ever we went, that is what we listened to and i have never had the car so quiet. they have sound effects and different voices...it was awesome. google radio theater...it's worth it. we also just finish ben hurr and anne of green gables. kids loved them. let me know what you decide.
love
a
Hmmm, I lean toward reading them together if you feel strongly about it. Perhaps you could read at night and then listen in the car (or while your folding laundry) - it would go faster that way. That's what we did with some of the HP books.
As for the order, I just read them in the order they came in our box set without realizing but I think I want to go back and read them in chronological order.
Good luck
Holy cow! Do you analyze everything this much? Maybe you could alternate reading and listening. That's what Ethan and I did with Fablehaven because we couldn't get all of the cd's from the library.
I read all of these with Maya a few years ago and have to say I don't relish the idea of reading the entire series again with our future children. Some I really enjoyed and others were a little boring for me, even though Maya enjoyed them all. I like Tara's suggestion of just reading your favourite with her together. I recommend reading them in chronological order. It's not really important, but it's the way I preferred it.
I'm sure you've started (and probably finished) these by now, but I would go with chronological order. I think it's easier to follow.
Post a Comment