What are you reading today?
Do you read aloud daily? Even in high school- spending the time in an adventure together unites you in a common bond.
Are you excited about what you are reading or is it a task that must be accomplished? If you are not excited about the story, will your children be excited?
Do you model reading in your personal life?
C.S. Lewis wrote, “no book is really worth reading at the age of 10 which is not equally ( and often for more) worth reading at the age of 50 and beyond”.
But what are the parameters for identifying great literature?
This is a really good question. Great literature books are how we challenge our children to become more thoughtful, discerning, and equipped for whatever God’s purpose for their life is.
Great literature lays the foundation of education that is full. It connects us with individuals that have great minds, great thoughts, great souls, and to people both past and present.
Here are a few quick tips for choosing great literature:
1.Choose authors who have not lost their childhood.
2.Find books where the characters are memorable
3.Find books that offer examples that we can follow
4.Find books that become our passion
5.Books that give purpose to life
6.Books that are capable of inspiring our children toward greatness.
If you need help, Gladys Hunt wrote a few resources – “ Honey for a child’s heart “ and “ Honey for teens heart”. They are both full of examples, critiques, and suggestions. There are many others who have made book lists and critiques if you prefer a different author or you can use one that goes with your Curriculum.
Make sure reading time and read aloud time is a priority. Are they important in your daily activities? Should we free up time to read more? Reading and listening to a story can open up a plethora of possibilities for discussions at the dinner table about your child’s character, their decision-making, historical time periods and even the creative ability to imagine alternate endings.
When your children read aloud, you know whether they understand punctuation, whether they understand the vocabulary that is in the book. By listening you can hear whether they understand inflection of voices that occurs when the author is using quotation marks. Great quotes in your reading can become today’s copy work.
Great literature has tremendous power. The moments we have to pour into the lives of our children are a very few in view of their lifetime. Each moment must be guarded and is priceless.
A quote from Glaspey, author of “Great Books of the Christian Tradition” :
“God Himself chose the medium of a book as HIs primary way to communicate the truth of His love and Grace.”
Happy Reading !
