Literacy & ABCsPreschoolersToddlers7 Comments
I’ve been sharing pre-reading activities to learn the alphabet as part of a series this summer to keep and get the boys ready for reading.
How about some books to do during our quiet reading?
We’ve finally found the perfect time and place for quiet reading. It’s so peaceful. We head outside. After supper, in the evenings, I tell the boys to grab three books that they’d like to read and I grab ‘Start’ (this link, as well others in this post are affiliate links) by Jon Acuff, and we sit on our front porch and read to ourselves, quietly.
I try to make this last as long as I can, because this is so incredibly peaceful, I enjoy every minute of it. The boys usually last 10-15 minutes and then they’re ready to run around a little bit. They pop back onto the porch every few minutes to read a bit more. But, I get this time to read to myself, which I’ve missed dearly. I haven’t read a book for myself in years (I’m ashamed to admit to that).
While doing our quiet reading this summer, I’ve found a few types of books that work perfectly for my boys, who are both pre-readers. I don’t want them to sit there during quiet reading and feel like they can’t read and its pointless, or even worse, to feel dumb for not being able to read it yet. They’re not expected to be able to whatsoever, and I don’t want them to feel like they should.
These are the types of books that work perfect for my pre-reading boys:
- Picture books and factual books. George has always picked the picture books to read… awhile ago, I started turning the reading around to him and asking him questions about what’s going on in the pictures. Eventually, I began to have him tell me a story about what was going on in the picture. And what I mean by factual books, they’re more the ‘encyclopedia’ books for kids. That have a picture and tell you the name of it. The kids have learned to ‘read’ their own story based on the pictures. If its a girl (with lots of arrows pointing at her ‘elbow’, ‘neck’, ‘shoe’ and so on) we look past that and tell a story about what she’s wearing those shoes to do, is she going to head outside and do some puddle jumping?A few great picture books and factual books we love:
- First 100 Machines by Roger Priddy
- Very First Words by Jo Litchfield
- Busy, Busy Town by Richard Scarry
- Books they know by heart. These are huge confidence boosters for Henry. He thinks he’s reading. Even though its purely on memory. But I’m okay with that (though I’m not sure if its technically a good thing for pre-readers to be doing…)!A few books my boys know by heart:
- The Little Blue Truck, along with Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, by Alice Schlertle
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
- Roadwork by Sally Sutton
- Interactive books. While there’s a lot of different types of interactive books, the best ones I’ve found for the kids to do on their own for quiet reading are search and find books. For quiet reading, I don’t recommend flap books though, as much as we love them (especially Flip Flap Farm by Katie Daynes), if the boys read these without me, they’d be (and have been) completely destroyed.Search and find books my boys love:
- 1001 Monsters Things to Spot by Jillian Doherty
- First Look and Find: Sesame Street, I Can Do It!
- Find the Puppy by Stephen Cartwright
A Mom with a Lesson Plan has some must follow Pinterest Boards for reading today! So excited to check those out!
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Erika Davis says
Great recommendations! Amazon no longer fulfills orders for Usborne books. Those looking to order Usborne Books (such as Find the Puppy and 1001 Things to Spot) can order through an independent consultant’s website.
Kristine says
Hi! I’m one of your blog followers and just wanted to let you know that Amazon no longer has the rights to sell any Usborne books (I see you have one in your link – 1001 Monsters Things to Spot). They must be ordered through an Usborne Consultant where we have many other search and find books that are fun for the kids :)
Patty Rheineck Agacki says
I laughed at Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on your ‘quiet reading’ list, we like to wiggle and dance to that book.
Jamie Reimer says
I know! It is a fun book when we read it aloud together. But its such an easy one that my boys have it memorized (almost from the beginning) and they can read through it and giggle to themselves during quiet time :)
JDaniel4's Mom says
My son my have looked at the Busy Town book for hours when he was little. What a wonderful book collection.
Jamie Reimer says
Thanks JDaniel – my boys love any of the Richard Scarry books. They’re not always the easiest/quickest reads that we have, but they always, ALWAYS, bring up a lot of questions! My kids gotta know all the why’s and how’s of everything! They’re great books for that!