Help Your Child Sit for Story Time
I walked downstairs feeling refreshed after putting the boys to bed. My hair had been brushed for nearly 45 minutes during story time. The Engineer remarked that the boys and I had read an unbelievably long chapter for bedtime.
A luxurious smile illuminated my face.
Guilty as charged.
Except it wasn’t one chapter. It was one picture book and two chapters in a new book.
The Engineer calls it mutual co-dependence. I call it a fabulous symbiotic, mutually beneficial, reading event.
One Trick my Children Use During Story Time
Our three oldest children know that if they play with my hair, by either brushing it or using a medieval scalp massager I will read for a quantifiable longer duration.
One Trick I Use to Make my Child Sit for Story Time
I fully realize that this may not work in your home. However it is quite effective in our abode.
At bedtime, the nighttime routine is that the person reading is blessed with a massage. And even if you aren’t reading, you still get a massage. It pays to be the mom in our house.
How to Further Help Your Child Sit for Story Time
Build suspense and anticipation by producing a quality snack. Not a quick snack. But a snack that they must wait upon to properly produces Pavlov’s response in your child.
We drink Chai and have a snack that from all appearances LOOKS like a cookie, but in actuality is WAY too healthy.
While the kiddos wait for their chai to cool, I begin reading. Even after the chai is finished we remain at the table or move to the couch. If they appear to have restless legs from all that raw honey, I will allow them to use tracing paper and art books or quietly push a Matchbox car around on the floor.
Because the majority of our read alouds are what you might call suspenseful and I read with a bit of an animated voice, we all stay awake and engaged.
I have also discovered that the reason my little boys have been listening so well to our most recent stories is because they immediately being recreating our story time adventures within the confines of the ship called our home.
What Books Cause Us To Linger for Story Time and Last in the Imagination?
- Young Readers from Heritage History: With the discount code (JODIskill) you will receive the Spanish Empire library for free with the purchase of any curriculum including Young Readers until Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. NOTE: Beginning November 1st, my discount code (JODIskill) will allow you to snag the Early America library for free ($19.99) with the purchase of any curriculum (Young Readers, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, British Middle Ages, and British Empire). Unsure of what Heritage History would look like in your home? Check out my review of Heritage History back in September.
- YWAM Publishing Missionary Stories: We just finished sailing the South Pacific with John Williams and started traveling with Adoniram Judson, who was captured by French privateers in the first chapter!
- Lamplighter Publishing (receive 15% off on your next Lamplighter Purchase) when you join us for November’s Book club featuring Teddy’s Button.
What do you do at home to have your child{ren} sit for long periods of time?
Oh my word, I thought I was the only one with the hair brushing secret! We do the SAME thing! Pac has really picked up on the length of even school reading time {when I read his science or history to him} and will say “hey, let me get a brush, your hair is messy!” and knows that the more un-stressed I am the longer I will sit and read to him and the nicer I will be. 😉
The boys will fight over who gets to brush my hair when we read at night sometimes, I giggle inside. 😉
I love you my friend, for this and so many other reasons. So wish we lived closer.
I felt so silly for sharing — but glad that I am not the only one! At first, I thought these are boys. But then God gave me some insight into how this “hairbrushing” is an easy way for them to learn to serve and definitely bless. They have true joy in our little “habit” AND they know it leads to longer reading!!! Plus I love the snuggle factor. OK . . . so the next conference we can have a hair brushing party while Jolanthe shows us her crazy videos!!!
Thankfully, my guy loves story time. We usually have several a day! We are just about to finish the Christian Heroes on George Muller and my little guy loves it! We may have to try this one next…
They are SUCH rich books. The Adrion (can spell his name or say it) is really intriguing so far.