Schooling Saturday: 12 Read-Alouds Not to Miss in 2012 (Part 1)

We enjoyed a nice break from school over the holidays, but we are back at it this week! The start of a new year has been a nice time to look again at what we are doing and make sure we are staying on track and accomplishing what is truly important. This is another area of my life that I want to be intentional about!

As an outflow of that desire to be intentional, I made a list of books that I want us to read-aloud this year. We normally just read whatever catches our fancy, and we may do some of that this year too, but there are some books I don’t want us to miss!

I share our list with you in the hopes that it will give you some inspiration for intentional reading with your children this year, regardless of where your children go to school!

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

We are about half-way through this right now. Tolkien uses wonderful descriptive language and dialogue, so that even my three year old is picking things up and commenting as we read! There are some intense/scary moments, so if your children are easily scared, you might want to wait on this one.

2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

We’ve been watching various versions of this classic since my eight year old was tiny, and this year she asked me if it was a book, and if we could read it. As if a book lovin’ momma is going to say no to that? She got the beautiful illustrated copy pictured above for Christmas, and it is gorgeous! I’m sure we would be reading it now if we hadn’t already gotten interested in The Hobbit. I have a feeling it will become an annual tradition!

3. Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I absolutely loved these books growing up! My girls currently love all things “back then girls” (two Christmas present hits this year were embroidered handkerchiefs from Aunt Jen and bonnets of their own from Mimi!) so I’m confident that they will love them, too.

4. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

I think this is one of the sweetest stories ever written. I still remember my teacher reading it to me when I was in first or second grade. We read it for the first time when my oldest was three, and we read it once a year for good measure!

5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

One of the first books in our children’s library were a boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia from my cousin when I was pregnant with my oldest. We’ve read the entire series more than once, and my girls listen to Focus on the Family’s version (here)frequently. This book in particular is a favorite that we like to read together every so often.

6. The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Winnie-the-Pooh is well loved here, and we’ve read portions of the tales several times. I think we are missing some wonderful content by skimming around in it, so I want to read straight through this year while my olders are still young enough to fully enjoy it.

Next week I’ll share six more books that I don’t want our family to miss! In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Are any of these your favorites? Are there any you’ve been inspired to read with your children this year? What’s on your list?

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