Reading With Gabe--Little House in the Big Woods

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It's been hard this year getting used to Gabe in full-time school. I'm a stay-at-home parent and I enjoy (most of the time) being home with him. Kindergarten was the time to ease into the whole school schedule with only half days. But here in Japan it's been all day.

I wanted to connect with him more in my own way. So I've been reading various books to him throughout the year. Life gets busy, especially with him in school all day so we don't get through as many books as I'd like but we've managed to read Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved the books as a kid and I enjoyed the TV series. It's been a great experience sitting down with him at night and reading. Gabe enjoyed Pa's tales and his songs. He even wanted me to sing some of them to him. There was only one I knew the tune to, though.

There are a lot of great children's fiction today but there are also so many that aren't. I've ordered a few chapter books for him from his school and they haven't been great. Just silly and that's OK. But I want him to know what really good literature is as well. And Little House in the Big Woods is that. With our modern conveniences it's so easy to forget that only 100 years ago we didn't have our modern appliances and ease of life. Wilder describes how everything was done and made. How did a family survive? Fascinating. A simple tale about Laura and her family in a year.

I look forward to reading the rest with him and I hope he enjoys it on his own one day.