The Streak ~ 100 Days!

We have arrived at an exciting milestone in our read-aloud journey.  This is day 100 of our Reading Streak!  We began on Thanksgiving Day with the goal of reading aloud every single day until the end of the year.  We continued through the New Year and have arrived at day 100!

As I wrote previously, we already have a family culture of reading aloud almost every single day.  When books are your constant companions, it makes sense that reading aloud would be a priority.  But there has been something about setting a goal such as this that has made us more intentional.  We find ourselves laying aside less important (to us) activities that might crowd out read-aloud time, coming together and sharing a book.  It's a beautiful thing.

We spent two weeks in February snowed in so those days were easy read-aloud days in front of a roaring fire.  No busyness to interfere.  We did have one close call, though.  We were finally able to dig ourselves out of snow and ice to do some much needed errands, a birthday celebration that was waylaid and a make-up violin lesson.

That evening the boys were going to spend the night with Grandma but I had assured them that we would read before they went.  Well, in the frenzied pace of the day, we forgot.  After the boys were safely delivered to Grandma's, I remembered in a panic!  I grabbed the phone, explained to my mother what had happened and told her I needed both boys on two different phones!  She was doubtful and said, "They won't want to stop what they're doing just to read.  They're playing."  "GET THE BOYS!!"  I said.  What transpired in the next few seconds cracked me up and warmed my heart.  I heard my mom tell the boys that Momma was on the phone and she wanted them on separate phones so she could read to them.  I heard a flurry of activity as Marcus screamed, "OH NO!  We forgot to read!  Daniel, get the other phone!  WE FORGOT TO READ!!!"  Daniel shuffled around crying, "Where is it?!?  Where is it?!"  Marcus shoved the phone into his hands imploring him to hurry!  Finally we all settled down to a read-aloud time thanks to Alexander Graham Bell.

Keep in mind these boys are 11years old and one of them is two inches taller than I am.  Needless to say I was thrilled...and my mom was shocked.  Books bind us together.  In a culture of individualism, books are part of what make us...US.

We will continue on with our Streak as long as it lasts and I may post about special milestones, but I wanted to share the impact this simple goal had made in our reading and our family.

Here are the books we've shared as read-alouds over the last 100 days.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
I Saw Three Ships - Elizabeth Goudge
A Tree for Peter - Kate Seredy
The Christmas Stove - Alta Halverson Seymour
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus - Amelia Houghton
The Snow Queen - Hans Christian Anderson
By Right of Conquest - G.A. Henty
On the Far Side of the Mountain - Jean Craighead George
Wizard of Oz - Frank Baum
Frightful's Mountain - Jean Craighead George
Beyond the Desert Gate - Mary Ray
Greek Slave Boy - Lillian Carroll
Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
The Green Ember - S.D. Smith