Reading

This week, I want to focus on reading.  I've had several books going as read alouds, but life has been filled with interruptions lately, from me getting an increased number of migraines to college students coming home, to winding up the year events, etc. etc.  It just seems like we are getting more and more spotty about sitting down and reading in a routine fashion.  So this week I really want to concentrate on reading, both out loud and independently.

For me:

A.M.  I'm still reading the Gospel of Luke.  I started it for Lent.  I just read a couple paragraphs at a time and then read all the excellent commentary in my Navarre Bible Study.  After I do other things, like unload the dishwasher and have my coffee and computer time (like right now), I'm also reading The Evidential Power of Beauty.

P.M.  I want to start up a reading hour after lunch on most days.  I sort of do this now anyway, so I just want to make it official and also ask the kids to participate.  At this point, my current read is Aristotle for Everybody.  Then before bed I am currently reading The Song of Bernadette.

For read alouds:  I happen to be reading four read alouds, mostly directed at Sean:  The Creed in Slow Motion (Becky listens to this too).  A Little History of the World, The Screwtape Letters and Across Five Aprils.  I don't know how I got so Sean heavy and so light with Becky's read alouds, which right now is just Anne of Green Gables, though Rick is also reading her a book aloud too.  Anyway, these books have been taking an inordinate amount of time to get through even though each one is excellent.  I feel like we are dragging them out too long which is lessening their impact.  So this week I want to tighten this up.

After lunch independent reading:  I don't really need to do this with Becky.  She's often got her nose in a book.  We went to the library on Thursday and I think she's well into her third book by now.  But Sean is trying to make his way through Shane.  He actually seems to be enjoying it, but you have to remind him to read.  He just goes to the computer first thing and that crowds out other things too easily.  Also, Joshua is finished with Shakespeare and Chemistry now.  He just has Math and Latin left for this school year.  It was a heavy Shakespeare year and he really did very little other reading than that, so I think he needs to get back in the habit of just regular recreational reading other than reading fan fiction for Manga novels on the interweb.

So, I think I'm going to have a read aloud marathon this week, to see if I can't finish up a lot of these books.  I want Rick to read Watership Down aloud to Sean and Becky this summer.  It's a long book and he's been working late a lot, so he'll need a few months to get through it.