read-alouds

I haven't changed the "what we are reading now" link on the sidebar in ages because it seems we have shifted our evening reading routine. It used to be that I would read storybooks for the little ones then pick up a chapter book to read to Will and Mary before prayers and bedtime. However, Will now takes sooooo long in the bathroom and shower that he usually doesn't emerge until 8pm, too late to listen to me read anything. Since I didn't want to leave him behind, he started picking up books during the day instead of waiting for me to read aloud.

During the past 2 weeks he has read several of the Great Illustrated Classics, such as Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, and The Time Machine, with no prompting or prodding from me. He drags his reading material and a flashlight up to his bunk each night to read under the covers before falling asleep, likely in the middle of a sentence. As long as he doesn't disturb any of the younger children, I don't mind him staying up an extra 30 minutes. My mother's rule when I was a child was that we were required to be in bed by 9pm, but we could stay awake reading as long as we wanted. Since Will shares a room with 3 younger siblings, a lamp would wake them up. I am encouraged by his enthusiasm for finding suitable boy books in our home library and will continue to scour the local thrift shops for more adventuresome reading material.