My #1 Christmas Book Pick for 2011!

Well, with Christmas less than a week away, I need to hurry and tell you about a great last minute Christmas book to go and get. I just found it the other day at "Seagull Book." It's called "MY TREASURY OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS & STORIES." It's a beautifully illustrated, hard back, 192-page book. Every page is illustrated and the colors are brilliant. It has the classic Christmas stories, plus the words to many Christmas carols. I was shocked to see that it was on sale for only $9.99. But, if not on sale, it's only $12.99. So, well worth it!

Your children will love it! You can sing along to the words of the songs. Maybe read the words first as they are written there. Help them to understand the meaning of these wonderful Christmas Carols. For beginning readers, it is great practice for them to use rhythm and rhyme. And, that is, of course, what songs are made of.

Then for the Christmas stories, let them read them with you. For young children, which is what my program mostly addresses, let them read all the short, three-letter words they've learned from ABC's See How to Chop and Blend, and fill in with the 'a's and the 'the's. Or, if you also have older kids, they can read a paragraph and then you; and back and forth this way. Or they can read one side of the page and you the other. Shared reading is a good way to let your kids see and hear that reading is fun. They will hear the expression you put into it and hopefully try to minic that. Also, it helps it to go by faster. They get to help read the story, but then they get to listen to it also.

And, on a personal note, we got our dental student son home from Indiana on Dec. 10th. It's so wonderful now to have all 5 of our kids and their families near us! Our dental son ruptured his Achelis tendon over two months ago, and is not healing up well at all, so we are grateful to have him here with us so we can take care of him. So thankful for modern tecnology and medications. We truly lived in a blessed era.

I hope to write again before Christmas, but if not, have a very, very Merry one!

Hugs, Doreese