Little House on the Prairie

There are so many joys to being a parent. As well as so many challenges. The funny thing about it all is that you are constantly surprised by what parts of parenting bring you the most joy and which parts are so difficult. It rarely plays out the way you thought it would before you became a parent. One of those many little joys I never much considered is sharing literaturewith your children. We've read to Sydney and Pierce pretty much every night of their lives before bedtime. Now both children LOVE to read and Sydney is a very advanced reader. So, this year I purchased the Little House boxed set as a little gift for starting kindergarten, imagining that we could slowly read them together. I know they are recommended for children ages 8 and up, but I couldn't resist sharing these classic, well-written, and wholesome novels with Sydney. So we started reading. I think at first she was a little bored (there are only pictures on every other page, after all). But as we got into the first book she fell in love with the little Ingalls girls and their story. We are now on book 3 (we skipped book 2 because Sydney really wanted to follow Laura and Mary, and book 2 followed another little boy). She is really getting into it and we read a chapter a night. I think I look forward to it as much as she does, maybe more. I don't know that I ever really read all these books as a child, so it is new for me as well.

The other night I came into her room to sit down and read before bedtime. I opened the novel, pulled the bookmark out and noticed that I didn't recognize the chapter name. I flipped backwards a few pages and realized that that little monkey had read a chapter ahead the night before! I looked at her and said, "Sydney, did you read ahead?" "Yes. I wanted to see what was going to happen." "Well, that's not fair!!! Now I don't know what happened! You'll have to find another book to read quietly to yourself while I read this chapter and get caught up. Then I'll read to you!" Ha! I had to laugh at myself and at my daughter! It's fun to share something with her that we can both enjoy so much!

For parents of little girls, I highly recommend this series. And 5 is not too young to read together. The stories are beautifully written and they tell of times when life was so much simpler, but so much more work. I think they are great for young girls growing up in a culture where everything is instant, easily accessible, and no one seems to want for anything.