Creating Shared Experiences After Reading: Part 1

One of my favorite things to do with my children is to find some way to make connections between what we read and what we do. Often, it is Jacob or even Rebecca who makes a small, simple connection, but other times I am able to plan ahead or be spontaneous and really help them understand a story better than if we had just simply read the book.  Don't get me wrong, just reading a book is important in and of itself, but I've found that sharing experiences with my children related to books we read has made those books really come alive for them.

Today I just wanted to share an example with you of how I have done this recently, specifically after we finished a book!

A few weeks ago my husband was out of town and we had picked up some books at the library and brought them home to start reading them. We found one that someone had left on a chair near the shelves and I saw the title and scooped it up. Looking at the cover alone I could tell it would be a treat - one in a series of picture books for young readers about Amelia Bedelia as a little girl.  We had happened upon Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie and set aside some special time the next day to read it. Before I knew it the kids were saying her name: Jacob, "Amelia Adelia!" and Rebecca, "Meeya, meeya!"  We got through the book and loved it (even though Amelia Bedelia's way of taking all things literally is nearly lost on my young kids, I got a kick out of it, but they were still thoroughly entertained) and then I turned to the last page and noticed a recipe for apple pie and knew we had to make it.

I had some homemade pie pastry in the freezer already so that made short work of putting this pie together with the kids.  They loved helping me catch the long apple peels as I ran each apple through my peeler/corer/slicer and of course they loved dumping in the sugar and spices and stirring things together.  Jeff came home that night and shared some pie with us and declared it to be one of the best pies I'd ever made.  I sure enjoy baking a lot but helping the kids see how we could make a pie just like Amelia Bedelia did in the story was something even sweeter than just eating a slice of pie.  You can get the recipe and see a few pages of the cute story by clicking on the Browse Inside link below:

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

How do you help your children make connections between the world around them and the books they read? Or, if you don't have children - do you recall how a parent or teacher helped you to do this?  Share your thoughts in the comments!


Many thanks to those who have already emailed me about doing a guest post. Guest posts will begin next Thursday and spots are filling up in the order I hear from people, so send me an email at staceylea(at)gmail(dot)com and we can figure out details!