My little man loves books. We went to an aquarium once (and were were in an area surrounded by all interesting tanks filled with colorful fishes), and he found himself a little nook where there were a stack of books and sat on the floor and happily read them.
He also loves reading time at the library and playing with the kids computer where he can put on a headphone and listen to stories while following the graphics on the screen.
We are using books to countdown to Christmas this year. I wrapped all 25 books at once and he gets to pick 1 every night to open and read before bed time. We are still growing our book collection, especially Christmas themed books, so more than half of our wrapped books are borrowed from the library.
He has been saying to me lately, “I want Christmas”, which means he wants to drive around the neighborhood and look at pretty lights. He then says to me “Mama, I want surprise”, which means he is ready for his wrapped book.
It is such a joy experiencing this holiday season with my toddler, he is more talkative and engaged and understands more each year. We watch him tear the gift wrap and gets excited for what is revealed inside. It is like experiencing Christmas morning glee, every night, with less distraction.
Some nights the book is short and he grabs a second book (not Christmas related, from his bookshelf) to read right after.
Another night, he loves the book and we read that same book twice or three times.
Some nights we get home late from an event and we don’t get to ready any books, so we read two the next day.
I am loving this so far and it’s a special bonding time right before bedtime to read a new book. I hope to make this a yearly tradition.
Cute idea! My son also loves books and they are a critical part of the bedtime routine!