Each year she will get a special book for that holiday -- at Christmas I gave her The Special Baby by Christian Focus publishers, and for Easter I gave her The First Easter. We read the books together a lot during that holiday season, and then put the books away for the rest of the year. Both are board books, and I let her hold them and play with them and bite them. . . and also we read them. I like both of these books because they are focused on Jesus (which, ironically, is not always so even with Christian holiday books). I was thinking that if we get out our special Christmas books at Christmas, and Easter books at Easter, then it will help our family to think thoughts toward Christ during these special seasons -- times when it could be really tempting to think about the other "fun" aspects of those holidays. My thinking also was "hey, let's go ahead and DO a Christmas stocking and Easter basket, but put the good book in those, so we are really still pointing to Christ and redeeming those traditions to be truly Christian." Granted, it's easy to do that now that Susie is so young and doesn't GET any chocolate bunnies in her basket along with the Jesus book, but if you can't start at square one, when can you?
Here we are reading The Special Baby during the Christmas season. I was re
ally good about reading that every day during Advent to her. The Easter book I saved for her basket, so I didn't read it in advance, but we'll have it to pull out next year and read. I'm really excited about the challenge of finding a good book each year for each holiday! Please post here if you have any other great book traditions -- holiday or otherwise -- that you do with your family! I'd love to hear other ways you celebrate learning and reading, and cultivate your children's hearts to value Christ.
Hey Gretchen, that's great! I've been buying a special Christmas book for the kids for several years. It's fun to get them out each year, and they seem "new" each time. We buy a new Christmas cd every year, too. :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday story to read to my students is The Three Trees. It could be for Christmas or Easter, but I can never WAIT til Easter, so I read it to them at our Christmas party.
ReplyDeleteoh, and as for family, my mom used to sit in bed with me at night and read Anne of Green Gables to me.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! We do this for Christmas and the kids LOVE to pull those books out each year- but I did not think to do it at Easter. I am going to get them a new book next Easter. Great idea! And I love the quilt you both are reading on :)
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