The list of chapter books we've read is growing...

Wow, it's been a long time since I blogged. However, I've committed to restarting this blog as we travel on our journey.

Nathan is LOVING chapter books still. He can't get enough of me reading them to him. I've really noticed his vocabulary increasing and shows a real interest in the meaning of words he doesn't know. We most read them at bedtime for about 1/2hr or so. Sometimes during the day if he asks me and usually it's when he wants a bit of rest time and I see him gazing off as he listens.

We've read quite a few of the Magic Treehouse books. These are a fantastic little read which take about 1-1.5hrs to get through - a great introduction to many different topics. Each story covers a place/person/time in history. Some are more fantasy based, but none the less, they keep his attention captured and asking plenty of questions while a story is told. They involve a brother and sister who travel on adventures via a magic treehouse. We've read of dinosaurs, Leonardo da Vinci in Italy, knights and castles, Pompeii and the volcano, Native Americans and buffalo, mummies and Egypt, a visit to the moon, inventors and the World's Fair in Paris.

What I have found with reading books to Nathan is that *I* really need to enjoy reading them to him as well. Give me a book I'm not enthused about and I really don't feel the love - and isn't that the point of unschooling? People will learn when their interest is captured - you could go through the motions of trying to learn something, but if you don't have an interest I can't see a lot of long term learning going on (nor the love of learning being kept alive).