When my oldest was a toddler and we had accumulated a few books from each season, I started pulling them off bookshelves in his room and showcasing them in our playroom. Instead of placing them in the stacks, I would open them up onto shelves so he could see the cover. Lifting him up, he would select a book and we read it on the floor together.
Every year, sometime when the leaves started to change color and fall, our bookshelf would turn too — bringing out our seasonal favorites like Happy Halloween, Curious George and Biscuit’s Pet and Play Halloween. Each year, we added new stories to explore together.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, we would also engage in one of my favorite holiday traditions — loading our arms with heaps of holiday themed books, lugging them into our family room, and curling up by the fireplace to read them together. I often lost track of how many books we read. My kids couldn’t wait to hear more about how various animals spend their holidays — their traditions often mirroring our own.
Throughout the year, I pull out books for my children that are seasonal or can help with tough transitions — a new sibling, starting school, potty training, etc. I offer a variety of books they can learn from and connect with, sometimes around a topic that might be difficult for them.
With each season or new transition that presents itself, there is the opportunity to read books that reinforce traditions and lessons that children are already learning at home or in school. It is also an opportunity to invite children to learn about different traditions and perspectives — an opportunity to learn something new or see how someone else struggled and coped with a transition of their own.
I find books can really start a conversation with my kids about how they feel about an upcoming holiday, what they are excited for and what they are nervous about. They can also start conversations about how they are feeling about a transition or a time they identified with a character in a book. I have found reading these books together has served not only as entertainment but also as a tool for parenting.
So, a few days ago, I selected a series of spoooooky age appropriate autumn and Halloween themed books from my children’s bedrooms, piled them high in a laundry basket, and very carefully carried them down the stairs to put them on display. I was particularly excited this fall to fill our bookshelf because I recently purchased a new bookcase for my kids that they can now reach themselves. For years, they had to ask me to lift them to reach a book in their playroom but now they can go over to their bookcase and select any book they want. They can also put the book back themselves too!
At night, my boys select whatever books they want from our collection in their rooms or one of their library books on loan. But during the day, they select from our seasonal collection. I love our night time reading but I actually find that some of our morning or afternoon story times are even better than those at night. I have more energy, more patience, and a greater ability to ask questions and respond to their thoughts. We don’t do them everyday but when we do, they are meaningful.
Lining our shelves with seasonal favorites or transition topics is one of my favorite things to do as each season comes along and before many parenting struggles begin to reach their peak.
As my kids grow, I will incorporate them in selecting the books for our collections. My hope is to continue to connect with them over books for as long as possible — I presume asking what interests them might be a good start.
I still have yet to have my local library limit the amount of books we borrow. And if they ever do, I suppose I will turn to family and friends or a little free library to swap books that can fill our seasonal bookshelf. Isn’t that what we did as kids anyway? Borrowed books we wanted to read?
A few new books, several used books, and a selection of borrowed books hit our shelf with each new season offering an imaginary world to explore together — with a hint of parental intention.
For more information about the importance of books and how to build your library at home, here are a few links.
- https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/study-finds-benefits-of-childs-home-library.html
- https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/room-for-everyone-10-picture-books-that-encourage-kindness
- https://www.readbrightly.com/importance-of-reading-aloud-to-big-kids/
While I hope you enjoy reading my posts, kindly be advised that the words in this article are not medical advice and I cannot guarantee that they will work for you or your family. They are my reflections on parenting my three boys, based on my own personal background and experiences. Always reach out to your own health professionals for any questions or concerns. Please read my full disclosure at the bottom of this site for more information. Very sincerely, Mamma P.
