hunanspice

I'm so proud of myself, first of all, for figuring out how to pull pictures from the web. Anyway, I have taken the Fall Reading Challenge from Callapidder Days. Daddy Spice and I are starting with The Five Love Languages for Children by Gary Chapman. We have read the Love Languages for us, but now we get to see if we know Spicy Girl's love language.

I am a book lover. This was not the case growing up. I loved when people read to me, but I didn't care much for reading on my own. It happened in my early 30's when a friend loaned me the first book, Left Behind, from the Left Behind series. I began that book, couldn't put it down, then had to continue with the next books in the series. After reading about 6 books in a row (that's all that had already been published at the time) I had withdrawals. I needed more fun books to read. And, I've been reading ever since.

My favorite topic these days besides Biblically based books, is books about Chinese culture. Since my daughter is from China, I want to be able to teach her about her culture and history. I have learned so much about China's past, communism beginnings, one child rule and about deep rooted traditions. Some of the books I have read are:
The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans
Wild Swans (Three Daughters of China) by Jung Chang
Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Thankfully, the love of reading is near and dear to our daughter's heart. When she was old enough to understand what a book was, she would continually bring them to us to read to her. Now at 3 1/2 she has many favorites. Here are a few:

Chica Chica Boom Boom
Arthur books by Marc Brown
10 Little Monkeys
Dora the Explorer books
Clifford books
Bible Blessings (favorite is Noah's Ark)

As a former elementary teacher, and now a 2 day a week pre-k teacher, I cannot stress enough the importance of reading. It's not only a wonderful "quiet time" with your children, but it's a bonding time. Lately, Daddy Spice has been taking on the night time reading with Spicy Girl. Since he gets home late sometimes in the evening, this gives them a little one-on-one cuddle time.