I am a proud mommy of three kiddos, two girls, Gracie and Avery, and a baby boy, Timmy!  To say we are busy is an understatement. We are constantly on the go, but one thing that consistently grounds us is reading together. Reading allows us to pause the craziness and take a collective breath. 

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education and a Master’s Degree in Literacy. I also have Middle School: English Language Arts and Reading Specialist certifications. I spent nearly a decade in both special and general education settings, but after my second child was born, I decided to leave the classroom and stay home with my babies. 

Throughout my time as a teacher, there were numerous occasions when a student would walk in my classroom in September telling me how much they hated reading and leave in June asking for book recommendations. Nothing was more rewarding than watching a student fall in love with reading in front of my eyes. 

I have very fond memories of reading all throughout my childhood that led me to become a lifelong reader. One of my first memories is reading Monster and Muffin by Joanna Cole every night until I had it completely memorized. This book replaces simple words like “dog” or “cat” with pictures to help emerging readers gain confidence and read with ease. Looking back, I realize that book ignited my love for reading and I have been smitten with books ever since. 

“My Book Bud” Mission 

My goal for this blog is to help parents go beyond reading just the words on the page. As adult readers, we don’t realize that we are doing several things at once to help us comprehend the text. We use the skills that were repeatedly taught to us throughout our schooling and apply them while reading to ourselves. These complex skills can be introduced on a micro-level to help little ones build a foundation to eventually become sophisticated and independent readers. 

“My Book Bud” will emphasize how parents and children can use board books, picture books, and early reader chapter books to dive deeper into the text, experience the mystique of books together, and ultimately gain a more profound connection. 

You and your child can go beyond closing the book after the last word. Using this blog, your child can learn valuable skills all while spending quality and uninterrupted time with you. Explicit examples of when and how to practice these skills using specific texts will be outlined in each post. 

Keep in mind that all of the skills and activities in this blog are optional and meant to be fun, quick, and easy to follow. The conversation should feel natural and not forced, so if you or your child start to get upset or frustrated, stop the activity and move on. 

“My Book Bud” Framework 

A new blog will be posted every week. Each week will feature a new theme and will spotlight four books that fall under that theme following the outline below. 

Title:

Author:

Summary: 

Skills to Tackle: three skills mentioned above simple ways to put them into practice with this specific text. 

Expansion Activity: a task to help kids deepen their understanding of the text or a skill further. 

This blog will be based on my own personal opinion. The skills and expansion activity are optional. 

I sincerely hope that you find this blog helpful! If you are someone who has steered away from reading, I wish for you to find the beauty in reading once again. If you are a book lover like myself, may you uncover everything there is “beyond the words”. Most importantly, I hope this blog serves as a gateway to connection between you and your child.