Upcoming Book Club and Math Circle {Math and Magic in Wonderland}

There is no Frigate like a Book  

To take us Lands away,  

Nor any Coursers like a Page  

Of prancing Poetry –   

This Traverse may the poorest take         

Without oppress of Toll –   

How frugal is the Chariot  

That bears a Human soul.

                               -Emily Dickinson

Have you ever read a book that you just had to tell all your friends about?  What about an enthralling math problem you just had to share?  If you nodded at the former suggestion and chuckled at the latter one, you are not alone!  One of the reasons I wrote my book, Math and Magic in Wonderland, was to make the world of mathematics as fun and accessible as the world of literature.

My family has been having such a wonderful time playing along with my math adventure novel, that I just have to share it with others.  Today I'm excited to announce the Math and Magic Book Club and Math Circle.  I invite other families to join us as we read through the book and "play math" together...

Inspiring Kids to LOVE Math

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and the smell of fresh tortillas wafted through the Mexican restaurant. Scarcely had the food arrived before I roughly pushed my plate aside and began scribbling on a napkin at a feverish pace.  "What are you doing?" asked my younger sister, raising an eyebrow and swallowing a mouthful of food.  I mumbled something about Pythagoras and the tile floor.  I don't know if my sister shrugged, rolled her eyes, or stuck out her tongue in response; I was too busy writing to look up.  A minute or two later, I slammed my hand on the napkin dramatically.  "Q. E. D.!" I declared aloud.  My parents gave me an inquisitive look before continuing their meal.  I picked up my burrito and took a large triumphant bite.  My entire face glowed with a secret delight.  I was 14 years old, and I had just found a new proof for the Pythagorean Theorem...

Read Aloud Books for Ages 2-5

I've always enjoyed reading aloud to my children.  When they were young, our reading sessions were more about spending quality time with my little ones and instilling a love of books in them.  Recently, I feel like the kids have not just been passively listening to the stories, but actually living them.  They played Aslan versus The White Witch (from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) for weeks.  When one twin is being particularly demanding, the other tells her to stop being "Veruca Salt" (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).  The other day, their plastic toy horses were being used to reenact the barn fire in Black Beauty.  I could go on and on (not including all the literature-inspired artwork they have produced).  As a bibliophile myself, it warms my heart to see my children feel such a connection with the books they read.

Three years ago, when I was looking for ideas for read alouds for younger children, I looked to blogs and Facebook for recommendations.  I've been keeping track of the books we've read both for myself and also with the hopes of inspiring other families to create read-aloud traditions with their children.  Here's the list so far...

101 Chapter Books to Read Aloud to My Kids

It's no secret that I love to read.  When we visited a furniture store last weekend, the girls pointed out every (fake) stack of books that was displayed, yelling "Mommy, look at the books - your favorite!".  I've been reading chapter books aloud to the twins since they were 2.5, and it's still something special we enjoy every day.  I had assumed that when the girls learned to read they would be eagerly seeking out books and enjoy reading on their own, but that didn't quite happen.  They're technically amazing readers for their age, but don't have the passion for independent reading quite yet (I need to remember they are only 4.5 years old).  So for now I'm just reading lots and lots of book aloud to them (and starting to include my 2.5 year old boy too, although he doesn't quite have the attention span yet and wanders away).   I love being able to share classics from my own childhood with my children, as well as discover some "new-to-me" books as well.  Amazon recently released its updated list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime.  Since surfing Amazon is my "hobby" (yes, really!), I was inspired to come up with a list of 101 read aloud chapter books for kids (33 that we've already read, and the rest on my "wish list").  Here goes...

Top Ten Chapter Books to Read to My Kids in 2013

Today I'm joining Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish and sharing my top 10 books I resolve to read in 2013.  I'm sure I'll be reading grown-up books, too, but I have no idea what those will be (whatever is free on Kindle), so I'd rather list the chapter books that I'd like to read aloud to the kiddos..