The How I am Rocking Motherhood challenge has been taking over blogs around the internet lately. It is awesome to see all of these bloggers whom I admire giving themselves credit for the awesome job that they are doing as moms! I was nominated by Elizabeth Brico from the great blog Betty’s Battleground. On her blog, she shares her journey of parenting with PTSD, and she decided to put her own spin on the challenge by listing the ways that her PTSD helps her to rock motherhood. I decided to take her spin as inspiration and came up with the 10 ways that I am rocking motherhood as a bookworm raising a bookworm!
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1. Surrounding her with diverse books
It is one of my goals as a mother to raise a strong daughter who is kind and loving to all people and all living creatures. To help me reach this goal, I plan to surround her with a wide variety of books featuring diverse characters, settings and situations. Girls can often be characterized in stories as the “damsel in distress”. I aim to help my daughter see that girls can be anything and do anything. I compiled a list of Great Books for Strong Girls recently as a starting point.
In addition to recognizing that she can do anything regardless of her gender, I also want her be accepting of people regardless of the color of their skin, their religious beliefs or their country of origin. In a country divided right now, I think this is even more important. I can’t change the mind of the country, but I can shape the mind of my daughter.
2. Providing her with opportunities to expand her knowledge
I have fond memories of reading anything and everything when I was younger. My parents took my sister and I to the library and the bookstore more often than I can count. I realized very early on in life that books held answers to all kinds of questions. My hope is to instill a love of learning in my daughter as well. I plan to surround her with reading materials so she can learn about anything she wants. Right now, she likes to ride the rocking horse at the library, and look at the pictures in all of the books. When she is older, I will show her how to look up the information she wants and find the answers she needs.
3. Teaching her to respect books
This is one we are still working on. My daughter loves to be read to, and she loves looking at books. However, we are still working on things like not standing on books, and being gentle with the pages. I know she is young still and that this is normal. For now, I gently remind her how books should be treated. When a book gets ripped, I show her how I fix it, so she knows that books are meant to last.
4. Giving her one on one time
I love that our daily and nightly read aloud time gives us an opportunity to just sit together and talk. When the chaos of the day slows down, it’s so nice to have some quiet time together to just focus on the book in front of us. I ask her questions and she points things out on the page to me. I have very fond memories of my own read aloud time with my parents growing up, and I hope she remembers these quiet times fondly as well.
5. Asking her questions
I love that even now that she is a toddler, I can ask her questions about the books we are reading and help her to make connections to her own life. She is able to point out familiar objects in her favorite stories that she knows from her own life. I like the talks we have while reading, and I hope we will be able to continue having them as she gets older. I plan to share books with her that will allow us to have meaningful conversations about her life and her dreams, and so much more.
6. Introducing her to art and illustrations
She loves to look at the illustrations in her favorite books. I like pointing things out to her and having her show me things as well. She is already familiar with some famous pieces of art from her love of Disney’s Little Einsteins. (Seriously, what 1 year old can recognize Edvard Munch?). I love that as she grows, I will be able to introduce her to different styles of art and different mediums used by the illustrators in her books.
7. Giving her characters to look up to
Along with my earlier point about surrounding her with diverse books, I also plan to fill her library with great characters she can look up to. I love that there are such strong characters in children’s literature. Characters can help us to learn about ourselves, and teach us how we want to behave or what we want to be. My daughter is interested in how things work, so I will add books to her collection about inventors and engineers, like Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
8. Teaching her through literature
I also use literature to teach my daughter. Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Red Pajama is one of her favorite stories. This story of an impatient little llama has helped me to teach my daughter a few important lessons. The little llama in the story learns from his Mama that sometimes she is busy, and he has to be patient. As any parent of a toddler knows, this is an important lesson! We also read this story a lot when my daughter was waking up at night and wanting me to stay in her room while she slept. The end of the story helped me to reiterate to my daughter that while I cannot always be right there, I am always nearby. There are so many amazing stories out there with lessons that I want my daughter to learn, so I will continue adding to our collection.
9. Sharing my love for her through literature
There are so many amazing children’s books available to help parents share their feelings of love with their children. Beyond saying I love you, there are books that talk about what parents want for their children, how they will love them no matter what, and more. I recently shared a list of these books around Valentine’s Day. Nancy Tillman’s books are especially fantastic at putting these emotions into words. I tear up whenever I read them to my daughter, and I will keep reading them because I want her to know just how much I love her.
10. Building a lifelong passion
I am beyond thrilled that my daughter already shows such a passion for reading. She has books in almost every room of the house, and more often than not, that is what she chooses to play with. She brings me books and sits on my lap, or she tells me to lay down and she “reads” to me for a change. Nothing makes me happier than when she pulls herself up on to a chair and opens a book to read to me. I have always been an avid reader, so I am very excited to be sharing that passion with my daughter!
I am rocking motherhood by giving my daughter a love of reading which can help her mentally, emotionally and spiritually as she grows up. By recognizing the power of books, she will know how to find answers to her questions. She will be able to escape into another world when this one becomes too hectic. She will meet new characters who she can connect with and look up to. Most importantly, she will learn about the world and the type of person she wants to be. I hope that by raising a bookworm, I will provide her with a great foundation for her life, and that she will have fond and happy memories of reading with me!
Next up, I nominate Kayla from Parenting Expert to Mom, Beth from Real-Life-Mama-Drama.com and Amila from Diary of a New Mom!
I love all the ways you are surrounding your little one with literature! What a great way for her to learn! Thanks for the tag!
Thank you so much! I hope you have fun creating your post!
Teach her to respect books! 🙂 Oh, we are still working on that one! Great post.
Haha, we are still working on that one too! It’s a process for sure.
Ooh…this is so me! I love reading books to my 2 year old although he still secretly tears a couple pages when I’m not looking.I would love to be nominated because books have been my all time love and I hope to pass that on to my son 🙂
That is awesome! I will totally add you to the challenge if you want!
This is so great. My kids love to read too! Great job mama!
Thank you!
Nice sharing. Reading is really important. There are so many benefits. I am encouraging my two children to read as much as they can.
Thank you! That is awesome!
As an English teacher and avid reader, I loved this post. I particularly enjoyed your link to books for strong girls.
Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing that post too!
I just love your posts! I think I say that on most of your posts as well. Books are a big part of our household. My daughter struggled with learning to read and now we are slowly reading! I try to show her that I love reading as well which helps her see that anyone can read. Do you have any book recommendations for a 7 year old?
Thank you! Are you looking for books you can read to her, or books that she can read on her own? I would suggest starting with books in subjects that she really enjoys, both for read alouds and for independent reading. If she is more comfortable reading books that are almost too easy for her, that is okay too! It will build her confidence as a reader.
You are definitely rocking motherhood! You always have such great book suggestions, and nurture such an important part of childhood. Good work!
Aw, thank you so much!
It is great how much you surround your daughter with books!
Thank you!
#3 is SO important- it’s the main reason I am afraid to check out books from the library! I think we are getting there though.
I have the same fear. It is definitely something we are working on!
I am the same way with my babies! I want them to have a love for reading above the chaos and technology in life. Teaching them through literature is so effective!
I agree! It is so important to start teaching them to love books and reading while young!
I love that you’re raising a bookworm. I was a bookworm growing up and I feel like I may have had more critical thinking than if I didn’t read all of the books all of the time.
I agree! There are so many benefits to being a bookworm, outside of the enjoyment you get from it!
I wish your website was around when my son was a baby. He struggled with reading up until he was in 5th grade. Maybe, using some of your suggestions would’ve helped.
I wish I could have helped!
I love to nurture my kids love of reading. Finding diversity in books is really important as well as finding strong role models for them to relate to. Everything on this list is spot on and really awesome for raising readers…of actual books with paper pages, and not only on a tablet, lol,
Thank you! I really want my daughter to enjoy reading real books. This generation will have more experience with technology than the rest of us, but I want her to have this basic love of reading first!
You’re doing an amazing job mama!
Thank you!
I was (and am) a bookworm! Last night we were out to eat and a little girl was eating with her mom but she was reading at the same time. I pointed her out to my husband and told him that was me as a child too. I love that you’re encouraging such a love is reading in children!
Thank you! I was the same way. My sister and I would pack a book bag for any car ride longer than 5 minutes!
The love of reading, a great gift to pass along to your child!!
I agree!
As far as the “respecting books” goes, my 1 year old is so rough on books! Totally new thing for me to deal with because our 4 year old has always been “nice” to them. :/
My daughter doesn’t get it yet either. We’re really working on not standing on the books at the moment!
You are TOTALLY rocking it!!! And I love all of the points you make. All of these are so important to me as well!
Thank you! I’m so glad!
Yes!! Loved this post and love books! Great job momma!!
Thank you!
I can’t get enough of this post. I can keep reading it and reading it again. Truly. You are such a thoughtful mama!
Aw, thank you so much! Thank you for nominating me. It was fun!
We do most of these at our home too.I am a book worm,so my son too 🙂 As you mentioned,I also try to teach him to respect books.From recent,he tries to stand on the books.But I know he is still a little kid.Thanks for sharing all these tips on how you create a reading environment around the home.You are rocking!
And thanks for tagging me too.I accept the challenge! 🙂
Thank you! I hope you have fun taking the challenge! We are having the same issue with standing on books! I’m still working out how to fix that one.
We are a family of readers as well! Sometimes I think I enjoy the kids books more than they do!!
Oh I do too! You know it is a great children’s book when you can enjoy it as an adult!
You really are an amazing Mama! I love how you give her characters to look up to! Not to mention how you facilitate a love of reading and get her actively engaged and learning with each and every book.
Aw, thank you so much! I hope that it all helps her to develop a love of reading and confidence in her herself!
Nancy Tillman books make me cry too!
They are so good! They make me tear up every time. I am slowly building our collection of them anyway!
I love this-especially the diversity! I’m raising four kids through adoption and it was a real slap in the face when we realized most our books were white people. Since expanding our diversity in those books, it’s been a privilege to see the grow as well
That is awesome! I think authors and publishers are making a real push to have more diverse characters and situations in children’s books. While everyone is talking about Hollywood struggling to be inclusive, I think children’s books are making great strides!
Love this! Reading is so important to teach children to love and appreciate books!
I agree! I hope my daughter grows up to love books and reading as much as I do!
I love this! From a fellow bookworm to another, kudos for what you’re doing. My daughter is just 2.5 but already in love with books. She even sleeps with them each night after we read. Great job, mama.
Thank you! Great job to you too! We just started putting books next to my daughter’s bed, and there are always a few in the bed with her when she gets up in the morning!
I am a bookworm myself and hope that my kids also love reading. I try and make it important in their every day lives.
With Love Rochelle
That is awesome! It’s always helpful for kids to see their parents as bookworms too!
I love this. Books can always help a little one especially when preparing them for pre-k & kindergarden.
I agree! There are so many great books out there about starting school!
Yes to this! Both my daughters are bookworms and I am so happy that they continue to flourish in their reading! My oldest just finished her second chapter book and I am so proud!
That is so awesome! Congrats to her!
Vicki, I love this post! As someone a little further down the parenting road, I can tell you that you are doing a GREAT job. Both of my girls LOVE to read–and we often use books as a conversation-starter into deeper philosophical discussions.
I love the idea of fixing books together–teaching her that they are meant to last. We have a “book hospital” for when that binding lets go and the pages fall to the floor!
Thank you so much! I really hope that she continues to have this love of reading as she grows. We are definitely going to have to put a book hospital together since we have a few that are just holding on! She likes Doc McStuffins though, so she would probably love that idea!
I love that my girls love to read! It’s amazing to watch them get lost in books! Thanks for the great ideas you shared!
That is awesome! I love when kids discover a favorite book and get completely lost in it!
I love this! My 4yo is staaaarting to get into books, but it’s a slow process for sure!
We’ve just started reading a book every night without her being bored (she even threw a fit because she fell asleep and didn’t get one) but she doesn’t like to read during the day.
Any suggestions on how to encourage daytime reading?
Aw, that is so cute. I would suggest having books around and available to her all around the house. We have books in every room so my daughter inevitably gets them out all over the house. I would also suggest doing some activities to pair with the book. It will help her to connect with the book but also help her to get some of that day time energy out. It could be something as simple as a craft or drawing, or as big as a trip to the zoo or park.
My son’s are bookworms too, one wears a head lamp to bed to look/read his picture books and the other is obsessed with playaway books so he can “read by himself”. It’s great to see how much they gain from books!
Aw, that is awesome! I wish we had had those head lamps when I was a kid! That’s a great idea!
Love love love this!! Reading is so important for our kids! I love that my 4 year old loves books and my 10 month old too. However, she likes to eat them as much as look at them…
Thank you! My daughter went through a book chewing phase too!
You are doing the right thing, Momma! I too try to raise my children surrounded by books and the opportunity to read them. I love asking them questions after reading too to hear their thoughts… its amazing seeing what stood out to them in a story.
Thank you! I agree, it is so fun to hear them talk about books and hear their thoughts!
Reading with your children is beneficial for SO many reasons! Way to rock Mama.
Chelsea || http://www.binkiesandbaubles.com
Thank you! I agree it is so beneficial!
These are wonderful tips! My daughter is only 10 months old but I want to teach her the love for reading early! She already loves it when we read to her!
Thank you! That is a great start!
I LOVE this post – going to share with my husband so he understands why we will never have enough books in our house 🙂
I may have a book hoarding problem myself! I totally understand!
She’s a lucky little girl! One thing I did that was critical in transitioning my kids into reading chapter books was to read for myself in front of them. Usually I would read in bed before I went to sleep, so they weren’t getting the visual cue to read. Once I started reading on the livingroom sofa in the day, they followed suit.
Thank you! I totally agree it is so helpful for kids to see their parents reading and enjoying books!
Adorable post. I’m 100% agree with you, reading with your children is beneficial for SO many reasons!
Thank you!
This is wonderful! You are a wonderful mama!!! Reading is so so important.
Thank you so much!
Wow! We surround my kids with books too but this is with such intention. I love picking books that make my kids think.
Me too! I love seeing their little minds at work!
Great post! I’m hoping to foster the same love of reading to my little boy. Having a big collection definitely helps!
Thank you! I agree it helps to have a lot of quality books around.
Its wonderful that you have given your daughter a love of books. This reminds me of weekends at the library with my dad. He would nap with a book while I roamed around and absorbed all the art books. I hope to instill the same love of reading with my own son. So far his favorite book is Big Hero 6! I need to read some of the books you listed to my son. Its important he understand that women play an important role in this world and instill respect for books and women while he’s young.
Those are awesome goals and such wonderful memories with your dad! I have great memories of reading with my parents, and I hope my daughter will have the same!
I love that your daughter has a passion for reading, I have been a bookworm my entire life and encourage my children to read as much as possible.
That is awesome! I am a proud bookworm and I am so glad my daughter seems to be turning into one!
I loved this! Reading is so important. You truly are rocking motherhood.
Thank you!
This was such a sweet post! We are bookworms too. Do you have to be nominated to participate in the Rocking Motherhood challenge?
Thank you! I don’t think you have to be nominated, but I can nominate you if you’d like!
As the woman who was the kid on the playground reading a book instead of running around with all the other kids, I so relate to this. You are giving your daughter such a wonderful gift.
Thank you! I was the same kid!
I love that you’re raising a bookworm. My daughter is also a bookworm and it is truly wonderful to see. She is constantly reading and learning and sharing her knowledge! All children should have books to read.
I agree! I love that my daughter is already developing a love for reading like I have! I wish all children could have that.
You are totally rocking it, mama! I love that you’ve submerged your daughter into the culture of reading—it’s so incredibly important!
Thank you! I really hope that she grows to love reading as much as I do!
I love this. I feel like we’re still really working on respecting books, too. It’s a struggle 🙁
It is! My daughter pulled all of her books off the shelf into a pile on the floor yesterday. We still have some work to do!
I am trying to instill the same love of reading and literature in my daughter! We follow a lot of these practices, too! I love reading so much, so I really hope that we are successful!
That is awesome! I feel the same way. I hope my daughter will grow up to love books and reading as much as I do!
I can’t tell you how much I love this! My daughter and I have bonded over books since before she could even read. Fifteen years later and we still spend almost every weekend at a bookstore. Usually a very old, antique and crampy one, but we love it! Keep on keeping on!
Thank you so much! That is such an awesome tradition. My parents started us out loving books very young, and I have so many fond memories of weekend trips to the bookstore too!
I love that you mentioned diversity… I was just explaining why I choose certain books to my oldest, and tried to make him understand how important seeing diversity was, especially in our fairly homogeneous suburb.
I agree! I think it is so important for kids to explore the world and see other people, traditions and cultures through books.
Yes!! I am a huge reader, and we read everyday in this house. Multiple times a day! We homeschool and I am now switching our “curriculum” to literature-based!
That’s awesome! I hope my daughter still likes to read multiple times a day when she’s older!