Children's Book & Movie Pairings

Over the past year, we've forged a new family tradition: each week we've been reading our way through a chapter book with the boys, then on Friday evening we watch the movie based on the book. Sometimes, this does take a little more than a week and others like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we flew through in 2 days. We enjoy also downloading the book to listen to using the Libby (Library) app in the car which helps us get through a chapter or two while driving and then pick the book back up at the dining room table. It has been a joy to then discuss the differences between the books & movies over breakfast Saturday mornings.

Since I started having children I've been very convicted that reading out loud to them, and nurturing their love for books is critical to their formation. James & I have even made it a regular occurrence to have a "magical hour" of reading where we read out loud to the boys. Reading is so good for the mind, heart, and soul!

At the same time, we've always felt like TV did not necessarily need to be a daily activity. However, we felt like absolute abstinence from a good film would be scrupulous. So we've made an ongoing weekly highlight for the kids--"Family Movie Night".

We had a wise man tell us, you will need to have conversations with your kids. Setting family values which often means setting boundaries. Sometimes this means a list of "no's"....He said if you are going to have a list of "no's" in your family life, you also have to have big "yes's". For our kiddos, having the big "yes" of family movie night along with long bike rides, family nature hikes, a sunroom playroom, driveway basketball games, and dad chaperoned wrestling matches in their room are an example of these big "yes's". In return, by focusing on these "yes's" the questions like when do we get to watch TV next do not come up as often.

What are your big yes's? I hope you enjoy this list.

With Gratitude,

Emily Riter