If your family is like mine, one of the few times you are all together is during dinner each evening. I like to make the most of these times (when else do I have a captive audience?) and one way I choose to do that is by including books in the family meal. After all, it just doesn’t get any better than a good book and good food! Today Red Apple Reading has four ideas for incorporating books into your family dinner time.
- The Final Course: A Good Book – Think your kids are too old to be read to? Think again! Dinner time is the perfect opportunity to read aloud to the entire family. Our family has gone through several books this way. After I finish eating, I very often pick up a book and read aloud to everyone. Even if your children are not all close in age (mine are very spread out), I have found that the older ones don’t mind a book a bit below their level and the younger ones aren’t bothered by a little challenge. The important thing is that you are all doing something important together: appreciating a good book!
- Nourish the Mind and the Body – Every summer I assign one or two books for my children to read – and they love it! Anyway, this year I added a twist: an oral book report to be delivered to the family. At the appointed dinner they told us the main characters, gave a brief summary, and read a portion aloud. My husband and I asked a few leading questions to help them out and by the end of dinner the family had learned all about a new book!
- Book-Themed Cuisine – Another fun way to combine dinner and books is by centering the food itself around a book. It’s fun and easy! Simply choose a book and let the family decide what cuisine should be served in honor of the chosen title. A couple of weeks ago after finishing To Kill a Mockingbird, my thirteen year old and I came up with a southern themed dinner that would have made Harper Lee proud! The bottled Cokes, fried chicken, collard greens and Lane cupcakes were the perfect meal to compliment a truly inspiring book.
- Quality Time With a Cookbook– Never underestimate the power of a good cookbook! Little ones love to cook with their parents and pouring over a cookbook together is a great way to mash up math, home-economics, and reading. So pull out your cookbooks and let your kiddo pick a dish the two of you can create together. Be sure to let them be in charge of reading the recipe (this provides the perfect opportunity to sneak in reading practice) aloud to you. Hopefully by the end of the evening you will have not only created a yummy dish but also some fun memories as well!
Meal time is an important part of the fabric of your family. Even if you cannot eat together every night, strive for a at least a few dinners together each week. And while you’re at it, you might as well add a good book to the menu. Happy eating and reading!
