Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into your heart and home Sarah! Really enjoyed this read and the nuggets of experience & wisdom you generously share in it! 💛
Keep up the great work Sarah. My kids are grown now and I did everything I could to instill a love of reading into their lives. Now my focus is on my nieces and nephews until I have grandkids.
I love reading stories about you and your family! So I don’t think you shouldn’t talk about yourself. It really adds to the newsletter IMO! I also liked reading about this conflict (and the FINE part made me think of my moody toddler who is known for saying that… lol). I’m definitely the more passionate reader in my relationship but my husband is a reader, too (his mom was an English teacher). We did kind of disagree about whether to try to teach our son to read before kindergarten. He wanted to work on with him and I didn’t feel strongly about it. But I didn’t disagree enough to say ‘let’s not do this’. I just didn’t exactly work at it with our son? I didn’t want reading to become a chore for him and I didn’t want him to be bored in K. Well ultimately he did learn to read. My husband didn’t work with him A LOT so I think it happened naturally and he isn’t too bored at K so it all worked out.
I love how long your posts and reviews are - and your personal insights and perspectives are a really important part of why I read.
I am also on the indoctrination train! All 3 of my kids read/listen obsessively (9/6/3) and watching them develop their own reading interests is a huge joy for me.
I love hearing more about you and your family! Please continue to keep sharing, despite the "metrics." And a review from you could never be too long to me-- I eat it up! Thanks for all you do, Sarah! Searching your past newsletters to help my kids fill out their library winter reading challenges ☺
Your talking about your life is so powerful and insightful. Your words and the intention behind them stays with me for days. Obviously, do what you need and want to, and for those who might not enjoy those parts, maybe it's not for them? Or maybe you're writing invites them to reveal and uncover parts of themselves they don't want to? Who knows? I imagine if a fellow Substacker asked you what you would do if they were in a similar situation, you'd say, "F expectations!"
Probably 😂 And thank you. Your opinion matters more to me than some unknown and unknowable segment of subscribers (which goes without saying but I feel like saying it anyway).
I was the person who brought a book to the hospital when I gave birth to read to the baby on day one! So I totally get the indoctrination. Such a good reminder though to buy any and all books that are requested. I keep books in the car also for my toddler to look at, and sometimes I read at the dinner table. I am a voracious reader, and so is my sister and my mom. I hope my 3 year old will be too!
Raised by readers! 🤚🏻 And created kids with a reader! It’s fun to watch him come into his own as a read aloud person - reading aloud takes a bit of practice. As a babysitter since 12, I never really fell out of the habit! But I love watching my partner get more comfortable being expressive and animated as he reads.
My husband has experienced this as well. I remember he read in a really stilted way when T was first born, and now he’s much more expressive. T (and my husband) still prefer to listen to me read, I’ve got a great read aloud voice, but my husband is much better now. We binge read the Mystery of Helmersbruk Manor over Christmas and something about the flow of the book really worked with my reading style, and by the end, I was full on audiobook narrator.
In general, I’m the one who will suggest a story first, but that’s motivated by both a love of reading and a hatred of pretend play. I’d rather read a pile of books than pretend to be a ninja?
Ahhh! Hatred of pretend play resonates so deeply with me!! Currently trying to not be Ana from frozen or Lucy from Narnia all at once. I’m so half hearted with imaginative play!!
My husband and I both read a lot as kids but now I’m more of the reader. He does still read a few books a year but TV is his thing to unwind. And that’s okay too. Our kids prefer when he reads books aloud to them over me. I have one that’s more of a reluctant reader but she’s also learning to read in Kindergarten this year and I hope once she catches on she’ll have a renewed interest in books.
I bet you can guess what I am going to say...I show up here for YOUR stories and words about your life and how you are experiencing your world and live. Perchance, maybe you open subset newsletter where you write all the things about your life for those of us who love to read your narrative writing? (And then folks can opt in/out.) The YOU of this newsletter are what make it special. (Also, bonus 10 points for referencing SMART goals! My fave.)
I’ve been considering that deeply lately. Remember my old TinyLetter? I’ve thought about importing that list and those posts, but I’m not sure I want the hassle and mental load of two newsletters (like need something else 🤦🏻♀️)
Um, is it creepy if I say yes? I almost referenced Dream Work in my original comment to you! I’m thinking about this because of TinyLetter hard-closing - and wondering which other TL folks might be moving old posts and also because Dream Work was my favorite!
Once my mom commented that our bedtime routine must be so tiring because we have to “read all those books” at the end of a long day. Both my husband and I were emphatic that that’s our favorite part! Hah! I totally get that it’s not everyone’s thing … but it’s absolutely our thing.
I'm curious on your thoughts re: new vs. repeat reads. This is the area where my partner and I have different approaches. We both love and value reading. But for me, I am energized by sharing new books, stories, authors, artists with my son. So this looks like picking up 15-30 new books each month from the library, often with a focus on holidays or current events or seasons + vehicles (my son's true love). And my partner insists that there's more value for our kid in repeat reading the same stories. I feel like we've worked out a middle ground (we alternate bedtime, I'm more likely to pick new books and he's more likely to repeat old favorites). And that seems to be what our son likes best too- sometimes he only wants to read new books and sometimes he's in the mood for something familiar. But just wondering how you balance repeat and new!
Depends on the age of your son, but: there are real and very valid developmental — not to mention emotional — reasons for repeating. Repetition is super important for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. New reads are great — and if you’ve found a balance, that’s wonderful — but if I had to err on one side or the other, (realizing this probably isn’t what you want to hear): it would be for repeating.
Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into your heart and home Sarah! Really enjoyed this read and the nuggets of experience & wisdom you generously share in it! 💛
Inspires me to do the same with my toddlers, even on nights I’m too tired. :)
Keep up the great work Sarah. My kids are grown now and I did everything I could to instill a love of reading into their lives. Now my focus is on my nieces and nephews until I have grandkids.
I love reading stories about you and your family! So I don’t think you shouldn’t talk about yourself. It really adds to the newsletter IMO! I also liked reading about this conflict (and the FINE part made me think of my moody toddler who is known for saying that… lol). I’m definitely the more passionate reader in my relationship but my husband is a reader, too (his mom was an English teacher). We did kind of disagree about whether to try to teach our son to read before kindergarten. He wanted to work on with him and I didn’t feel strongly about it. But I didn’t disagree enough to say ‘let’s not do this’. I just didn’t exactly work at it with our son? I didn’t want reading to become a chore for him and I didn’t want him to be bored in K. Well ultimately he did learn to read. My husband didn’t work with him A LOT so I think it happened naturally and he isn’t too bored at K so it all worked out.
Thanks for the feedback, Lisa. It’s hard to figure out — and balance — what subscriber enjoy and want, so I appreciate your saying so.
I love how long your posts and reviews are - and your personal insights and perspectives are a really important part of why I read.
I am also on the indoctrination train! All 3 of my kids read/listen obsessively (9/6/3) and watching them develop their own reading interests is a huge joy for me.
Thank you — that’s super helpful for me to hear!
I love hearing more about you and your family! Please continue to keep sharing, despite the "metrics." And a review from you could never be too long to me-- I eat it up! Thanks for all you do, Sarah! Searching your past newsletters to help my kids fill out their library winter reading challenges ☺
Every time I say I’m not going to write about myself anymore, it never actually works, so we’ll see what happens. Thanks for your support, Lauren!
And if you need some help with the winter reading challenge, shoot me an email — canweread@substack.com
Your talking about your life is so powerful and insightful. Your words and the intention behind them stays with me for days. Obviously, do what you need and want to, and for those who might not enjoy those parts, maybe it's not for them? Or maybe you're writing invites them to reveal and uncover parts of themselves they don't want to? Who knows? I imagine if a fellow Substacker asked you what you would do if they were in a similar situation, you'd say, "F expectations!"
Probably 😂 And thank you. Your opinion matters more to me than some unknown and unknowable segment of subscribers (which goes without saying but I feel like saying it anyway).
I was the person who brought a book to the hospital when I gave birth to read to the baby on day one! So I totally get the indoctrination. Such a good reminder though to buy any and all books that are requested. I keep books in the car also for my toddler to look at, and sometimes I read at the dinner table. I am a voracious reader, and so is my sister and my mom. I hope my 3 year old will be too!
I love when you post about your life!
🩷🩷🩷
Raised by readers! 🤚🏻 And created kids with a reader! It’s fun to watch him come into his own as a read aloud person - reading aloud takes a bit of practice. As a babysitter since 12, I never really fell out of the habit! But I love watching my partner get more comfortable being expressive and animated as he reads.
Yes! I didn’t mention this but it’s such a good point.
My husband has experienced this as well. I remember he read in a really stilted way when T was first born, and now he’s much more expressive. T (and my husband) still prefer to listen to me read, I’ve got a great read aloud voice, but my husband is much better now. We binge read the Mystery of Helmersbruk Manor over Christmas and something about the flow of the book really worked with my reading style, and by the end, I was full on audiobook narrator.
In general, I’m the one who will suggest a story first, but that’s motivated by both a love of reading and a hatred of pretend play. I’d rather read a pile of books than pretend to be a ninja?
Ahhh! Hatred of pretend play resonates so deeply with me!! Currently trying to not be Ana from frozen or Lucy from Narnia all at once. I’m so half hearted with imaginative play!!
My husband and I both read a lot as kids but now I’m more of the reader. He does still read a few books a year but TV is his thing to unwind. And that’s okay too. Our kids prefer when he reads books aloud to them over me. I have one that’s more of a reluctant reader but she’s also learning to read in Kindergarten this year and I hope once she catches on she’ll have a renewed interest in books.
I bet you can guess what I am going to say...I show up here for YOUR stories and words about your life and how you are experiencing your world and live. Perchance, maybe you open subset newsletter where you write all the things about your life for those of us who love to read your narrative writing? (And then folks can opt in/out.) The YOU of this newsletter are what make it special. (Also, bonus 10 points for referencing SMART goals! My fave.)
I’ve been considering that deeply lately. Remember my old TinyLetter? I’ve thought about importing that list and those posts, but I’m not sure I want the hassle and mental load of two newsletters (like need something else 🤦🏻♀️)
Um, is it creepy if I say yes? I almost referenced Dream Work in my original comment to you! I’m thinking about this because of TinyLetter hard-closing - and wondering which other TL folks might be moving old posts and also because Dream Work was my favorite!
Wait wait wait: TL is hard closing? When?
I’ll forward you the emails :)
And also, why not just add in a channel to Can We Read and post when you want?! Casual, nothing to manage :)
Here for all your words! Whatever you want to share!
I appreciate that.
Once my mom commented that our bedtime routine must be so tiring because we have to “read all those books” at the end of a long day. Both my husband and I were emphatic that that’s our favorite part! Hah! I totally get that it’s not everyone’s thing … but it’s absolutely our thing.
I feel like you can feel their little bodies relaxing as you get into the flow of reading.
I'm curious on your thoughts re: new vs. repeat reads. This is the area where my partner and I have different approaches. We both love and value reading. But for me, I am energized by sharing new books, stories, authors, artists with my son. So this looks like picking up 15-30 new books each month from the library, often with a focus on holidays or current events or seasons + vehicles (my son's true love). And my partner insists that there's more value for our kid in repeat reading the same stories. I feel like we've worked out a middle ground (we alternate bedtime, I'm more likely to pick new books and he's more likely to repeat old favorites). And that seems to be what our son likes best too- sometimes he only wants to read new books and sometimes he's in the mood for something familiar. But just wondering how you balance repeat and new!
Depends on the age of your son, but: there are real and very valid developmental — not to mention emotional — reasons for repeating. Repetition is super important for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. New reads are great — and if you’ve found a balance, that’s wonderful — but if I had to err on one side or the other, (realizing this probably isn’t what you want to hear): it would be for repeating.
thank you- I appreciate your honest response :) and in general for your guidance in helping us find great books!
You're so welcome.
P.S. Alternating new and repeat reads with your every-other-night bedtime routine is an excellent middle ground — and so is following your child.
Love these glimpses into your life and through process. I'm here for all of your writing, especially the personal details, but of course you do you.