Bedtime Stories Upside Down

When do our youngest two children hear stories in bed? Most often, in the morning as they wake up!

I read an article awhile back in which a mom shared a tip for helping her daughters wake up and get going in the morning: she read part of a captivating chapter book to them while they gradually opened their eyes. If you read to your children, you can imagine that most kids will indeed "come to attention" when the words of a well-loved story begin filtering into their drowsy brains...

So, about a year ago I started reading a poem or two as our then 5 yod and 9 yos lay snuggled in their bunk beds. Since then, we've finished all four of A. A. Milne's classic stories and poems about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as some other poems. I think we read Charlotte's Web, but I'd have to check with the kids to be sure. And we are now reading through the Beatrix Potter books, a few pages each morning.

Bedtime is not always a good time for reading at our house. Mom can be worn out or we can be way-off schedule and just want to get to bed. So, bedtime stories "upside down," i. e., in the morning, works to give us some time with some favorite books.