I have always been thankful that my daughter is a reader. We have never had any trouble with her ability to read. From a young age she has been willing to pick up a book and never hesitated to read to herself, or to us. We have made reading important at our house. My daughter sees us pick up books, and sees us budget time to read.

All of this means we don’t have to worry about her abilities, or her reading comprehension. What we do have to worry about sometimes is finding things that are age appropriate (she’s 11.5 years old) and reading level appropriate (she reads at a late high school level) and contains things that are relevant for her. Seems like a lot of the stuff on the market now for tween age girls has a lot to do with teen and tween angst. And much of it has to do with the trials and tribulations of school, boyfriends, violence, and drugs.

My daughter knows nothing of those trials. And (knock on wood!) she doesn’t seem to be experiencing much of the angst that a lot of her public school friends are experiencing. I noticed just this week that the girls her age in church choir, who are public school students, seem to be much older in terms of what they talk about, how they dress, and problems they are facing.

I’m happy that my daughter seems to be navigating this time with fairly smooth sailing. I want her to be able to read about other students like her. I want her to read about books by homeschoolers, books about homeschoolers, and books she can relate to. I will happily protect her just a little longer from the world that wants to eat her alive. And I will gladly help her find books that stretch her reading abilities, and knowledge base, without exposing her to things I don’t think 11 year olds should be exposed to.

I hope you find a little room on your gift lists to give a great book or two.    My daughter has requested 3 books on her Christmas list.  I cannot tell you how exciting that is. 

I also hope that you afford yourself a little  time to catch up on some reading. Your kids won’t mind if you share a great book with them!! 

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