Bedtime Stories to Build Knowledge

I have been using flashcards and some phonic books, like Clifford Phonics Fun Series and MyBig Book of Phonics to teach Ryan how to read. hilst it is good to assist him in his reading capability, I noticed that it does fulfill one other objective - GENERAL KNOWLEDGE! These books will only be teaching him how to read through phonics and some word recognition, with some simple stories to add some flavour to the lessons. What about knowledge? I just realised this not too long ago and I have decided to throw in some bedtime stories after our lessons. He is not required to read with me. Just listen and know.

I bought quite a few Scholastic books for him and Raymund. I had a recent order which I had just received. It was actually during the order of these books that I realized this 'knowledge' thingy. Sad but true :( So when it is not too tiring for him, I will put in some time to tell him some stories. I have already read and explained some stories about 'what he wants to be when he grows up' and about the human body. I have more children's books about manners, moral, chinese culture, animals, popular fairy tales, nursery rhymes, etc.

His kindy also encourages story reading with parents. Every week, he gets to choose a book from his school library and bring it home to read with his parents. I have to admit that I have been neglecting this last time. So many opportunities missed... especially when these are the books that he chose for himself...and he told me about it each time. Really feel bad! It's still not too late. He just brought back a book about 'Bats' last week. We had a good time. He enjoyed his stories and what he learnt about bats. I should be thankful that Ryan love books.

I tried with little Raymund some time ago. He is still too young to sit still and listen to stories. I'll start on him much later after he begins his kindy. At the moment, he is picking up a lot from Astro Playhouse Disney. Is it a good thing or not? I really don't know.

Sometimes, I really don't know how much time I can put in for my kids' studies. It is only Ryan and Raymund is soon to start. I can't imagine when Rachel is old enough. I feel lazy at times. When I work, I get very tired when I come back. How do I balance my time? I hope my new job is flexible enough so that I don't neglect my children.