I am reading a series of books to Isaac by John Flanagan called The Ranger's Apprentice. I admit I lost interest when we got to the third book in the series. But he likes them. Enough so to request a Ranger costume for Halloween. Which is great. I found myself tonight looking forward to some of the books I'll read him next. Like A Wrinkle in Time and The Graveyard Book and someday some Isaac Asimov science fiction, all books that I loved. As I started to make a mental list of all these books I would read to him it dawned on me that he may not want me to read to him too much longer. I don't remember when my parents stopped reading aloud to me, but I think I was younger than Isaac is now. I think I'm guilty of wanting to be that child again who has all afternoon to read. Who becomes so engrossed in a book that it's a shock to stop reading.
I don't have that anymore. When I do read now, it is in the short snippets of time that are available to me while I wait to pick up my kids from school, or those few moments before I fall asleep at night. I don't get that experience of escape, and that's probably OK. Part of growing up is realizing that life happens, and running away from the hard things usually only puts off the inevitable. I think most parents are guilty of living through their children on some level. I hope Isaac doesn't tire too quickly of me reading to him.
Caleb and I are making our way through Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest. I never read any Beverly Cleary as a child, and I am enjoying this one. Eli seems to like it, too. He calls it "Mona the Pets." He laughs when he hears Caleb laugh. I prefer Ramona to the Junie B. Jones series. Junie B. is funny, don't get me wrong. But she's more obnoxious than Ramona and the grammar she uses is a little too childish. I guess I feel she's a bad influence on impressionable minds who are still trying to get a grasp on appropriate behavior and language. Call me old-fashioned, but there it is.
Stay tuned for Halloween hooplah! Oh! And I have an announcement! Coming soon to our family is an important addition that I am very excited about... a new PUPPY!
Just kidding!! Actually, it's a camera. I know, definitely not as cute, but eh, what can you do? I've definitely got my hands full with Sophie. :) My mom has made this new acquisition possible, THANK YOU, MOM! I will finally be able to post pictures on here for you all!
Love,
The Professor's Wife
7 comments:
(Shawn of ShMindy...) (I could use to have my other account listed, but then we all know what that looks like...) ANYWAYS, I appreciated your comments on reading to kids. I think it is very important to keep reading to with and by in a variety of contexts. The real issue comes when we stop finding venues to do shared reading, even being creative (heaven forbid) to make it seem theatrically staged to make into some tradition that is more like what I do with students routinely in my class (fractured fairy tale productions - reading with created environments...) Oh, yah real life. Well, I don't believe in that anyways, but it's a nice thought. I do relate to that. Unfortunately I don't have as much leisurely reading time myself either. I do oodles of non-fiction textbook reading! I have some real classics I read over and over! Actually I am grateful for them: their useful enough to be worth it.
I can't wait for the day when my child will sit still for more than 2 seconds to read a book. I think it's awesome that you read so much with your boys.That is something they will always remember and appreciate. You're such a good mom!
The camera was my pleasure and somewhat selfish on my part!
You are an awesome MOM! Reading is a pure joy with children.
What a great post! I think you should read to Isaac as long as he'll let you. Don't forget to add the Hobbit to your list. We read that to Emma and she liked it. Amen to your Junie B. Jones comment, I feel the same way! Let me know if you find any great books that I can share with Emma. We can't wait to see pictures of you all!
Hooray for pictures! I love reading books and your blog!
Conrgats on the new addition! Super exciting!
And I used to read Ramona when I was a girl!!! Loved that series! So cute that you're reading it to your kids. Brings back memories!
I'm with you on the Junie B Jones. She was banished from our reading kingdom a couple of years ago after a loooooooooooooooooong and grammatically incorrect sojourn on our bookshelves.
I go in bursts of reading so I still have the escape for a few days into a world (while everyone starves) unil I look up blinking only to realize that the laundry pile has quadrupled. sigh. Maybe I should just be reading in snippets.
Definitely living through my kids. The new kids lit that I am currently enjoying with the kids is "The Mysterious Benedict Society" It wasn't around when we were kids but it has a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/ Milo and the Phantom Tollbooth/Lemony Snicket feeling with the added benefit of just plain smart, just plain clever, just plain entertaining writing. I recommend it.
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