Our children may not always listen to us, but they never fail to imitate us

I went to Max and Kate’s first grade Parent Open House the other night and their teachers spent most of the evening talking about the importance of teaching our children to love reading as well as learning the basic reading skills. They stressed to us that creating a love of reading is a shared responsibility between school and home.

I thought it was very clever when the teachers handed each parent a “Reading Reminder” goodie bag as we left. The bags contained the following:

Puzzle Piece: because you are a very important piece of your child’s education
Rubber Band: because reading stretches the imagination
Mint: to open a ‘mint’ of information
Band Aid: to mend the heart and mind
Sweet Tarts: for the sweet satisfaction of learning something new
Q-Tip: to open the ears to the meaning of words
Gum: to remind you to always stick with reading

Helping our children create a love of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can ever give to them. However simply telling them to read is not enough, our children need to see us reading as well. There is a saying that I have always loved: “Our children may not listen to us, but they never fail to imitate us.” And in this case it is so true; we must be readers ourselves, for our children tend to follow the example of their parents. A child who sees reading as a pleasant and relaxed activity is likely to enjoy it and make it a lifelong habit. My husband and I read aloud to our 6 year old twins – it encourages listening, helps develop language skills and vocabulary, and teaches children to associate reading with enjoyment.

Here are some ideas for creating a love of reading and learning and creativity in your children:
1. Set aside a special time for reading each day. Make it fun. If reading becomes yet another “have-to” in your child’s life, he or she will quickly become uninterested
2. Read aloud to your children, even when they begin to develop the ability
to read independently. Children who are read to – read.
3. Have your children read to you or other children in the family.
4. Find books on topics your child will enjoy: pets, sports, and princesses.
5. Bring many books and magazines along on car trips and vacations.
6. Create a home library so it’s easy for your child to act on his or her desire to read.
7. Help your children get their own library cards from the public library and
take them to the library often. We take our little ones to the library for story time.
8. 8Visit local bookstores and watch for children’s author visits to these stores.
9. Talk to your child about school and everyday events.
10.Tell your child education is important and encourage him or her to do well in school.
11. Encourage your child to write.
12. Be a reader yourself; children often follow the example of their parents.

Jeff reading to three of our little ones before bed

The key to instilling a love of reading in your child is to help him or her feel successful at it. Children who enjoy reading will naturally do it more often, so magazines, comic books or books your child has read before are still okay – as long as your child has fun while reading.
Reading helps your child build his or her vocabulary and comprehension, gain new perspectives and succeed in school. As a parent, you can help your child develop and enjoy this vital skill by making it a regular part of his or her day, and more importantly, by making it fun!

Words of Wisdom Found in the Most Unexpected Places

While in Maine this summer Jeff and I took the kids out to eat several times to a restaurant called the Black Bear. It was a real family restaurant, so when our kids were loud and rowdy, we found relief when others children there were even louder. On one visit, during the fifth trip to the bathroom with a child, I noticed a poem on the wall entitled “Gonna Be a Bear”. It made me smile, and I wrote it down.

In this life I am a woman.
In my next life I’d like to come back as a bear.
When you are a bear you get to hibernate.
You do nothing but sleep for six months.
I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate,
You’re supposed to eat yourself stupid.
I could deal with that too.

When you are a girl bear, you birth your children,
(who are the size of walnuts) while you are sleeping
And wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs.
I could definitely deal with that.

If you are the Mama bear,
Everyone knows you mean business.
You swat anyone who bothers your cubs.
If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too.
I could deal with that.

If you are the Mama bear,
Your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling.
He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs
And excess body fat.
Yup, gonna be a bear!

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION!

Want to take a trip back in time, to a time when you were footloose and carefree? Go back to summer camp, reconnect with nature, and play like a kid! That’s what I did this summer with 138 other women who came to play and relax and laugh and be nurtured at Camp Reveille on Long Lake in Naples Maine.

Waking up to the aroma of tall timbers and the sound of birds engaged in their morning chit chat is the ultimate de-stress therapy! This peacefulness is only interrupted by an occasional bunk door shutting; first the wire springs uncoiling to open it and then the slam of the wood against the side of the bunk. It is a sound that harkens back the feeling of being a little kid away at camp. Only nowadays, we are big, with big responsibilities and sometimes big problems. Our hectic schedules and our endless “To Do” lists can feel overwhelming at times. However those stress-filled thoughts are far from our minds as we awaken to a day of archery, canoeing, jewelry making, ceramics, wacked-up relays and campfires. A big morning yawn unclenches a tight jaw, which in turn releases knotted muscles in the back.

Once engaged in what is essentially play therapy, you find yourself giggling, and laughing, and shouting with excitement at your accomplishments. So what’s the point of climbing to the top of a 50 foot climbing wall? Well truth be told, we all have a natural tendency to set our own limits on what we think is possible for us to achieve in life. Many people think that those limits are established for us – of course I’m not sure who they think decides just how far we can run, or how much we can actually accomplish. However each of us is probably capable of doing far more than we think we can, and all we really have to do is dare to go further -- that’s the only way to find out how far we can really go. Campers at Reveille, women ranging in age from 20 to 73, descend from the infamous climbing wall in total disbelief and astonishment that they were able to reach the top – and that realization is mind-expanding. It often begs the question: If I can go so much farther than I thought I could in this part of my life, what other things might I be capable of doing if I would just dare to try!!
As campers, we played and we made smore’s around a crackling fire, and we attempted silly laughable feats in the “wacked-up relay” – and we turned back the hands of time – maybe for only a few days, but it can have a long lasting effect!