Ichabod is Itchy, so am I

If you recognize that line, you have read Dr. Seuss to children.  If you know the title and can quote the whole book, you have read a LOT to children!  I fall in the latter category.

Emily and I were discussing the other day who read the most to her,  and whether or not I read very much to her.  We decided that I was probably not the person who read to her the most…it was probably Daryl or Daniel.  She was kid #4, and although we did lots of things together, reading may not have been our top activity.  I DID have the privilege of teaching her to read.  What a thrill when we were driving down the road, and she sounded out a word on a billboard! 

When Daniel was young, I read him Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bears until I could quote them in my sleep.  I had an ulterior motive.  I love to read, but even more, I love to hold children close.  The rule was that you get to hold a kid on your lap to read to them, or snuggle up close at the very least.  Daniel and I were both avid readers, and he’d sit for long times having me read books to him. 

Then came Andrew, and I’d have a kid on either side.  Joy, joy, joy!  Lots of kid snuggles!  Then Matt, another snuggler/book reader.  By this time, I think Daniel was beginning to help with reading time, and by the time Emily came along, he was more than willing to have sister/brother time with her.  She was a good snuggler, too…no matter what we were doing!

All my kids are avid readers now.  I think the seeds were sown in those days of Dr. Seuss.  Maybe, just maybe, they, too, have sweet memories of snuggling their Mom for a story. 

Now, we read to our grandchildren.  When Hannah was small, we bemoaned the fact that she didn’t know our voices very well.  Aha!  We bought two copies of books, sent her one, and read to her over the phone.  We would tell her when to turn the page, and Daniel and Whitney even bought a speaker phone so she could coordinate turning pages and listening without having to set down the earpiece!  :-)  One of her favorites was a book that had been Uncle Matt’s…Six by Seuss! 

Emily asked me a couple of weeks ago if we still have the Teddy Bears Picnic, a book I read her lots of times.  She said Ben told her there was a song by that title, but that she didn’t think it was the same lyrics as the book.  She was right (and I remember the song from Captain Kangaroo when I was a kid…how did Ben know it???).   Maybe I read to her more than we thought!