You know
that feeling of excitement when you open a fresh container of play-doh? I like to take a whiff of its salty smell
first. Then I plop it out carefully without
injury to its perfect cylinder shape. Finally,
when the dough is least expecting it, I smush
it with abandon. Oh so soft and supple, ready to transform into
anything I can imagine. Sloppy spaghetti on a plate. A penguin prince
sailing an iceberg to NYC. Axl Rose.
Some serious smashing is about to go down. |
Tara Lazar posted this week on the importance of picture books to children: "Picture books let them
know there’s a place without limits. (Psst, it’s called “the imagination”!)"
Some
activities - like playing in the back yard because mommy is digging in the
garbage disposal to see if she lost her mind in there- force kids to use their
imaginations. These activities are like
rolling pins, dough presses, and cookie cutters shaping and stretching little minds.
Other activities
- like watching the Gangnam style video on youtube repeatedly or playing Angry Birds - harden those kid brains like a misshapen dough meatball lost behind a table
leg.
I want
my kids to have mushy brains! (Um, well,
you know what I mean.) I want them to
see infinite possibilities. So how
do I keep their imaginations fresh and moldable?
Read.
Read. Read.
I was
reminded of this last night at a Kindergarten Readiness meeting at pre-K. "The most important thing you can do for
your children is to read. Read them
anything. Read their favorite books over
and over again if they ask." Even
if it's SpongeBob Squarepants Slurps Stinky Spaghetti for the seventeeth time. It doesn't matter what, just keep
reading.
So, I want to know: what is
your record for most picture books read in a day? I commit to attempting to beat the highest
number posted in the comments!