Why Picture Books Matter
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!
This is a great post, Lauri! I can't come up with a number off hand, but we read A LOT at our house and I know that reading to little ones is really foundational to later reading habits, because my son, now 12, loves to read. It's his favorite way to unwind after a busy school day. It's the first thing he does in the morning and the last thing before bed.
ReplyDeleteI love that your son reads in the morning. Your mind is a totally different place in the morning, all rested and open to learning something new. I shall dub this "oatmeal brain"- mushy and appropriate for the morning.
DeleteI'm in favor of mushy brains...all too soon they're still drilled into memorizing times tables and grammar rules for the sake of MCAS.
ReplyDeleteI was blissfully unaware there were common core standards for kindergarten until yesterday. Would it be easier to create robot children than try to keep their imaginations alive? *shudders*
DeleteI suspect heaven smells like PlayDoh. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeletelove it. You should make T-shirts with that saying.
DeleteHi Lauri,
ReplyDeleteI loved your descriptions of Play Doh, and why it's so important to read to our children.
The illustrations in your banner are adorable!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog yesterday. It's nice to meet you! :-D
Tracy
Tracy - I enjoyed your site - so much more than illustrator information!
DeleteDuring 2 hours of play doh today, I swear I thought of nothing else but how nice it was to squish playdoh with my kiddos during that time. I may have lamented for 7 seconds that the orange and pink above are already mashed together - but it was only 7 seconds.
Mushy brains! Love it. My kids are older, but going to the library and bringing home stacks of books was a weekly event for us. Reading has always been a priority around our house too. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to figure out where I can put a book case, so the books are more exposed. I see a trip to Pinterest in my future.
DeleteYou are beautiful lauri
ReplyDelete