Don't Just Read It, Do It!

To be transported to a new place, a new time, or into a whole new species for that matter. Books are such wonderful tools to unlock a child's imagination, there are no limits! When I was lil', reading was 1 of my favorite all time hobbies & then high school came & college & after being assigned cruel amounts of sometimes very pointless reading, my love for books slowly began to fade away. It is just now that I am starting to actually enjoy reading again. I not only like to read books for myself, but now getting to see books through the eyes of toddlers is just amazing! Nurturing a love for reading in our children is so important. Unfortunately, in society today kids often would much rather turn on the television & watch a show or play the latest video game than to have to sit still & read a book. But since when do we have to accept that? Reading does not have to be boring, it can actually be informative & fun at the same time. I grew up on Golden Books & I tell you there was nothing greater than getting to run over to that bookshelf every night & select a bedtime story. We can so easily let ourselves be robbed today because so many great books have been turned into movies so many think "Why bother reading it?". Not all, but many people. The earlier we incorporate reading into our children's lives, the better. Recently, I was reading "If You Give A Moose A Muffin" to my girls. I took the reading pretty lightly at first until I looked over at the absolutely baffled yet intrigued looks on Aidann & Asher's faces as they tried to digest how a kid could bring an actual moose into his house, feed him a muffin, & all the other crazy antics that ensued after. It was then that I decided that I could help my kids love for books beyond just simply reading to them a lot, but why not also bring some of these stories "to life"? The author of this book has a whole series on feeding different animals all of these funny foods (feeding a mouse a cookie, a pig a pancake, & etc), so why couldn't we cook whatever food is in the book ahead of time to enjoy while we read? Heck, after moving through the whole series, why not help them write their own version? So, that is what I am going to try soon. If you have any other ideas of books you could "bring to life" email me or comment.

Childhood is supposed to be fun & reading doesn't always have to be "work". :)

-M&M Momma