My Love Affair

Gotcha!  Ha ha!  I wonder how many more people checked out this post because of the title I picked than would have if I would have gone with the original which was "My love affair with books"?  I chose to go with the more provocative one so I could get more readers because I'm very passionate about this subject.  I have been an avid reader ever since I learned how to read.  I believe I have an above average vocabulary and spelling skills because of the millions of words I have read throughout my life.  I also know a heck of a lot more than I would if I hadn't read the thousands of books I've read.  Now, even though I am obviously a huge advocate of reading for yourself, that's not actually the main focus of this post.  I know for a fact that you can't make someone "want" to read.  I have 7 children and I only have 1 avid reader out of the bunch.  However, the blessings of reading to your children are innumerable.  When we only had 5 children (only?) we decided to cut costs by getting rid of cable.  No T.V.  Ever.  Whoa!  Crazy, you say?  Not so.  Best thing we ever did.  When you don't spend hours in front of the T.V. then you have all those hours to fill with something else.  We chose books.  I shopped at Deseret Book and got fun, positive, exciting novels to read to our children.  Every night before bed they would all gather round and we would read a chapter or two of a book.  These were 5 crazy, very active boys who looked forward to story time each night.  At Christmas we would read Christmas stories.  One extremely fond memory I have is of a rainy holiday where we started the phenomenal book, "Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites".  They couldn't go out to play because it was raining so we decided to read a little bit during the day.  Hours later we finally had to stop because I didn't have any voice left.  (I offered to have Dad take over but he doesn't read it quite like Mom:))  They were so fascinated by a book, with no pictures, that they stayed still for hours and just listened.  I will never forget the feeling I had being surrounded by my sweet family and just getting lost together in a fascinating story.  I looked forward, every night, to having their undivided attention and spending some of the best quality time I could ever spend with them.  I believe that children thrive on having a bit of routine to their lives.  They need to have some order and be able to count on certain things happening at the same time or in the same place every day.  They feel more anchored and secure.  My advice to young parents is to make story time one of those things.  When they are little then you can read them very short books or just picture books right before bed and then when they get older you can move to chapter books that keep a running storyline going night after night.  Make it interesting.  Change your voice for the characters.  I once read a character's voice in an English accent throughout the whole book because I pictured her with an English accent.  I recently visited a married son and his family and when it was time for bed they asked me to read the Book of Mormon chapter to the kids.  When I was done, my son said, "Wow!  Grandma makes it a little more interesting than Daddy".  Ha ha!  If you read as if you were talking and put lots of inflection in your voice it's almost like they are listening to a movie with real actors.  Much more fun to listen to.  Your children may or may not remember any of the plots of the books you read them but I guarantee you that they will remember being all together, every day, and making memories that will last for eternity.