The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination. – Elizabeth Hardwick
I’m a reader. I LOVE reading! Books are full of stories. Stories are full of adventure. And adventure is what a kid lusts for (even the so-called shy ones who might deny it). With hardly any encouragement at all… books and their stories can inspire wonderful, magical play!
And that’s the problem with only reading to your children at bedtime. (You ARE reading at bedtime, aren’t you??) Don’t get me wrong, bedtime is a wonderful time for reading. It just A time for reading. After all… inspiring rowdy play right before sleep makes little sense, and while reading can be a very calming experience… providing an opportunity to talk about a variety of things… it can also be an experience that calls for ACTION!