Reading the Hobbit at six months.
We have competitive children. I thought this “one-ups-man-ship” would end when they finished school and college sports, etc.
Oh, no. As soon as our first grandchild was born, our son started questioning what books her mother was reading to his niece and how often.
“I read War and Peace in kindergarten.” he said to his sister.
Soon after, this young mother e-mailed the above picture showing her six-month-old reading the Hobbit.
This has all been in fun, yet reading to our children and grandchildren is the single MOST important activity we can engage in to encourage healthy brain development. Recent research with brain imaging shows that brain activity of infants greatly increases when they hear live language spoken to them. This same brain activity does not appear when these same infants hear voices from electronic devices like televisions or computers, including recordings of the parents’ own voices.
What better way to share our live voices than to read to our little ones!
As our children grew older and started to read themselves, they still wanted us to read aloud. We went through The Little House sseries, The Tower of Gehbora trilogy, The Lord of the Rings after the Hobbit, and The Narnia Chronicles to name a few. Those times of family reading are special memories.
In Deuteronomy, God is giving the law to his people. He is encouraging them to share his words with their children.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7(NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Don’t let our children’s brains go on vacation this summer!
Plan to read to them each day if possible. There are many great series to choose from – and include Bible stories as well. Most public libraries have summer reading programs that encourage children to read and be read to.
After you read together – talk about what you read. Verse 7 gives some practical advice about when to do this:
* when you sit at home – meals
* when you walk along the road – or drive
* when you lie down – for nap or bedtime
* when you get up – morning devotions
So as summer is fast approaching – lets make sure that there are no vacations for brains!
The Media Specialist (Librarian) at my school recently shared this link to an article that shares some insightful information on the importance of reading. Please check this out – you will be inspired!http://nyti.ms/1gwXt6m
Our Father's Daughters 
I love to read to my grandchildren and those are memories that we both cherish. It’s hard to get them interested if mommy and daddy don’t encourage it at home, but with patience they do come around if you keep at it.
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