Narrating Life

My 3 year old son has taken to narrating his playtime.  I don't know if he's seen too many Thomas the Tank Engine movies or we've read too many books written in 3rd person, but it's fairly entertaining to listen to. Especially because it's frequently when there's no one else around.

 I'll overhear him playing with his toy trains and saying things like this:
"'You're going too fast,' said the blue train.  He needs to slow down. He goes up the hill now."

Or he'll be playing with the kid's nativity saying and saying things like this:
"Mary and Joseph need to stop at the manger. The bad guys are coming."

Perhaps it's time I start playing with them a little more and doing some role playing rather than reading books!

And the answer is...read a book.

I've found that the answer to many problems with my children is "read a book".  If my children are fighting, I'll say, "Why don't we read some books." If we have time before bedtime but need to keep things calm, "Let's get our library books out." If we're waiting for dinner or lunch to be ready, "Let's read some books until the timer goes off." If I'm too tired to do anything that requires any effort, "Why don't you bring me a book to read." Even if one of them says they don't want to read a book, if I start reading aloud, they wander in and start listening.

I really believe that reading is the answer to a lot of problems.  Obviously there are educational benefits for my children if I read to them, but it's also just a lot of fun.  We go to the library every week and get new books, and it's like buying new toys for my children.  Sometimes we do get some of the same books over and over, but usually I know I only have to read a book over and over for a week.  (This is especially comforting for some of the really poorly written or annoying children's books out there).

I used to limit the number of books to 2 or 3 for each child each time we went, but I decided I'd rather have them get 6 or 7 and read through them and decide whether it's a book they like or not.  Thank goodness for the receipts the library prints that list all the books you have checked out.  And thank goodness for the library.  They've saved me thousands of dollars and lots of tears.

Ignoring my children

So...the other day I ignored my children for most of the day.  I still took care of their basic needs, but I spent most of the day reading a book.  I was in escapism mode, and thought it would be a nice break.  It wasn't.  I was reminded that I really do enjoy spending time with my children.  They're not going to be little like this for long where I have a chance to play with them and have them want me to spend all my time with them.  I know I still need a break every now and then, but for me, apparently, taking a whole day to read a book is not the way to do it.  I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed the book more if I had still played with my children and read all night after they were in bed.  I'll have to remind myself of this when I'm reading another book that is hard to put down.