Bonding By The Hour
We've only got a month left of summer - our school year starts in the middle of August around here. I'm not happy about it, surprisingly. In some ways, having the kids back on a steady schedule will simplify my life. But I'm also enjoying the whole pajamas until 10 am, reading until 11 pm, laid back days we're having. Well, they're having. Me? I'm more scattered - but still pleasantly unrushed.
The whole reading until 11 pm thing has evolved from my pigheadedness. I am determined to take my eight-year-old daughter to see the latest Harry Potter movie in the theater. I am also determined to read the book to her before seeing any movie based on a book. This has been fairly easy in the past - but hello 9000 page Harry Potter book! I've read it before, probably a half-dozen times, but this is her first go-through, and she's enthralled. Personally, Order of the Phoenix is one of my least favorite books, what with all the angry Harry. He's got a whole lot of Bershon going on, and it gets tiresome - because I've already survived my own teenage angst.
Fred and George are brilliant in OotP, I will say. The sparkler writing "poo" in the night sky gets me every single time I read it.
Anyway, we're plowing towards the end, and I'm hopeful that with a couple of intense reading sessions, we'll be finished by tomorrow.
There is something so magical about sharing my favorite (and not-exactly my favorite) books with my kids. I get lazy, and I don't always want to spend an hour (or three) reading aloud, but the rewards are so wonderful. My daughter's eyes shine - it is like we have an inside joke or a special secret club, where we are into the same things. I do a lot of reading to my son and youngest daughter, too, but we haven't progressed very far into extended chapter books. They absorb the words, and hang on every word, but they don't make it their own as much as my oldest.
My sister and I spent hours recreating favorite scenes from Little Women, Trixie Belden and so many more. Harry Potter has become a wonderful leaping-off point for my daughter, giving her imagination wings. She belongs to the world of magic, and when I read to her, I can go there, too, even if I'm just a Muggle. I'm grateful that I can share this with her.
Comments
I never tried to read such long books to my son who is 8, maybe I should try. As I have a 3 years old it's difficult to read that kind of books for both at the same time.
I have no brothers or sisters but I think the complicity between brothers or sisters is amazing, even they are fighting most of the time. That's why I wanted 2 kids, they can share the things I never did.
Posted by: Laura | July 14, 2007 12:34 AM
I hear you about Fred and George in "Order of the Phoenix". In fact, my anticipation of the movie was dimmed by the knowledge that, since they'd removed Peeves, Fred and George in the movie were going to be robbed of the single best line in the whole book; "Give her hell, Peeves"
Of course, now we have the BOOK coming out to obsess about. :)
Posted by: w. Ian | July 15, 2007 6:59 PM
I loved this post because my mom used to read to me all the time and they are some of my favourite memories.When did you start reading to your kids? I want to read to my daughter but right now she's not interested. (She's 11 months)How did you get startetd?
Posted by: Mom of a Munchkin | July 24, 2007 12:50 PM