Ever since I was little, I’ve always had my nose in a book. As a child, nothing made me happier than to spend the afternoon curled up with a stack of books. As an educator, I loved inspiring my students to fall in love with literacy, and now enjoy sparking that passion in my own four children.
I daydreamed about spending the night in The Met with Jamie and Claudia, longed to take down The Trunchbull, and desperately wished for a magical cupboard that would bring my toys to life. I carried around a secret notebook like Harriet and longed to find a magical amulet. I imagined a world where meatballs fell from the sky and furry creatures came to the defense of the trees. It was an incredible world – one parallel to my own. The world of books.
Emili Buchwald said that “children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” When you read to your child, not only are you modeling what good reading sounds like and preparing them for their own journey as a reader, but you are inspiring creativity, sparking opportunities for learning, and developing a life-long learner and lover of literacy.
It is my hope that this site inspires you to read and play with your children. Enjoy literature together – pore over the illustrations – get caught up in wondering what life must have been like for the characters – make connections – share an experience unlike nothing else. Books are the single most magical and wondrous things. With the flip of a page your world has changed. Change your child’s world. Read. Read every day. (And then read some more!)
With that, I decided to launch a second website. Everyone will tell you that to “make it” in blogging, you need to “niche” yourself. I knew I could never “niche” inside of Chasing Supermom. I wanted to remain true to the mission I started with that site – to reach out to mothers, encouraging them with real ideas and real encouragement. But the thought stuck with me. As a teacher, I loved making my lesson plans thematic and always sought ways to tie children’s literature into my teaching. When I realized I could do what I loved now as a blogger, I was thrilled and Learn With Books began to take shape.
At Learn With Books, you’ll find ideas to play, create, learn, and inspire. I share crafts, learning activities, snacks, science experiments, math activities, games and more – all centered around children’s literature. I hope you’ll stay to read and play!
“So please, oh please, we beg and pray, go and throw your tv set away! And in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.” ~Roald Dahl
I hope you will come on this journey with me! I’d love to have you! Please come visit the new site and join the online Facebook community. I LOVE (love love!) my readers, and wouldn’t want to do this without you alongside me. You keep me going!
My parents instilled a love of books and reading for me at a very early age. I can’t imagine a day without reading now 65 years later.