
READ, READ, READ!
Years ago I worked with neglected children and how terribly I miss that job and those children these days! I remember their warm bodies around me during story time. Sometimes all 30 of them would simultaneously try to sit as close to me as possible, they craved the peace that came from that closeness. A little girl once muttered, “My mommy has never read us a story”. Understandably so, as the mother in question was illiterate.
I read the complete Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis, to my eldest two children. (All seven volumes!) Yes, it was partly due to me wanting to expand their English vocabulary and expose them to good literature, but it is also to bring home the spiritual principles innate to the series.
All this whilst feeding their imaginations! Having said all that … by far the most rewarding aspect of story times are having those warm bodies around me just like a mother hen who gathers her chicks beneath her wings. I loved hearing their deep questions (“Mommy, does Aslan’s voice sound scary to him because he doesn’t love Jesus?”) and just being with them without phones ringing, tasks that need completing or the click-click of my laptop’s keyboard … these times are so precious and irreplaceable.
It’s also the reason why I am only typing this blog at half-past-one in the morning, because story time is story time – serious business! Story times receive preference in our home. Have you discovered how precious these times are?
Perhaps I should add … the 30 children who scrambled for my lap were around eleven years old. Don’t give up!