Ode to my Mother...and to reading!

Let me start off by saying, I LOVE TO READ! I attribute this fact entirely to my mother who has her doctoral degree, and is FOR SURE a genius! Not only is she incredibly smart and well read, she is the best teacher ever. Period. No debate. I'm not just talking in the classroom, everything she ever does at home, at church etc, she is incredibly EASY to learn from! She has taught Jaxon things in 20 minutes that I have labored days (or weeks) to teach him.
Aside from the fact that I really love and admire my mom, this post actually does have a purpose! My mom gave me one of the best gifts a mother could give her child- the love of learning, specifically, the LOVE OF READING! Reading was a treat at our house. Our bedtime was 8pm, BUT! We got to stay up an extra half hour in our beds to read! (see how that was worded so that it always seemed like a treat?) Our house was overflowing with books, and my mom made sure we had things to read that we would like. Also, she always acted SO INTERESTED in hearing about what we were reading. She often read them too, but I certainly didn't realize at the time that she was molding me into a careful reader when she asked me not only plot and character questions, but why I THOUGHT this or that thing happened or was said. I learned quickly when I taught school, that a child that is well read, and a good reader, will do better in ALL ASPECTS of school, every subject, including math! It's all about reading and understand questions, text books, etc!
So all of that being said, my SIL Sarah just found a list of called
"100 books every child should hear before starting school"
put out by the American Library Association (or something like that...) anyway, in all her wisdom, she did a little internet research and found a website that lists these books in sections appropriate for age (babies, toddlers, & preschool). It's great for printing, and it also has boxes next to each book so you can check them off as you go!

http://www.kcls.org/kids/whattoread/booklists/100%20Books.pdf

So here's to making our children, better read, more intelligent, better spoken,
and BETTER OFF!

(AND THANKS AGAIN MOM!!!)