Reading between the imaginary lines

Books.

We want our pre-school kids to like them. We want our pre-school kids to enjoy them. We want our pre-school kids to like and enjoy them without taking an hour of bedtime to read three pages.

Oliver sometimes "reads" his chosen bedtime story to me. He combines a mixture of the words he recalls me reading with his own interpretation of the pictures. Despite this sometimes being employed as a tactic to delay the moment he has to go to bed, it is always a revealing little insight into how his mind works. The dialog often reflects some of that I hear when he is playing with action figures (where my definition of "action figure" includes anything he chooses: have you ever seen Peppa Pig take on Ben 10?).

Yesterday Hayley bought Oliver a Power Rangers notebook which came with a Power Rangers rubber eraser and pen. He sat down next to me on the sofa and said he was going to read it to me. As I started to mention that it had no words he ignored me and went straight to the first page, which was, like every other page in the notebook, blank.

No matter. He proceeded to tell me the story and to provide a picture he placed onto the page the rubber with the face of a Power Ranger on it. He continued to do this for several pages before we were interrupted by dinner being ready.

The power of kids' imaginations never ceases to amaze me and I do my best to keep in check the adult tendency to direct his thoughts towards any commonly perceived "right" way of interpreting the world. He's going to have years of doing things someone else's "right" way later in school life, so it's a joy to see him discover and describe the world with such untainted wonder.

Art was once described to me as something to challenge our normal way of seeing the world. Unconstrained by years of mental and social manipulation, our children's descriptions of the world around them are themselves works of art.

So my recommendation when buying books for pre-schoolers is not to worry too much about what they can take out of them, because they'll be putting a whole lot more into them as well.

Saturday Breakfast

Saturday breakfasts can be complicated. They involve 2 or 3 courses and 2 locations.

This morning I got up with both offspring and started by giving Oliver some Rice Crispies at the breakfast table. While he ate them I prepared Lucy's warm mushy Weetabix with full fat milk. As I did, Oliver requested additional servings of Rice Cripsies and milk. I then moved to the sofa where I positioned Lucy in front of me in her high chair, so that should Oliver decide to come and read next to me I can see the words in his book and simultaneously feed his sister.

Lucy absolutely loves her Weetabix and can't get it down fast enough, only breaking occasionally for a drink of water or the odd happy smile.



After Lucy had finished her Weetabix (a whole one by the way), it was time to get both kids dressed. As I hadn't taken the good advice of Zenhabits and prepared their clothes the night before, this took so long that by the time they were ready to go out Lucy needed her milk (7 ounces, mixed 4:3 of Aptamil 2 to Aptamil 1). After this we finally got under way and headed for Tesco.

At this point the score is Lucy 2 courses, Oliver 1 course, Daddy 0 courses.

On arriving at Tesco we pick up a few things on route to the cafe, Oliver on foot, Lucy in her car seat in a trolley. Oliver operates the lift, the buttons for which are now just within his reach.

In the cafe I find my favourite cafeteria assistant isn't working and hence no-one has bothered to pre-cook veggie sausages. Drat! Oliver orders 2 sausages, bacon, hash brown and scrambled egg. I get beans (half for Oliver), mushrooms, hash brown and scrambled egg, plus toast for all of us. And a cup of tea for me, finally.

Heading for the table we meet George, about 9 months younger than Oliver and a fellow regular for Saturday breakfast.

I then install both children in high chairs and serve their respective meals, and drinks before sitting down to dine myself. As I'm doing all this, a fellow Dad at the next table with two girls in tow, slightly older than Oliver, comments that my dragging around of high-chairs and conjuring of cutlery are like a military operation, adding that I have the choice of then eating breakfast fast or eating it cold. Clearly, a man who knows the score. As he gets up to leave he comments that it gets easier, but then adds that other problems replace those of today... as he hurries off with his little girl to the toilets.

We all then eat. Great!



By the time we have finished, the score is Lucy 3 courses, Oliver 2 courses, Daddy 1 course... but rest assured I didn't skimp on that 1 course.

As I stand to leave, a woman (another regular) offers to take my tray to allow me to look after the children. It's noticeable just how many familiar faces there are on Saturday mornings. I don't want to sound like an advert for the fried breakfasts of Britain's biggest retailer, but it is a nice atmosphere in there, not to mention a great way to sneak in a bit of essential shopping.

Once coats and hats are re-donned by all, we head out of the shop. On the way out Oliver has a ride on Clifford (the Big Red Dog), while Lucy watches and chuckles.





Afterwards we head off to Borders where Oliver and I read books on the sofa in the children's area as Lucy naps.



Later Lucy joins us and greatly enjoys "That's not my Dolly".

Finally there's time for a quick trip to Toys R Us where Oliver inspects the play-houses before we head home. Not a bad Saturday morning.

Hayley then takes both kids off for a play-date... leaving me at home to sneak in a nice egg and mushroom sandwich. Sometimes Saturday breakfasts can take some time.