If you were one of the many people who left a comment on my Cloudy With A Chance Of Master Class post- THANK YOU! Wow! What an awesome collection of wise words to have all together in one e-place!
Below, are a just a (very) few of the friendly folks who made that conversation such a blast. I thought it would be fun to feature photos of them and their loved ones, along with some of their comments, here today. First up- Kate:
(Kate and her kiddos)
One my favorite parts of Kate‘s comment was when she said:
“Encourage their curiosity, ensure that they follow their passions, and resist the urge to make them conform to your ideas for their future. Trust that if they work hard and grow in their personal talents, they will succeed and be happy as adults.”
Such great advice, isn’t it? Love that.
Karmen, left a great tip, too. She said:
“PLAY with your kids! We spent over an hour in a circle after dinner last night, hitting a big pink playground ball around seeing how long we could keep it in the air. SO. FUN!”
(Karmen and her family)
Sunny’s comment read:
“My best parenting tip is to pray through it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. When they are teenagers and hating you, and when you don’t like them very much either. God is our heart’s refuge, and leads us through. My son is 24, and telling him occasionally that “I love him more than…..” is a tradition we have shared for years. For example, telling him “I love you more than all the postcards being mailed that day in all the world” while he was on location filming in South Africa was my way of letting him know he is one of the most special blessings in my life.”
(Sunny and her son, Matt)
I must have re-read this next comment from Janet a half a dozen times. She said:
“My kidlets are 6 & 8. They are amazing kids and I love the questions they ask. In fact, I realized the other day that the routine in our house before a question is raised is always them asking me “Mom, can I ask you a question?” And my response is always “You can ask me anything.” And they know I mean it, so they do ask me anything. Which often leads us to the computer to look up the longest whale, the busiest airport, and sometimes the name of that guy who does the voice of the character in this or that movie. I never know what…and I love it.”
(Janet and her kidlets)
And then there was this hilarious story from a reader named, Annie:
“One day, my darling children were acting up and ended up going outside onto the deck when I had told them not to. So I said, “Kids, get your butts back in the house.” They came and put their little tushies just inside the sliding glass door and said, “Ok, Mommy! Our butts are back in the house!” They were 2 and 4 at the time, and like the wonderful mommy I am, I took a photo of it. ”
(Annie’s little Loves, with their tushies back in the house)
A commenter who goes by the name GG online said, “The most precious time for us is dinner time when our girls recount they days events. Oh the detail they provide…the laughter that explodes around our table…the line of communication we foster by encouraging them to talk about their day- and in turn, they now ask us what our day was like. They look forward to this family time together and save things to say. Dinner around the table, with no technology = completely priceless!”
(GG and her family, sharing stories and supper)
A reader named Maureen shared this awesome advice about reading:
“My one piece of advice would be to read to your children. No matter how hold they are, read to them. As they get a bit older, read things that will challenge their mind, and make them ask those great questions. My two daughters are now 22 and 24 and rarely are they without a book (or Kindle!). I rarely had to deal with “I’m bored” when they were younger, because they always knew they could lose themselves in a good book. It has made them curious enough about some subjects to explore them as adults- things like travel and career! Children love the sound of our voices and reading to them provides a sense of security and closeness. We spent many an afternoon with a snuggle and a good book. Even now my daughters will snuggle in when I am reading and ask “what-cha readin”!! Attached is an old photo of my Dad reading to my daughter and nephew. He is the one I have to credit for the advice I have passed on to you.”
(Maureen’s Dad, reading to her daughter and nephew)
Maureen said her Dad’s favorite book to read to the kids was Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town…
…and man did the memories come rushing back when I Googled that title! I always used to look so hard to find the little worm- ha!
I remember having lots of favorite books when I was little, but it just occurred to me that I can’t recall the names of so many of them. Do you remember some classic children’s books that were popular in the 70’s? I’d love to Google more titles today!
PS- I’m waiting for a photo from one more kind commenter from the other day, so if you come back and visit this post again later this week- you’ll probably find another fun family featured here!
For pics between posts, join us over on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram!
Dee Dee
Reading with my kids was the BEST! I’m so glad my girls, even at 12 & 15 will humor a nostalgic, sappy momma and dig through our old books with me from time to time. Here are a few of our fav’s.
Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, The Big Red Barn, Are You My Mother, Goodnight Gorilla, Mama Mama/Papa Papa, Tumble Bumble, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Sleep Ponies, Seven Silly Eaters, Skippy Jon Jones, all I Spy Books… too many to list! When my girls were both in elementary school my husband and I took turns reading to them every night. Series’ like Peter and the Star Catchers that would take us all away to magical places. Then on long road trips we discovered audiobooks. We’d stop to eat, gulp it down and hurry back to the car to find out what was gonna happen next! Our latest is Mad libs which we turned in to an extended family tradition, laughing til it hurts! I know it’s cliche, but enjoy EVERY second, they do grow up so fast. I still see a sweet girl of 4 in the face of my sleeping 15 year old. Sweet sweet girls… *sigh*
Candace Thompson
I have two recommendations – the Scaredy Squirrel and Skippyjohn Jones book series are must haves because they are both a lot of FUN to read. The Scaredy Squirrel books crack my son up and he practically giggles himself to sleep. Scaredy is afraid of EVERYTHING – even unicorns! (that horn is dangerous!). The Skippyjohn books feature an adventurous and imaginative Siamese kitty boy who wants desperately to be a Chihuahua; you and Kevin would love “singing” and clapping throughout the book as you read about Skippy’s adventures, “Oh my name is Skippito Friskito (clap clap)…I fear not a single bandito (clap clap)…” FUN Books!
Julie B. [Holland]
My children loved the book, The Giving Tree, by Shel
Silverstein. The reason for this ,when they stayed over night at their Grandmas house she would read it to them. My daughter loved it more than my son, so when she got pregnant for her first I bought it and put a note inside from her Grandma who had by then passed away. Needless to say at the shower there wasnt a dry eye in the house. I just knew I wanted her Grandma to be a part of the day and thought that was a nice way to honor her, but getting back to book , it has a wonderful story line and has always had a great part in our lives. Give back , share, be generous, be kind. When my daughter had her second baby a daughter I bought her, Where the Sidewalk Ends, by the same author. Hopefully they will love their books just as much. Bedtime and reading is a big part of their routine.
Julie B. [Holland]
My children loved the book, The Giving Tree, by Shel
Silverstein. The reason for this ,when they stayed over night at their Grandmas house she would read it to them. My daughter loved it more than my son, so when she got pregnant for her first I bought it and put a note inside from her Grandma who had by then passed away. Needless to say at the shower there wasnt a dry eye in the house. I just knew I wanted her Grandma to be a part of the day and thought that was a nice way to honor her, but getting back to book , it has a wonderful story line and has always had a great part in our lives. Give back , share, be generous, be kind. When my daughter had her second baby a daughter I bought her, Where the Sidewalk Ends, by the same author. Hopefully they will love their books just as much. Bedtime and reading is a big part of their routine.
gina
I loved the Little House books! For younger kids my son loved Winnie the Pooh, and his number one favorite was Goodnight Moon.
Ariel
Layla, reading to your kids is important but so is listening to them and praising them when they express themselves nicely or have a beautiful dream or say something funny or do original, critical thinking. A good book is a springboard for a good conversation, not just something you read from page 1 to the end. My daughter is 13 and we still read the same books and she still knocks me out with how smart and sensitive and great she is. Here are some good springboard books: WHEN SOPHIE GETS ANGRY by Molly Bangs. DON’T LET THE PIGEON STAY UP LATE by Mo Willems. TAR BEACH by Faith Ringgold. YOKO by Rosemary Wells. I STINK by Kate MacMillan. IT”S OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT by Todd Parr. LIBRARY LION by Michelle Knudsen. Happy reading and thinking with your new baby to be!!! P.S.can you tell I’m a children’s librarian? Let me know if I can give you any more suggestions!
Sarah
Books popular with my girls (about your age) were the George and Martha series. They are hippos. So much fun. To this day when the phrase is fitting we say , “Have Mercy, said Martha”! A phrase used in the book when they are surprising one another. My girls are both adopted from Korea. We celebrate Family Day each year on a date we chose in February. The day we became a family. One year it meant making a hand made card for one another, a gift of a book another year and one year a family cookbook/scrapbook made for each by Mom. Hummm, I think next February it should be a copy of George and Martha One Fine Day. Yep, good choice.
Sarah P
Two of my favorites as a child were “The Napping House” and “King Bidgood’s In The Bathtub,” both by Don and Audrey Wood. A few years ago, when our first child was born, my mother-in-law sent me some books that were some of my husband’s favorites when he was little. She included “Quick As A Cricket,” also by the Woods. It was one that I wasn’t familiar with, but one that my husband vividly remembers from his childhood. I thought it was so fun to learn that my husband and I shared the same favorite author/illustrator team as kids 🙂
Suzanne Pope
My brother bought us a copy of my favorite book just before our adoption. I don’t know what happened to the original. It is “How Fletcher Was Hatched”. I also loved the Little Golden Books, especially “The Bunny Book”.
Clare
My absolute favorite childrens’ book is “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. I have 10 brothers and sisters and any of us can start a line from the book like – “The night Maxx wore his wolf suit” ; “The roared their terrible roar” or “And it was still hot”. My parents definitely instilled a love of reading in all of us.