Thank Heaven for Libraries!

 

   As much as I miss Moonshine, it hasn’t been grief that has kept me away from my blog – its been volunteer work!  I would like to report that I am one of those sainted women that go to hospitals and sit with patients, or write letters for veterans in the VA hospital, or sit on some committee that makes far-reaching decisions for our environment, but I just do Mom stuff.  This week it has been the Bookfair and Girl Scouts.

  Every year, Coppergate has three bookfairs, and I love to volunteer at them.  I love to see the little faces carefully choose this book or that one, and try to figure out if they can afford just one more easer or bookmark.  My favorite is watching kids literally empty their piggy banks to buy a stack of BOOKS.   (Not computer games, CDs, DVDs, or other things kids love so much, but books.)

  I also get a chance to browse through all the offerings.  I tell myself each time that I will only buy a couple of books, but it never works.  The fair ends next Wednesday, and I am already up to six.  But even better than finding great books for the kids, I get to spend some extra time with Emma.  We usually get to the library a little after 8, and she leaves to go to class around 8:20.   Then in the afternoon I get there around 2, chat with the librarians and other parent volunteers, and then work until 3:45 or so.  Emma shows up around 2:50 to tell me about her day and then scampers off to use one of the computers.

  Last Monday, Emma was browsing the books and she came across the Magic Tree House series.  She begged me to buy one for her, but  Mrs. Crosby told her that the library had all the MTH books and she could check them out. Yeah for libraries!  Since Monday, Emma has gone through 4 of those books, and I think she was about to finish the one she was working on this morning.  I am so glad that she has developed a love of reading and books.  

  We discovered she could read about the 4th week of Kindergarten.  I had bought her a small pack of beginning readers (at the bookfair, of course) and showed them to her.  I sat down to start teaching her the basics when she read the books to me – all 12 of them.  She has been a power reader ever since.  I am so thankful to the two wonderful women that run the library at Coppergate – Mrs. Miskowski and Mrs. Crosby.  They work so hard to teach kids about the library and try to give each one of them a love of reading.

Oh, and if you are wondering – Grady enjoyed the bookfair, too. He even became a “kleptoGradyac” (Jason, of course) one morning when he stole an eraser and chewed it before anyone noticed.