The Little Bookworms
Zoe and Talia had a representative from the local library come to their school to pass out applications for library cards. They're in first grade now, and that makes them eligible for their own cards. We filled out the forms, sent them in, and recently received the cards. On Saturday, Z, T, and I went to the library for a test drive.
The girls each chose two Magic Tree House books, and asked if we could stay to read for a little while before checking the books out and heading home. Since part of the reason for our trips to the library is to give Chris time to do things unrelated to being the mother of twins, I said we could stay. The plopped themselves down on a sofa with their books while I looked for a book for Aaron. I found a cute little story titled I Don't Want to Go by Addie Sanders.
Zoe and Talia sat, completely silent for about fifteen minutes, until I said it was time to leave. By then, they had each read 30-odd pages of their books, and I thought perhaps two books each wasn't sufficient reading material, but I didn't know how many they could borrow on their brand new cards, so we left it at two and would come back as soon as necessary for more. The girls asked for bookmarks to keep their places. A nearby card catalog computer had a little stack of paper slips for writing down call numbers, so we inserted two of these as impromptu bookmarks.
Because the cards come without names, we had to ask a librarian which card belonged to which child. This she did, and even told us the PINs for their cards. Zoe and Talia proceeded to the very 21st-century self-check-out terminal. They put their cards under the scanner, entered their PINs, scanned the books, and pressed the "Print Receipt" button.
"Congratulations! You just used the library," I said to them, maybe a little too loudly, but I was excited, even though the moment was probably lost on them.
We got in the car, drove home, and pulled into the driveway. I turned off the car, took the key out of the ignition, and looked at them in the rear-view mirror. They were immersed in their books and hadn't noticed we'd arrived.
"Girls," I said, "we're home. Do you want to go in?"
"No." They didn't even bother to look up.
"You can sit down inside and read. It's warmer there." Maybe this'll work, I thought.
"Ok," they said, but still hadn't looked up. By now, they were about 50 pages into their books, and I thought to myself, two books is definitely not enough.
When we went inside, Chris looked at their books, and said to me, "They only got two each? That won't even last them the weekend." I gave some lame excuse about not knowing how many books they could check out on new cards, but really, just an hour before, I had thought two books would last several days, but knew better now. Quickly, a vision of the next ten years passed before me: Zoe and Talia walking around, occasionally into walls, and hearing nothing because books are in front of their noses. They are literate now, and bookworms to boot. I can't stop that train, but I can take the flashlights from their bedroom.
Epilogue: By Sunday afternoon, they were working on completely different books. I didn't see what Zoe was reading; Talia was just finishing chapter 10 of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I felt a little sad about that because I was really looking forward to reading this one to them). The library is closed Sundays so I suggested that they trade library books with each other. "Daddy, we've done that already..."
The girls each chose two Magic Tree House books, and asked if we could stay to read for a little while before checking the books out and heading home. Since part of the reason for our trips to the library is to give Chris time to do things unrelated to being the mother of twins, I said we could stay. The plopped themselves down on a sofa with their books while I looked for a book for Aaron. I found a cute little story titled I Don't Want to Go by Addie Sanders.
Zoe and Talia sat, completely silent for about fifteen minutes, until I said it was time to leave. By then, they had each read 30-odd pages of their books, and I thought perhaps two books each wasn't sufficient reading material, but I didn't know how many they could borrow on their brand new cards, so we left it at two and would come back as soon as necessary for more. The girls asked for bookmarks to keep their places. A nearby card catalog computer had a little stack of paper slips for writing down call numbers, so we inserted two of these as impromptu bookmarks.
Because the cards come without names, we had to ask a librarian which card belonged to which child. This she did, and even told us the PINs for their cards. Zoe and Talia proceeded to the very 21st-century self-check-out terminal. They put their cards under the scanner, entered their PINs, scanned the books, and pressed the "Print Receipt" button.
"Congratulations! You just used the library," I said to them, maybe a little too loudly, but I was excited, even though the moment was probably lost on them.
We got in the car, drove home, and pulled into the driveway. I turned off the car, took the key out of the ignition, and looked at them in the rear-view mirror. They were immersed in their books and hadn't noticed we'd arrived.
"Girls," I said, "we're home. Do you want to go in?"
"No." They didn't even bother to look up.
"You can sit down inside and read. It's warmer there." Maybe this'll work, I thought.
"Ok," they said, but still hadn't looked up. By now, they were about 50 pages into their books, and I thought to myself, two books is definitely not enough.
When we went inside, Chris looked at their books, and said to me, "They only got two each? That won't even last them the weekend." I gave some lame excuse about not knowing how many books they could check out on new cards, but really, just an hour before, I had thought two books would last several days, but knew better now. Quickly, a vision of the next ten years passed before me: Zoe and Talia walking around, occasionally into walls, and hearing nothing because books are in front of their noses. They are literate now, and bookworms to boot. I can't stop that train, but I can take the flashlights from their bedroom.
Epilogue: By Sunday afternoon, they were working on completely different books. I didn't see what Zoe was reading; Talia was just finishing chapter 10 of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I felt a little sad about that because I was really looking forward to reading this one to them). The library is closed Sundays so I suggested that they trade library books with each other. "Daddy, we've done that already..."
Comments
I have wonderful memories of our father taking us to the library on Saturday mornings.
And just wait, once Aaron gets going you're going to need a wagon for your library books!