Five a Day Keeps the Literacy in Play

This year I have been reading a minimum of five books a day to my Kindergarten students as well as songs, finger plays and chants but if I were to track the number it would probably be closer to ten books. I regularly included re-reading favourite books and actually began every circle time with a familiar song book like Over In the Meadow or Down By the Station. We loved our book times and I was amazed at how easily books grew to become cherished parts of our day.  
My love of books has always been a big part of me and yes I really believed when I was around five that the mobile library, which parked in front of our house each week, was there for my personal reading pleasure. The librarian was kind and passionate about connecting books with children. She always had one or two special books tucked away just for me.  I would carry my big collection up to my bedroom and sort them into the order that I wanted to read. The collection always included my favourite re-reads, some new books, the special books from the librarian as well as a book for my older brother, Bobbie, to read with me. I still remember my plan to read every book on the bus and maybe I did! My siblings and I enjoyed lazy afternoons on the sofa, the beach, the boat, in the bedroom or our treehouse. 
Books were an integral part of my childhood and then later when I became a parent it was an important part of our family culture and hopefully will become a part of our adult children's new family culture. I don't have any memories of my parents reading with me but coming from a large family I do have many many memories of my brothers reading to and with me.
Mem Fox talks about how important it is to read to new babies and shares the impact on the brain. While I have always known how important it the intimacy with your child that lap reading creates; physical touch, hearing your voice, noticing your child's expression and body language are all important and key ingredients for nurturing that loving relationship with your baby her advice was new to me. Here is link to Mem Fox. It will inspire you to read with your child ten minutes a day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Lv9KRXV0Y
http://memfox.com/for-parents/for-parents-ten-read-aloud-commandments/