No TV Nights

 Starting last night, our family has decided to go without any television in the evenings Monday through Friday until Easter Sunday.  The evenings have been filled with the wrong type of noise for too long.  The noise of the television is one that gives me a headache quicker than a room full of 5th grade boys having a burping contest.  And I also feel time is going by so quickly, and I want to be a little selfish and grab some more time with the boys. So last night after bath time, I went from room to room scooping up books (even as organized as I think I am...there are still books strewn all over the house out of order....shocking, I know).  A parade of two followed me downstairs to our big comfy chair where the reading began.  We started with Everyone Poops....one guaranteed to make my boys laugh.....how can you not laugh when "an elephant makes a big poop"?
The reading continued for a good 45 minutes, and then we went up to bed for a few more books.  Nate & Benny picked out their favorites of the evening.  Nate selected Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky you Are? by Dr. Seuss.  He loves the illustrations ....he enjoys looking through them to find hidden gems such as someone sleeping or something about to fall on someone's head.  They both love the sing-songy prose, and I believe they enjoy laughing when I stumble over phases like "Hawtch-Hawtch are watching on Watch-Watcher-Watchering Watch-Watch-Watching theWatcher who is watching the bee."  Benny selected one of my favorites....The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman.  Such a sweet, sweet book about a group of little babies who crawl away during a neighborhood picnic, and the only one who notices is a small boy.  He follows them and keeps them safe and fed as they explore the woods, caves, & bogs with all types of small animals.  The book reads so sweetly and is a perfect nighttime book.  The illustrations are shadows and very cleverly done.  Again, there are hidden items in the story that my boys love to find.  For example, there is a little caterpillar that befriends the boy and seems to aide him in rescuing the babies (though there is no foreshadowing of any real danger).  The caterpillar makes an appearance in each page all the way to the end when the babies are all back home safe in their beds.  We adore this story. 
We shall see how this no TV experiment goes....the older boys were at a basketball game with dad, so they were not home.  I am hoping to read a Little Hugo Cabret with Henry tonight or maybe some Harry Potter with Calvin.  Read On, my friends.