By exposing him to lots and lots of books, that's how! And by reading to him as often as I can. And by reading myself. Showing by example and all that. (And I have that part covered, truly. A great time to read a few pages of a good book is when I'm standing at the stove, making dinner.)
It may be easy to expose my kid to lots of books. We go to the library all the time. (Getting the kid his own library card was a BIG EVENT.) He's got piles and piles of reading material scattered all around his (very disorganized) room. I'll bring him to Barnes and Noble with me and while he's playing with the train set, I'll pick out yet another sticker book or dot-to-dot workbook to bring home. We're fortunate because we are surrounded by plenty.
But is he surrounded by the right kind of books? Is there a wrong kind of book?
Well ... probably not. :) But there are some children's books that are better than others.
I signed on with Usborne Books And More (UBAM) in August because I immediate recognized it as a project (and business) that I could devote passion, energy and time to. And ask anyone - I regard my time as highly precious and Not To Be Wasted. So I was excited to set up as a UBAM consultant. I made a cursory effort at hosting a few shows, spreading the word among my family and friends, that sort of thing. I even put feelers out there about book fairs at preschools. But the reaction I got back was lukewarm at best. I got bummed because no one was as excited about it as I was. Then, due to personal tragedy in the family, I set it all aside for a good long time. I couldn't think about anything anymore, let alone selling things to strangers.
The personal tragedy still has daily resonance in my life. But I'm pulling out of it day by day. I was lucky enough to go to a Regional conference today for Usborne, and I really want to use it to kick-start this thing again. A second chance, if you will. I didn't exactly squander my first chance, but I certainly would have liked to establish more success, earlier on. But whatever. It is what it is.
So today I've been asking myself why I want to remain in the business, and I came up with four good reasons, of varying importance, to devote myself to this new passion.
1. Money. Cash dollars. Okay, this is the big one. Can I build up some money to start paying off those terrible horrible student loans? Maybe go so far as to quit my job? Who knows. But I can try.
2. The Books. I want those books. For my son but - yes - for myself. They are so pleasing. Just going through the new pages and seeing the unfailingly adorable illustrations is just it's own kind of joy for me. Books truly are my happy place.
3. Going off of the number 2 - Showing those books to other people. If I love them and want them for myself, and if I want to lavish them on my son so that he builds an early appreciation for literacy and stories ... well, who am I to keep that from anyone else? It's my duty to give this joy to other people. I sincerely want to to show you a book that you and your kids will love. And not for the 1. money I get or 2. books I get. But for you. For you and your kids and the joy YOU will get from them.
4. The company gives away a pretty awesome trip every year. I could seriously use a Mediterranean Cruise, if you know what I mean.
Those are all pretty good ideas, I think.
I want to use this Blog as an intro for people who are interested to the UBAM world, because it really is delightful. I want to showcase some of my favorite books. I want to share tips and ideas I've learned from others about literacy in early childhood. I want to get the word out there and ask people if they think something like this would fit in with their family, their preschool, their church; and if so, how I can help make that happen. I want to tell funny stories about my kid and hear other people's funny stories. I want to advertise myself, market myself, grow my business, make a little bit of fun of myself and others, and ultimately be successful.
Is that asking too much? Is it asking too much that I want my son to be as crazy wild about books as I am?
I don't think so.
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