Poems all over the house

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments yesterday! I've been so inspired by all of you; it's nice to have something to offer in return.

I've continued copying out poems whenever I have a moment. I began with selections from Catch Me and Kiss Me and Say it Again by Clyde and Wendy Watson. This is an absolute gem of a book; new nursery rhymes with great language and rhythms, reflecting a family's daily life. I first read about it in Under the Chinaberry Tree by Ann Ruethling and Patti Pitcher (another must-have book, in my opinion), and I knew I had to have it. I spent an unprecedented $10 to buy it on eBay, and I'm so glad I did! I've used it with infants and toddlers in my program, but this method is going to help me remember so many more with my own children (and, of course, with the others, too).

As I chose from this book, I found so many that were perfect for daily routines: washing hands, clipping fingernails, baking, dressing. The poems suggested new places to put them. So now they're all over my house:

In our office, where we change her downstairs (see them, tucked into the shelf off to the right? And by the way, how do you take photos of a window?):


("This little pig found a hole in the fence...")

In the kitchen:


("Clapcake, clapcake, butter and milk...")

In the bathroom:

("Sing a song of soapsuds, filling up the sink...")

I'm loving them already. And so does Lucy. This morning, she saw me shuffle the cards in the office to find a new one to read. Later in the morning, as she sat on her potty, I started reciting one of the poems I'd already memorized. She looked over her shoulder to the spot where I'd tucked the cards! A reader in the making.