Where Do You Keep Your Books?

I admit it, I am not a neat nik. My house is lived in - there is wash on the couch, and toys strewn from my front door to my back door. Sometimes I feel bad about this, then I feel grateful that my house is worn in and cozy. Yes, we have lots of toys, but we also have lots of books. There are books everywhere, and I am proud of that.
Books should be kept in a place that is convenient for your kids. We have baskets of books in each of the kids rooms, 2 shelves of books in the family room, books in the diaper bag, books in the car, books down the basement, heck, I'm even thinking I should keep some books in the bathroom for the kids! (Well, maybe when the potty training starts...)
I try to keep board books accessible for the kids. Shannon puts everything in her mouth, and I don't feel bad that she is ruining books when she puts the board books in her mouth. She also recently started pointing at everything in the books. She laughs as she points and we talk about what it is. Slowly she is becoming a book lover!
Patrick has started to "read" books to Shannon. He has seen us say to Shannon, "Look Shannon it's an owl, or Wow! Look there is a monkey." And, he uses our phrasing to "read" to Shannon.
Last year, after I had Shannon we stayed with my parents. One thing my mom started to do with Patrick, which I thought was brilliant, was read a poem to him after lunch. He was already in his high chair, and she would pull out the poetry book and read a poem or two with him. Now, when we are at Mimi's house he asks for "the cow poem" I love this idea, and wish that I did it more often.

The Cow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

THE FRIENDLY cow all red and white
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.
She wanders lowing here and there,	5
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,	10
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers. (taken from a Child's Garden of Verses)

So, the challenge for today - Find a poetry book and put it in your kitchen. If you can't find a poetry book, use the cow poem. Pull it out after breakfast, or lunch, or dinner and share it with your child. Maybe this will help the child who won't stay still long enough for a book.
Challenge part 2 - Make sure your books are in a convenient place for your children!