Monday, February 2, 2009

I Open My Hand


With our move, I'm finally biting the bullet and clearing out books we seldom use.  

I am a self-confessed book-a-holic.  A Bibliovore.  I have a small addiction.  And now I have an even smaller library in my new house, so some things have got to go.

My biggest obstacle is thinking that "Maybe one of the younger kids will use this someday." 

Well, true.

They might.

They HAVE!

I have materials I am very successfully using with Daisy and Pepper that RoseBud had no interest in.  I recognize that the boys may not be the same kind of learners that the girls are.  They may well require different methods and different materials.

Does that justify my holding on to stuff we have never touched? Just. Open. The. Hand.  Let it go.

Does it justify holding on to "deals" I bought when RoseBud was an infant (ok, a toddler) which have now been reprinted twice?    Just. Open. The. Hand.

Have I not learned which materials work best for me and for the kids?  Mainly for me.  If I can't use it, it's unlikely they will get to use it.  Too crafty, too much planning, too advanced, too wordy, makes the kids cry when they see it, yada yada.   Just. Open. The. Hand.

And with the increasing amount of stuff on the internet, I'm finding I just don't use books in the same way I did as a kid.  Like today's earlier post on the Star-Spangled Banner, for instance.  There are so many cool resources out there.  Granted, I am still a hard-copy paper kind of girl.  I like to have it in my hand and page through it.  But for storage purposes, I'm all for hosting it on someone else's server! Just. Open. The. Hand.

So today I begin to loosen my grip, begin to open my hand.  Let it go.



1 comment:

Recovering Noah said...

Aarrgh! Wish I could take some of them off your hands... but I'm a book lover, too. In fact, I bet I single-handedly hold the record for the most Scholastic Book purchases through school... and Nandi's only in her 3rd month of Pre-K! (blush).

Hope you get some takers!