The Longest Shortest Time

Bear Snores Cat

Anne Sailer of episode 1, aka our Music Together teacher, taught us this cool trick you can do with your toddler. You sing a song they know well and leave out the last word in a phrase. If your child is at all verbal, they will begin to fill in the blank. I started doing this with books, too. I especially like leaving out fun vocabulary words like “magnificent,” “tarried,” and “quince.” (You may recognize those last two from The Owl and the Pussycat.)

I discovered that this technique is very useful when you’re racing home, trying to prevent your baby from falling asleep. Because if your child is anything like mine, a ten-minute nap in the car or stroller means no nap at home. Here’s the game: I call out a phrase from one of Sasha’s favorite books, omitting the last word. If she says the missing word I know she’s still awake. And depending on her enthusiasm level, I’ll know exactly how awake.

My go-to phrase for this exercise has been from the last lines of Bear Snores On. It’s nice because it rhymes, it’s short, and it’s funny (in the context of story):

When the sun peeks up

on a crisp clear dawn,

Bear can’t sleep . . .

But his friends snore on.

That little “on” has guaranteed my down time on many occasions.

Bear Snores On was the first book that Sasha learned to request by name, simply calling it On. For weeks on end she’d grab it for every nap time, every bed time. And then somehow it fell out of rotation. Maybe because it went back on her bookshelf instead of the table by the rocking chair? Anyway, we haven’t touched it in months. And now that Sasha can sing entire phrases of songs, I’ve started singing to keep her awake. Which is all to say, we haven’t said “on” in awhile.

The other night Bear Snores On popped back into my mind and I suggested that Sasha find it, which she did right away. I sat her in my lap and began reading the way we always had: me saying the beginnings of the lines, her saying the last words. But each of my silences was met with either more silence or a grunt. Or a word that made no sense. The first time we hit the refrain, “But the bear snores on,” I left off the “on” and Sasha very confidently said, “cat.” Bear snores cat? It felt like a computer going awry.

This has been a very interesting glimpse into how a child’s memory works. I completely see how it’s possible that we wouldn’t remember much before age three. I’m guessing the memories of reading Bear Snores On have been replaced by memories of reading her new favorite, Grumpy Bird. If it were up to Sasha, we would never read anything else. But because I need some variety, I have snuck other books into our routine. I have to be careful about it. If I bring out something new at a regular reading time like pre-nap or bed, she gives an unequivocal no. But if I bring it out during play time she’ll give it a shot. And sometimes those books wind up in our regular rotation. There doesn’t seem to be room for more than five of these at any given time.

All of this has led me to introduce a new sidebar section called “We Can’t Stop Reading.” See it over there on the right? I will list (and update) the top five books we are reading. And reading and reading. You may notice that the titles link to Amazon. Many of you have asked how you can support LST and here is one small way. Each time you buy a book from a link on this site I receive a modest percentage of the sale. I promise to only list books Sasha is truly obsessed with!

Also. I want to know the books that YOU can’t stop reading. Put ’em in the comments. Who knows, maybe they’ll wind up on our list, too.