The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

I've been thinking lately about how interesting it is that children often adopt some of the interests of their parents. Some of our friends are big-time into sports, especially soccer. Their kids are also very into soccer. Did they inherit some super-great-at-soccer gene from the parents? Or did the environment in which they have been raised influence the children to love the sport? Or both? I can think of similar examples where the parents are very into music, high school football, water sports, etc.

So, this train of thought led to me wondering what interests Dan and I are passing on to our kids. And, if they enjoy things we also enjoy, is that because they have grown up in the environment we have created? Interesting to think about.
a

This is my rudimentary list . . . Dan is really into music of all kinds. Our kids also really enjoy many different types of music. One of our Porter family "things" is Broadway musicals. We love to watch and listen to musicals. We have a Sunday afternoon tradition - we watch one of our DVDs of Broadway musicals together (and eat ice cream - another great tradition). Would our kids have naturally loved musicals so much if they hadn't grown up in our home environment?

asd

Our home environment also includes lots and lots of books. I love to read. I mean, books are a huge deal to me. So, from the time our kids were little, books were an integral part of their lives. Reading out loud, reading silently, listening to books . . . I have a terrible time saying no to a great children's book. For years I scoured garage sales, thrift stores, and Scholastic book sales at school to add to our ever-growing collection of children's books. I am forcing myself to slow down and only buy new, really special books. Each child has a filled bookshelf in their room. I love my built-in bookshelves in our den and family room, bursting with the books I love. I like this quote from Cicero, "A room without books is a body without a soul." Now that all our kids are past the "baby and toddler book stage", I'm finding it hard to part with many of the books. I may just have to tuck them away in the garage for grandkids.

a

So, I guess it makes sense that our kids love books too. Some of the kids are more enthusiastic readers than others, and that is perfectly okay. But, they all have inherited/learned a love of books.Bailey and Aubrey in Williamsburg, VA reading biography books we bought on our vacation last March.We saw this shirt in the gift shop of the National Archives in Washington D.C. Thomas Jefferson is the one who initially said he couldn't live without books. I agree.

It seemed we were re-reading the same five storybooks to Joseph each night. I think it was easiest to choose whatever was most accessible on the bookshelves. So, a few months ago we decided to systematically read all of our Joseph-age books and then stack the books in a pile near Joseph's bed. We are about halfway through the bookshelves and have found many great books we hadn't seen in awhile!