How much fun are bunny trails? I love them! Bunny trails come when you read anything -- fiction, non-fiction, magazines, devotionals, comic books and films. Bunny trails are another way for kids to make connections. It is also a great way to find out about your kids.
For instance, Steve is reading "Body Language for Dummies" to us. It is specifically for 14-year-old Anna who has Non-Verbal Learning Disorder -- she doesn't understand body language or vocal tone very well. Well, the other day, during our reading, she offhandedly said, "Mom, I was walking to the library and realized that the blinking lights on the back of cars tell you what direction they're turning." It took me a moment to understand what she said, but I finally realized -- and continue to celebrate -- that she read non-verbal communication -- a turn signal -- and interpreted it correctly -- all on her own! The family's reading that book gave her a venue to go on a completely pertinent bunny trail that revealed her growth to us.
Often, bunny trails take us through anecdotes from family history, science, history, psychology or just the kids thoughts. We were reading William Blake's "The Tyger" of "Tyger, Tyger, burning bright" fame and when we read "Did He who made the Lamb make thee?" 16-year-old Mimi asked, "Could he be talking about the Lion and the Lamb?" We discussed that, perhaps, Blake chose Tyger instead of Lion simply because of the sound of the word.
Reading aloud and expecting bunny trails can also open up the opportunity for uncomfortable topics of conversation. My mother and I had such a history of this, that, when I was 17 and had to tell her I was pregnant, I came home from college and asked her if we could read "Watership Down." We went to my room and never cracked the book. I knew Read Aloud was a safe place and was free to share there as in no other place.
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