Roald Dahl Week

We had Roald Dahl week this week at school, I have had a lot of reminders of my dad as it has gone on. I remember him reading Fantastic Mr Fox to me and my older brother when we were little boys. Well Jak was a little boy, I was more of a little monster. He has been on my mind since one of the boys I work with asked about him, He said, "do you have a dad?"
"I used too," I responded, not wanting to lie.
"He died," he said in a matter of factly way, that only a boy with special needs could. This week I have been plagued with reminders of him as I go about my job. I felt all warm inside when I heard one of the teachers reading Fantastic Mr Fox to the children, the hours my dad spent reading it to us by our bedside. His other favourite was the Minpins, another Roald Dahl story. Although most may not have heard of it, I absolutely love it. I learnt to read using Roald Dahl, the books are such fun. What I remember most is that my dad created voices, each character had their assigned voice, I think as I read to the kids in my class, I am reminded of how he used to read to me. The children comment on how I use specific voices for each character, just like my dad used too (although I have to say he was better at it).  Being a kid was awesome, no responsibility, no chores, laying on quilts and then hurling yourself down flights of stairs (maybe that was just me). Part of growing up is appreciating how fun being a kid actually is. It has been a good week, draining, but good and I can't wait to get back into that classroom on Monday morning, I am hoping things will have returned to normal. Then again when working in a school, I don't think there is such a thing as a normal day. So what I have I taken from this week? Don't underestimate the importance of reading to your children, my dad did very little with us in truth, but he did that and the impact has echoed across decades, I too hope to one day read Roald Dahl's fantastic books to my little ones. For now I'll have to settle for reading to other people's kids; the advantage being I can send them home at the end of the day!