Tired of the same old stories? Goodnight Moon permanently engraved into your brain? Here’s an idea to spice things up:

accidentally misread a word or two during storytime and see what happens…

Probably good for phonics and encouraging them to pay attention and all that educational stuff, but… I do it just for fun.

Here’s what happened with us, while reading from Philemon Sturges “I Love Trains!”. This is the original:

I like trains that hoot and roar
as they rumble by my door

I read:

I like trains that moo and snore
as they grumble by my door

My kid grins, “No! Not like that!”

I say, “Huh!? I got it wrong? Let me try again.”

I scrunch up my face, concentrate, and get it wrong again:

I like trains that toot and tour
as they rumble on my floor

My kid groans and smiles and admonishes, “Nooooo! Try again!”

With a little help, I get it right this time.

My kid loves it when I play dumb.