“No player in the NBA was born wanting to play basketball. The desire to play ball or to read must be planted. The last 25 years of research show that reading aloud to a child is the oldest, cheapest and must successful method of instilling that desire. Shooting baskets with a child creates a basketball player; reading to a child creates a reader.”

— Jim Trelease, author of The Read Aloud Handbook

I’ve heard it said a thousand times. You can’t teach passion.

But you sure can try.

If you want your children to become passionate readers, do as Jim Trelease suggests. Read to them, talk about books, and give them many books to read.

If you want your children to become passionately generous people, be generous yourself, talk about being generous, and give your time everyday.

What we model today becomes the foundation on which our children build their future.

Yesterday’s gift of time … Read story aloud to my daughter. After 10+ years of reading aloud to her, I can only hope that some of that passion for reading has rubbed off. More importantly, I hope that someday she develops a passion for helping people.