I loved reading to my kids. Starting before they were born, I would read to them.
I read them everything I could get ahold of. Textbooks, Dave Barry, Dr.
Seuss. When our oldest one was a wee little one with colic, the one
thing that could calm him down was the sound of us reading out loud to
him. He would scream and scream, and one of us would pick him up,
snuggle him up close and read the exploits of Dr. Seuss or Dave Barry.
As he got older, he eagerly awaited our weekly trip to the library. He
learned to count early because we would limit him to 20 books a week.
I'd sit on the floor of the library with my basket, and count books with
him. There were a couple of times when he'd sit and look closely
between two or three books until he could find the one book that he
liked the best to make 20.
Some of my favorite preschool memories involve trips to the library. I
enjoyed picking out new books and reading new books almost as much as
the kids did. I have a Longaberger Medium sized market basket that used
to go to the library with us each week. It was the perfect size. All
of our books would fit in there. The kids picture books would fit in
spine up, with all of the bright titles shining out at us. When the
books weren't being read, they lived in the basket so that we could keep
track of them between library trips.
I have to admit, we lost a few books over the years. We've paid
"rental" on several books that were late. But the cost of those fines
and replacement fees pales in comparision to the knowledge that my kids
are active readers. And I have 2 boys. Boys are known for being
reluctant readers, and yet they both love to read.
Why? Because we set the stage early. Reading was something we did as a
family. It brought us great joy. We spent time together, looking at
books, snuggling our children, and exploring new worlds together.
The boys did love to read non-fiction. I do not. So, we'd save the
non-fiction books for when Daddy got home, and in the evenings, he'd sit
and read endlessly from "The Animal Encyclopedia" or "The Way Things
Work" or "The New Book of Knowledge". And, I'd sit there close beside
them, listening with glazed eyes while the kids asked questions and Dad
would go into infinite detail about say, how a screw worked. And then,
he'd get out his toolbox, a few screws, some wood, and a screwdriver,
and they'd sit around putting screws into wood for half an hour before
bedtime, all the while talking about where you'd use screws, and why
you'd use screws instead of nails in certain situations...
I guess we didn't do all bad. The oldest one graduated with a 4.0 and
is double majoring in Physics and Math. The middle one has something
around a 3.5, and is an avid reader of business books and journals (and
yes, he is Dyslexic, too.) And our daughter has close to a 3.8.
I bring this up because I saw an article on CNN this morning that says
something I think most of us already know "It's the parent's job -- not
the schools -- to find the books to get your kids reading and keep them
reading".
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/patterson-kids-reading/index.html accessed 9/29/2011.
We as parents truly are our child's first and most important teachers.
What we show and model to our children is what they will live. I know,
it's frightening to think, isn't it? They are such little mirrors of us
and what we do....
And giving them a love of reading, which gives them the power to unlock
doors, find out more, and make new discoveries? To give them the
curiosity to ask questions and find out why things are the way they are
and work the way they do and see if they can understand it better, or
make it work better?
I think that's the greatest gift that we can give to our children.
