I love books. There are times when I don't read as much as I would like, but I really love books. Books are a way I escape from the pressures of life, the way I dream, the way I expand my views and formulate opinions, and the way I educate myself. Although I wish to teach my children to enjoy many things in life, if I can pass on my love of books to them I will consider myself having given them a great gift.
That said, I am very excited to announce that my nine year old son finished his first chapter book that he has read on his own all the way through because he wanted to last week. And then he read another one. Because he wanted to! He has always been interested in books, looking at them and reading snatches here and there out of non-fiction books. I have tried to sit down and read alternate pages with him, but it seemed too tedious and he soon lost interest. I guess I didn't make it fun enough. When we went to the library last week he picked out two "how things work" books like he always does (and I have nothing against that, it is reading and he has learned a ton), but I hoped he might pick out a fiction book also. So I nonchalantly picked out about six fiction books that I thought he might be interested in and, again, nonchalantly put them on a table and said, "Hey, here are a few books I thought were cool. I just thought you might want to look at them." No pressure. At first he really wasn't interested, but after a while he went back to the table and picked up War of the Worlds (the illustrated classics version). I tried so hard not to jump for joy when he brought it home and got lost in it's pages!
Each child is so different it sometimes feels like learning how to be a parent all over again with each one. My oldest son learned to read quickly and devours books. It didn't come as naturally for my second son (the one who just read his first two chapter books on his own . . .) so I've had to try different things to help him along. I guess a lot of parenting is trial and error, and persistence. And patience. I think that's what he needed most.
Hopefully he has caught the reading bug and will continue to find joy in reading all kinds of books!
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4 comments:
You should try "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" or "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne. Those are great books to get lost in!
It is so exciting when your kids start to develop the same love of reading you have. I remember being equally thrilled when my oldest suddenly started getting up early to read the Magic Tree House books in a single sitting.
It's true about being a new parent with each child. I know a lady who had 12 kids and she would always tell people, "Honey, you don't know a thing about raising kids, I had 12!" My response to that would be, "You may have had 12 children, but you never had mine." How good of you to nourish and encourage a love of reading.
I have loved watching my kids explore the joy of reading. My oldest is an avid reader, tackeling books I have never read. And my 2nd is just starting out. She's now discovered Junie B. Jones and her face just lights up! I love that!
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