Many people love reading. Many people don’t. But did you know a love of reading can affect not just you, but generations after you?
A love of reading isn’t about lying in a hammock and disappearing into a good book, although that is a lot of fun. Reading affects your entire life: schooling, career, and even getting loans.
In this post we will talk about why a love of reading is a habit that will strengthen you, your children, and even their children.
Earliest Memories
Before I could read, I had a love of reading. My earliest memories include my mother or an older sibling reading to me. The rhythm, the images, the ideas. They surrounded me and made me feel bigger than I was. Sharing that love with me as a child, affected the rest of my life. I began school and took to reading naturally. I suppose my love of Dick and Jane readers dates me, but the artwork and simple stories hold a sweet place in my heart.
In first grade I got chickenpox. Consequently, so did the sisters on each side of me – “the three little girls” as we were referred to. Can you say chickenpox party? Despite itching, it was wonderful to lay in my parent’s big, soft bed with a sister on each side and a pile of books – Dick and Jane, Archie comics, Dr. Seuss books, and The Little Brute Family. They were my companions. I loved the pictures and the magic of letters creating words, creating stories. As I slid my little finger along the words, my older sister complained, “You’re not reading. Mom! Irene’s pretending to read and she’s not.” My six-year-old self was completely offended.
Throughout my elementary years, you could find me high in our grapefruit tree beside our home in Mesa, Arizona. The branches formed a perfect cradle — especially in one particular spot — for me to recline and immerse myself in a story. It was quiet and shady, and no one disturbed me there. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Misty of Chincoteague, Black Beauty, The Magic Garden . . . hours upon hours.
Why love reading?
Into adulthood, my love of reading never failed, and I passed that love onto my children. So what’s your point, you might be asking? “You love to read. Great.” Throughout my years of mothering, I found that the kids (people) who say, “I hate reading,” struggle to read. And so begins a cycle of: reading is hard, so they don’t want to read, so they don’t learn to read better, so they hate reading because reading is hard, so they don’t want to read . . . and they fall further and further behind. Over 85% of a child’s curriculum is taught through reading. It is a crucial skill for every aspect of life — health, career, life skills — so it’s important to break that cycle. But how?
I had a piano teacher, Mr. Nielson, for one summer when I was about nine. He was a very elderly man who supposedly played with Liberace. He told my mother, “Teach your children to love the piano, and they will teach themselves to play.” I have always remembered that and recognize that it applies to many areas. If you want your child to be good readers, teach them to love stories and books. The more they read, the better they will be at it. They will teach themselves to read if they love a story.
Discovery
A fifteen-year-old foster child came into my home. He was in 8th grade and read at a 2nd grade level. Needless to say, he hated reading. I took him to the reading tutor I’d used for my youngest son who had a reading disability. In the evenings, I pulled out my two copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He held one, and I held the other. I read and he followed along as best he could. In the first chapter he stopped me numerous times.
“That’s not in the movie!” he’d exclaim.
“I know! That’s what so great about books. You get more details than they can put in the movie. Let’s keep going.” And he was hooked. He eventually read every single Harry Potter book. His reading level quickly grew. A kid who had doubts he’d graduate from 8th grade excelled and graduated from high school. I’m forever grateful to a wonderful friend who taught me (and many many children) the Spalding Method of reading. There are many resources for tutoring, at all price ranges. Talk to your child’s teacher about IXL, an online program many schools use.
Read . . . Read . . . Read
Read to your children. Let them see you reading. Read out loud — at home, in the car, on vacation. Read the cereal box, the billboards, from your phone or computer. Read everything.
If you struggle to read, your reading will improve as you continually “practice”. Don’t feel embarrassed to read out loud to your children. It is a great way to improve your reading and theirs. Take turns reading out loud to each other. You take a sentence or paragraph, and they take a sentence or paragraph.
Libraries have options now to check out audiobooks online. One great way for adults and kids alike to practice reading is to read along with an audiobook. You can learn pronunciation as well as expression. Once you’ve fostered your own love of reading, you can pass it on for generations.
I love reading to my grandchildren and giving them books for Christmas. My four-year-old grandson goes to the library with me every chance we get. We make an afternoon of it. Library, ice cream cone, and sometimes the park. You can’t buy those memories.
Not only will reading together create fun memories, but it will create a love of reading that will serve them (and you) in every aspect of their lives.
You might also like
- The Importance of Reading to Your Children by all4kids.org
- 10 Staggering Truths About Struggling Readers and Reading Growth weareteachers.com
- Ten top tips for reading to your children and how to engage them as they get older thegaurdian.com
Your Turn
Do you love reading? Why or why not? Do you have a favorite place to read? Are you reading to your kids or grandchildren now? Do you have any fun traditions you have with reading. There’s no doubt that I drather b reading more than anything else.
I didn’t realize I had a reading disorder until i reached adulthood. Its nothing severe but i realized letters would jumble in words randomly and i would get lost visually when reading more advanced literature. I think the reason this disorder didn’t become apparent to me until later was because i grew up in a household that loved reading. My siblings loved reading. My mom loves reading. So I picked books up with the same enthusiasm. I think, with the amount of reading i did, it helped me overcome my initial difficulties allowing me to excel in reading through schooling.
In adulthood, i naturally began to read less and my skill degraded. I began reading again and noticed my difficulties. As now I read more those struggles become less and infrequent. My love for reading become stronger. A positive cycle. I agree whole heartedly. “Teach your children to love the piano, and they will teach themselves to play.”
I also love the piano quote. It’s super true in my little family. I have three young girls and a little boy and we can sit for hours and read stories especially in the summertime. Last summer I timed our sessions. We easily hit between 1-3 hours a day. No need for shows when reading like that happens. My girls never tire of it and I know Clark will grow into a boy who loves it as well. I actually was just thinking today how I needed to regroup to help my oldest catch on better. She has autism and is 7. My 2nd is reading really well at age 5. I realize that lately in my home school for my 7 yr old, I’m expecting her to do most the reading for me or with me…she is loosing steam and missing her passed enjoyment. So today I stepped back and went back to the “grab whatever books off our selves. I will read the harder ones and you can read the easier ones.” Her excitement quickly renewed, and we easily read 20 books in a row. And she had the stamina to read about 4 easier ones to me because I was reading harder ones to her and breaking up the time she was expected to read. Reading should be about bonding and should be about a good time. My girls have always understood that reading is super important. Their whole life I’ve had students come to my home to learn to read. I love helping kids figure it out. When I used to be a elementary teacher, it was so magical having first graders go from non-readers to independent readers. When it clicks it is just so amazing to watch the transformation kids go through. Their joy and self-confidence just blossoms. Reading really is so big and affects every aspect of our lives and our confidence going forward as we conquer other hard things. Thanks for your insights Irene you are amazing.