My boys love books. They come by it very naturally, though. My mom, sister and I can tune out the world when we are in the middle of a good book. My grandma was the same way. I love seeing my boys carrying on this love of reading. At any time you can find Zachary reading about space or Pokemon, Ryan reading about anything science or Joshua looking at books with dogs. All three prefer to read encyclopedias and non-fiction but will read a good fiction book on their favorite topic on occasion.
Last week was book order week at our house. Ryan and Joshua get Scholastic Book Club order forms once a month. Let me just say that I don't care how much money we don't have I will still order books. I would give up eating - just myself, no one else - for a few days to have enough money to buy books for my boys. Scholastic has some good deals on their forms - $1 books. Most of the time I can find a $1 book to buy for one of my boys or to use with school. I honestly try not to get carried away with the book orders and always have a limit. But sometimes the books are just so good. I've tried to find a 12 step program for this behavior but so many people think reading and books are good things!
Anyway, last week we got the books we ordered at the beginning of February. Ryan had his Reptile True and False book memorized the next day. Joshua was excited to get a book about ducks and hugs - two of his favorite things. I think I ordered 6 or 7 books for about $20. I try to order one or two books for each boy and then I usually find a good book for school. You just can't beat the $1 book on the life cycle of chickens or the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly.
Today Ryan's class had a field trip to the library. We don't go to the library all that often because Mama can't remember to get the books back by the due date. Judging by the look on Ryan's face when he saw all the books he could read without having to ask Mama for money, I think we'll be going more frequently. Ryan got his first library card today - I was so proud. He checked out a book in the Andrew Lost series (by J.C. Greenberg) and an DK discovery book about Epidemics. He thought about a book on Lyme Disease and one on Smallpox but decided a book covering more germs would suit his needs better. He was nice enough to check out a book about the movie Bolt for his brother. If the school would have been just a few more minutes away from the library he would have had the book on germs read from cover to cover. It baffles my mind that he is already so interested in germs.
I totally love the fact that my kids like to read and that 2 of them are already good readers. It makes homeschooling easier, that's for sure. It also opens their minds to so many different things. They get to use their imaginations and "see" the story in their heads. I like that they like to read non-fiction and learn things. Although I love to read and always have I did not like the books that were chosen for me to read when I was in school. I just did not see the point to many of them, especially the "novels" we had to read. I didn't like dry textbooks. Neither do my boys. Being able to allow them to read exciting books about sometimes boring topics is just one more reason I love homeschooling.
We still read to our boys at night. They each get to chose a short story or a few pages from a longer book. If they do not cooperate during the bedtime routine, they lose their story at bedtime. It breaks my heart when I have to take this privelege away. Tonight I got to read from the Bolt book to Joshua and a chapter from Zachary's new Pokemon book. Daddy got to read about bacteria and epidemics to Ryan, who already knew most of what he was hearing. Zachary and Joshua usually fall asleep right away after their story but Ryan will stay up reading. He'll yell facts about whatever topic is in his book to me - "Mom, did you know that an anaconda can be 35 feet long?" More than once I have found him asleep with a book on his chest.
Ryan's school has a one on one reading program in their kindergarten program. Parents volunteer to spend about 1/2 an hour helping the kids learn how to read. There are different levels, starting with letter recognition and ending with early readers. I have enjoyed being able to help with this program. I have worked with different levels and it always excites me to see the look on a child's face when they master a concept, especially reading. All of the kids are so excited to learn how to read or to improve their skills. Because of this I am entertaining the idea of going back to school to become a reading specialist. I would love to learn more about teaching children how to read. Zachary and Ryan picked it up so easily and I really didn't have to "teach" them anything. Joshua is heading on the same path. Some children need the teaching part and I would love to learn effective methods so I can help others learn to read. Just something to think about.
As you can see, reading and books play a big part in our family life. Chris and I spend our date nights perusing bookstores (not all the time!). He holds my hands - not because he is being romantic but because he knows I will buy something if my hands are free. My boys are the same way. I am happy. I am not sure what I would do with a reluctant reader. Reading can always be taught but I believe the love of reading is something that is within a person. Sometimes - it takes a while for that love to be found.
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