Knowledge is power...

My boys love books, books about all things, and of every level. Caleb will read through with a voracious appetite for content. What we noticed about all of the boys though is that reading was starting to not be fun anymore, we couldn't figure out why. We ordered book order from school, went to the book store. They pick the books they wanted to read. So then came report card time. Their reading levels came in and I thought "good, they both moved up" what I didn't realize was that although they moved up, the books they were reading were not appropriate for them. They were reading way above or way below their reading level, depending on the child.

I was now on a mission. We tore through the book shelves, reorganized the books, placed them by level and content and made it so that they could easily access the just right for them books, and would know how to ask for help with the others. This has been a step, but it isn't enough. When I was driving to Cambridge yesterday I had asked Steve to read me questions from my abnormal psychology workbook in preparation for my exam last night. He had trouble with a few of the words because they were technical, and he didn't know them. He said sorry, he didn't understand the words spelling to phonics. My response was "you shouldn't! If you haven't heard a word while you see it you wouldn't know how to say it." Lightbulb!

When the boys were babies, I read to them every night. Books of all shapes and sizes and over and over we would read the same books. I realized that as they learned to read, I stopped reading to them. I can own this misstep, but now, how to fix it?

I stopped at the bookstore today, and I purchased a new book for each of the boys, not one they asked for, not one they can read themselves, but a book that I would like to read to them. And so, I now begin a quest to read to them daily. It may not be too late, and to be honest with school work and volunteer commitments, I very often do not read enough myself.

Here's to happy reading!

Shel Silverstein

I am so in love with Shel Silverstein! There, I said it. I am just saying, I know, I know, some of what he writes doesn't even make sense, sometimes! I just love that when I read it with the boys, they ask question they laugh, and they are involved. When else can you look at your child and say "what did that say?" And have them say "I don't get it either." And then, you laugh, out loud, because it is so funny that it isn't funny at times. And his pictures, he could care less if you like what he writes, look at him....come on, go take a look at that book on your bookshelf, no, not the illustrations, the back cover....yeah, I know, he looks like you just walked in on his party! That is because he does not care, he writes because he loves it, and that shows in the infectious nature of his work.
OK, rant over!
And no, for disclosure purposes, I am not being paid for my endorsement. Howevet, if you are looking for one of his books, look here: