I was born into a family of educators. They introduced books and reading to me from the very get-go and instilled the love of reading and reading to learn. I have always loved books and I can easily lose track of all time and place when lost amongst the bookshelves of libaries and bookstores.
Now I write grants for various non-profits and study the research behind the value of literature-based learning creating a lifelong love of books (and eBooks) and reading.
Did you know that reading levels the academic playing field for all children regardless of what statistical group they fall under (gender, class, race, working parents, single parents , English as a second language families)?
Daily time spent reading aloud to a child is one of the rare methods in education with positive results based not only on theory but in reality as well. Jim Trelease, famed author of The Read Aloud Handbook, has compiled research on the benefits, rewards and importance of reading aloud. His beleif is that by helping children discover the joys of reading, sets them on the road to success and becoming lifelong readers. He stresses that it is imperative that someone reads to your kids at least 15 minutes EVERY DAY - at home and away (school).
Children who are read to assoicate reading with pleasure - a necessary ingredient for developing a lifelong love of reading.
Other benefits that Jim has established include: increased vocabulary, improved problem-solving and attention spans, stimluated imagination, improved self-esteem and leads to academic success all leading to a higher quality of life as an adult.
My mom was a kindergarten teacher when I birthed her first grandchild. She gifted us with amazing literature and pointed me to all the best in pre-primary reading opportunities. She shared that as a teacher there was nothing that she would rather have parents do with their children than to read aloud on a regular basis. I quickly learned that as a parent, there was nothing that I would rather do than spend time reading to my children.
I made it a point to dedicate daily time every night before bed as part of our evening ritual to read books out loud to my kids. Picture books morphed into easy readers/emergent reading books and quickly moved into intermediate chapter books. Now we read books as a family that have large appeal but definitely can't be finished in an evening. It's much more difficult to carve time to read out loud now that my kids have expectations to read their own individual books, often selected by a teacher, not to mention the homework that eats into our evenings together.
However, literacy expert Jim Trelease emphasizes that, One factor hidden in the decline of student’s recreational reading is that it coincides with a decline in the amount of time adults read to them. By middle school, almost no one is reading aloud to students. If each read-aloud is a commercial for the pleasures of reading, then a decline in advertising would naturally be reflected in a decline in students’ recreational reading.”
My kids still love our time spent reading together. At the beginning of summer, I check out a variety of books from the library. Under a blanket of secrecy, I read the first chapter or an excerpt from each book. Everyone gets to vote for two or three of the books. Typically, one book stands out from the rest and we pick that as our first summer family read-aloud.
Here are some past favorites:
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz - a huge hit and came highly recommended via a high school teacher friend.
Anything written by Peg Kehret, especially, Stolen Children, Runaway Twin, and Escaping the Giant Wave.
The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain - we couldn't put it down while on vacation and ended up staying up really late to finish it.
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman - this was a little scary for our youngest two (when they were 10) but our entire family loved this book. We had a hard time putting it down each night!
According to a 1985 Commission Report on Becoming a Nation of Readers, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. “
Youth who read the most, also read the best, achieve the most and stay in school the longest. Reading lights a fire and enthusiasm for learning.
My own favorite personal inspiration for reading aloud and igniting the love of reading, (besides my family members) comes from author,Esme Jaji Codell, of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading and wrote "By reading aloud I have confidence that I am giving children a great and lasting tool as they enter the wilderness of adulthood. A love of reading and a strong ability to read can be a compass leading children to the information they need to survive or live better, and leading them to a view of themselves and others that reaches toward the horizon....I do think that anyone who consistently reads aloud to a child can be assured that on some level they are giving a child that best that can be offered..."
What more do you need then that kind of inspiration?
Each night I get the chance to cuddle up with my kids, with a book ready to transport us to another reality, is such a source of joy and truly the best part of my day.
