Friday, April 5, 2013

Story Time!


This "poster" was on Facebook this week, through a friend that
works for Usborne Books
(in fact Maggie is having a party tonite, if you'd like to 
order any books, I'm sure you can through her)

I read this and totally agree.
I have been thinking about it every day since.
a lot.
I'd like to say that all my daycare children,
when I did daycare before I had my own children,
all got at least 20 minutes per day of being read to.

And
My first born son got over 20  minutes per day of being read to.
He started reading dictionaries at age 4
(I'm not exaggerating)
He'd bring me piles of books, as many as he could carry in his little
1 1/2 year old hands, it was so cute!
And I had so much time to accommodate him



I'd also like to add that 
my 2nd child also got read to, for maybe at least 10  minutes per day,
not because I didn't have the time, 
but because she was not a "sit down" type of child.
She never walked, she ran!
 She started reading chapter books by Kindergarten.
Then, my 3rd child came along
She didn't like books at all.
She liked to be busy,
she had no time to sit and read with mama! 
She still does not like to read
and it shows. 
She's in 2nd grade and she struggles with reading.

My 4th child--very much like the 3rd child,
she likes stories, but gets bored quickly and quite often leaves in the middle of the strory!!
(this is the child who mixes every type of toy and plays, 
you know, puzzle pieces with a puppy and a dinosaur and maybe a Barbie leg)

My 5th child, (Sweetie  Pie) loves books!! 
Yay!
When I was pregnant with her, 
every time I'd read to the other kids,
she would kick like crazy! 
When she came out, she'd sit through any type of story, even big kid
chapter books, she loved to hear my voice!

She's 3
I'm hoping there is still time

Because, see, it's not all that simple.
Read 20 minutes per day to your child(ren)

Sounds simple, right?

Many days, at the end of the day,
I've not read to them, or it's been the 5 minute thing...

Mama guilt.
I love to read to them,
So, why is so often so hard to fit it in?

Oh, there's lots of reasons, 
I get very sleepy when I sit down and actually stop moving
There's a ton of interruptions
There's different age levels and types of books each one likes
When I'm ready, they are busy, or when they are ready, I'm busy.

My daily goal is to read to them, and with them,
the 4 youngest, every day, for at least 20 minutes.

Simeon came along and has grown to love books!
(never kicked in my womb while I read out loud) 
He loves to read one book, over and over and over.
Doesn't matter which book it is, each time though, it's one book.
   These are a favorite in our house, 
But beware, if you open one of these, 
you will need to stay for all 6 stories!  
Which takes care of my 20 minutes! 

I really believe in reading and teaching kids to love books, 
I think if you can read, 
You can do anything
and
things are just easier.

For an inspirational story about learning to read, 


15 comments:

  1. Your Diet Coke photo bombed the last pic!!! I get into the photobomb thing now.

    I read to my first born a zillion times a day. For sure 30 mins EVERY night before bed. He hates reading. My second son...that is all he does.

    Not sure why that turned out that way.

    Like you, I need to find time during the day for Ava, because at night it is impossible with so much going on.

    I actually have gotten a little selfish the past couple of years because when I find the time..I READ.

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    1. Isn't photobombing when you put something into the picture via technology? I didn't put anything anywhere.

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    2. yah..techno stuff being put in a pic. counts but also something or someone jumping into the pic. I agree..the coke was just sitting there...but it photobombed your books! do you like the photobomb stuff?? or do you think it is goofy? cause I wont say that anymore if it bugs ya..or maybe I will.HA.

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  2. Great post, Jamie Jo! This pic floated around our school district quite often from the Language Arts department. And there's so much truth to it as you've experienced...but there's also so much truth to what you shared about your kiddos and their different personalities and temperments.

    I was at a teaching summer conference and went to a reader's workshop session. We had this fantastic speaker who encouraged teachers to allow children during SSR (silent sustained reading) to ready anything anywhere. Well of course the old fossil (I'm kiddding!) gets up and says, "I only allow my students to read classic literature and at their seats. What should I do about the young man that keeps bringing comic books to school...he doesn't read anything else." Ummm...hello...were you listening to the speaker at all????!!!! The guy totally endorsed comic book reading and said that once the students tastes, experiences, reading level shifted he would begin to read other material, but for the love of pete...if he only wants to read comic books then let him!!!

    In addition, I just wanted to add (and I'm sure you know this as a homeschooling mama) that kids are never too old to be read out loud to. Perhaps during nap time or after the littles go to bed you can do read aloud with your older two. Reading out loud helps with fluency practice and hearing an accomplished reader read out loud helps with their fluency as well.

    But, like you said, there's just never enough hours in the day...*sigh* Mary Catherine and I have been stuck on Chapter 4 of Charlotte's Web for several weeks now! Thanks for the reminder!!!

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    1. That's funny what you said about the old fossil...so true, so many homeschoolers I meet only let their kiddos read "classics" Well...comics are classics too! My son reads just about every Star Wars book out there, and there's a lot, my husband reads them with him and on his own. They read outloud together almost every night, comic books!!! (my husband collects them!)

      My 5th grader though, I admit, I don't read outloud much with her. (she's the 10 minute kid) We used to.

      We'd get stuck like you in Charlotte's Web and never come back...did that with several books. I really like to do those Shel Silverstien poem books with the older kiddos, they love those!

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  3. Well you know I am going to agree with everything you said about reading! My older girl loves books, never was without one, and is now in middle management for a book company. My teen loved to be read to, but she was like your two in that she didn't like to sit still long enough to finish one. Now, she'll read books if they really intrigue her.

    Loved your pics- Sims is going to reading on his own before too long!

    And thank you for the shout out!!!

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  4. Oh...a subject near and dear to my heart...Reading!!! I LOVE to read...I am never without a book...or now my iPad...and my children are all the same. We can often be found sitting in the family room with our noses buried in our books.

    I remember reading Dr. Seuss to Madison when she was 2 months old! How enthusiastic we are as young mothers! Flynn is now OBSESSED with a Monsters Inc. book... It is realllllly looong!!! And we May Not Skip pages!!!! : )

    P.S. Love your pictures!!!

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  5. I LOVE to read. And I love to read to/with my girls. My older two love to read as well, and my younger two love to be read to! Yay! Thank you for sharing, because you're right, it's so important to make that time. Difficult sometimes, but important.

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  6. I think that the key is having time with books each day. There is only one of you and so many of them. Have one of the older kids read to (or look at and make up stories) the younger kids when you just can't find the time/energy to do it yourself.

    I really try to spend time with each of the kids individually each day. Honestly, it doesn't always happen. We do what we can do and try not to beat ourselves up about our shortcomings too much.

    Love that graphic you started out with. I'm showing that to my kids tomorrow!

    And my #7 - loves to chew on/eat books....what do you suppose that means?!

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  7. Finding time to read is hard. My oldest loves to read. He has read Huck Finn, Black Beauty all the Judy Blume books, Doctor Who, you name it, he'll read it. Cian on the other hand dislikes reading and it shows as well. Fionny is in Kindergarten and is reading really well with Bob Books.

    I agree it's hard to find time to read to everyone. All the interruptions from the kids, dogs and husband don't make it easy. By the end of the day, we're all so tired. It is important to make time though.

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  8. I love to see kids enjoying reading!

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  9. Great post and one that has really left me frustrated and guilt ridden this past year. For the first time ever, after having the last baby, I keep falling asleep while reading to the kids! "Mom, Mom, wake up. Finish!"

    My oldest loves to read and when he was a toddler he could sit for as long as my voice held up. While he did not read super early, he did go into fluently reading very easily. My second never wanted to sit still. He is now struggling with learning to read but he does finally like to listen to me read. Number three is closer to number two than one and now number four is much like my first. (It sure felt weird to number them like that!)

    I have such a hard time finding time to read with them. I make sure to spend time daily with my six year old as he's learning but now my three year old told me today she wants to learn the letters and sounds so she can read. My one year old is jealous of anyone else alone with mom. I do listen to my eight year old read aloud but now I am thinking of some days him reading to me and some days to the little ones and then having more assigned silent reading. I don't know. Lunch and breakfast are great times to read I have found. But only if I preplan meals and have eaten before the kids.

    Keep reading! Oh, and while I love the idea of being a snobbish book mom (hehe) I totally agree in allowing other material in just to get the kid excited and going on reading! I used to read anything. My brother only read sports illustrated. He struggled before and it wasn't until my parents tried a subscription to SI that he started to improve (and my parents didn't have money to splurge on magazines!).

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  10. This is a MOST excellent post, Jamie Jo! My kids seem to fall in line with your kids...likes and dislikes of reading. And my reasons for not being in the mood to read is so much like yours. You pointed out so many good things here...thanks for sharing and making me feel "normal".

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  11. Your post is very enlightening. Especially the statistics of the relationship between time spent reading and overall reading ability. I do think it does depend upon the child's temperament. Have you tried using audio books for your children who don't like to sit and listen? My son enjoys both reading and listening to audio books, and is a great reader.

    Don't feel guilty. Trying playing audio books in the background while your children are playing. It may draw them in to the story where they'll stop and pay attention.

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  12. Thank you for this post! I totally agree. Reading is essential. Thanks for reading to your kids and making them read!

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Thank you so much for stopping and commenting!