Link up at www.twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. We are so grateful for this community.
Alright, I missed yesterday. Shoot! Black Hawk was Amazing at our local venue! You know...the country band from the 90s...
The hubs had a blast, so did I. We hadn't had an outing like that in almost 2 years we figured. So when I got home, I need to just face plant. Because hey, I was a teacher out on a Friday night until 11:30 PM...who stood at a concert for 3 hours!
So today was quiet. After waking up from a nap, we took our youngest to the library. We usually have older brother with us, so this was a treat for us. We've tried lots of things to help him grow as a reader. Because you see, he Can read. He just Doesn't read. Which is a balance for us. We don't want to force feed it, but it's what we do in our family. So we've always had a read aloud at night. And sometimes I have had to insist on the 20 minutes. Any reading, 20 minutes.
Now that he's a second grader, he's finding his way as a reader. I had a chance to watch him carefully today with Teacher-Mom eyes. And I learned some things about him today that might help if you are helping to grow any readers:
1. He needs time to linger. His big bro knows what he likes. His Big Bro is in and out of the library with a stack before you can say 40BookChallenge. I learned today if I encourage him to look at books he will.
2. He likes to feel accomplished as a reader. Graphic novels, pictures books, high interest non fiction. This is what we left with today. He was proud to say he checked out 19 of our 20 books. (I picked up a cookbook on authentic Mexican cooking!) Here's his book stack...
3. He wants to read. We need to give him time to do that without forcing it or feeling rushed. We can work on this as a family.
What is your favorite thing to do to Grow a reader?
Joy!
Kendra
Kendra
I think you wrote this post to me. My youngest daughter sounds just like your son. And honestly I'm a terrible teacher momma. Our middle daughter LOVES Big Nate. She's moved on to Bad Guys now. Thanks for the tips. :)
ReplyDeleteKendra, I'm glad you commented. I din't know you were writing for SOLC. There are so many, it's hard to find thoseI know! As for your growing a reader, I think giving time is a good too. Each reader is so different! It looks like your son is on his way!
ReplyDeleteModeling your reading life is number one! This is the most fun because it gives you a concrete excuse to sit down and read! Always looking for books to recommend is another tip I would give to you. My daughters are all readers in different ways. Even though the reading demands of school often overtake their joy for reading as they get into their teen years, giving books and book gift cards as gifts is always helpful. I feel just as strongly about growing artists as I do growing readers. So between books and art supplies, there isn't a birthday that goes by full of these tools!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful things you do to help reading grow in your family! Enjoyed reading what you noticed about your second-grader.
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