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I have many positive memories of reading books as a young child. My mom would read to my brother and me every day. In fact, my mom would change the story while she read it…we had no idea at the time because we didn’t know how to read. One night, my grandparents were over our house and we chose a book for our grandmother to read to us. She started reading and we said, “Wait, that’s not how the story goes!” My grandmother was confused by this statement. That’s when we found out my mom liked to change the story. We grew to enjoy reading and would spend most of our days reading books rather than watching TV. I remember many summer afternoons laying in a tent or on a towel in our backyard reading a Nancy Drew mystery book or reading “Little House on the Prairie” to my stuffed animals and dolls. In the summer, my mom, brother and I would take bike rides to the local library and pick out books each week. We also participated in summer reading activities at the library. Now that I am the mother to a 4-month old daughter, I want to share this love of reading with her. So I realized this week that I need to “Turn off the TV and read a book!”
Yesterday was Dr. Seuss’ birthday and is also celebrated as National Read Across America Day. The National Education Association dubbed March 2nd as National Read Across America Day in 1998. Since that year, there have been numerous reading celebrations hosted in schools all across the country. According to the National Education Association (2002-2015), “Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers.” As an elementary teacher of English language learners (ELLs), I know how important it is, and how hard it can be, to motivate children to read. Dr. Seuss motivated children to read with his silly made-up words, rhyming stories and memorable characters. Who doesn’t love Thidwick the moose or the Star-Belly Sneetches? You can’t forget about the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax! His books excite the imagination and make reading fun for children!
This morning, I pulled the Dr. Seuss stories off my daughter’s shelf and chose to start our day with reading a book rather than sitting on the couch watching morning TV. I surrounded her with Dr. Seuss books 🙂 We read “Green Eggs and Ham”, which is definitely a classic Dr. Seuss story! I enjoyed reading every word on each page and immersing my daughter in the rhythmic sound of the words. I watched as my daughter focused on the illustrations as I turned each page. She would reach out and touch the pages of the book too! Even though she can’t understand the words yet, she is listening to my voice and taking in the experience of reading a book together!
Here are some links to articles about reading aloud to your baby:
- http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/reading-babies.html#
- http://www.parents.com/baby/development/intellectual/benefits-of-reading-to-your-newborn/?slideId=51328
- http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-milestones/baby-language-development-milestones/baby-reading
In the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” What are your favorite stories to read with your children? How do you celebrate and develop a love for reading in your home? Share a reading memory you have in the comments!
