A Reader, Let's Hope!

Every parent wants her child to fall in love with reading.  Especially me--but I think 66% of that hope is for selfish reasons.  First, I never really enjoyed reading myself.  In elementary school, I always viewed myself as a slow reader, so this affected my confidence and enjoyment.  The only time I remember truly craving books is when I became addicted to the Baby Sitters' Club series back in the late 80s when Ann M. Martin started writing them.  I stopped reading them, though, upon entry into junior high, when I became embarrassed about liking the juvenile books.  Over the next decade, I plugged through class-assigned literature, often skimming or just skipping to the end in order to make the "due by" date for discussion or test.   I didn't find books to "enjoy" until after college, when I became a 2nd grade teacher who all of a sudden needed to "enjoy" reading in order to motivate students to read.  The world of picture books opened up to me: the text is much shorter, the message a bit more obvious, and, of course, how could I miss the beautiful illustrations?  Just check out one of Cynthia Rylant's newer books,  Long Night Moon, which is lovely in its poetic voice and artwork:

In my "round two" of elementary school (oh, and first taste of grad school), I, Ms. McCoy also learned how to read all over again.  I found that simple metacognition really can increase one's understanding and enjoyment of text--being aware of what your mind can do and think while  (not just after) you're reading words can bring meaning to print, whether you're 8 or 31.  Which brings me to my second selfish reason for wanting Caleb to become a reader: I admit my feeling, since his mother has her masters in reading, that he should become a reader.  If I have all the "theory" in my bag, surely my own son could become a success.  (I'm sounding so full of myself right now, but at least I can be honest about these selfish thoughts.  I know reality will hit me when I realize that my son, too, like every one of my students, is an individual who has different learning needs and styles!!)

Lastly (and this one's actually for Caleb)--isn't it absolutely wonderful to be an avid reader?  (Those of you out there who actually are avid readers will have to back me

 up on this one---I can only claim what I think it might be like!)  Just look at what fun he's having already---monkey Caleb and Curious George are best buds!  We are sure to check out one of H.E. Rey's  Curious George books each library visit.  Last week's was the one with the pancakes. Over Christmas was, of course, Merry Christmas, Curious George, read with Uncles Steve and David.  Daddy Keith has always enjoyed reading, and he's looking forward to the day when he can read chapter books such as the Chronicles of Narnia and Hatchet to Caleb.  I think of how fortunate Caleb is to be able to grow up in an environment surrounded by print--so many children today do not have that privilege.