The Joy of Reading
I love real books. I admit it. Reading is not the same on a screen as it is with a book in hand. I like to page back to previous passages. I like to make notes and underline special parts. I like to shove one in my purse and know that it is in there waiting for me. Books have been my friends, my teachers and my adventures. I like the way books feel in my hand, and I always have.
When we would go to visit my grandparents in their little town in southwest Georgia, I would end up spending most days reading with my grandma. My dad and brother would go bird hunting with my grandpa and my mom would be off visiting her childhood friends. I preferred my time with Grandma. Reading with her was special… and the time she gave me made me feel loved. After lunch the house would finally get quiet and she would help me pick out a book. When I was really little she would read it with me. I was so proud the first time I had my own chapter book and could read all by myself, sitting at one end of her big couch while she sat at the other. She had long legs with polished toe nails and I remember trying to curl my legs up on the couch just like she did. The time would pass with only the sound of our turning pages. I would occasionally ask her the meaning of a word and sometimes she would tell me about the places she was visiting in her books. She read romances, so I would secretly watch her face to see if I could tell when she would get to the kissing parts. After a while, she would get us each an icy Coca Cola and we would have a little talk about what we were reading. She was always interested in my books and talked to me like I was a grown up and had something of value to say. The time she invested in me and in reading with me made me love it.
Later, as my children got to be school aged, afternoon nap time became reading and journaling time. The books were passed down and became something that the children all had in common and something we could all talk about. The little notes they made on the edges of the pages made their sibling laugh and connect to their younger selves. My kids are mostly grown now and still jokingly complain about their childhood reading hours. I am proud to say they are all readers, although none of them love it like I do. It really isn’t their fault though, they didn’t get to have Grandma at the other end of that long couch.
Please read with, and to, your children, no matter their age. You will give them broader horizons and deeper roots.
Blessings to you and your families,
Suzanne and the SEALKIDS Team
Related Articles:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/16/health/child-brain-reading-books-wellness/index.html
https://hechingerreport.org/evidence-increases-for-reading-on-paper-instead-of-screens/
Free books for pre-K children: