When Ethan was young,
I'd read aloud to him
all the time.
We'd read at bedtime.
We'd read during dinner.
We'd read at the airport.
He loved books
and devoured them.
Then Ethan learnt to read.
And,
as we all know,
children should read everyday.
Slowly,
my reading to Ethan stopped
as he would read to himself.
It was gradual.
Bedtime readings became him reading to me
most nights,
with me reading to him
some nights.
We would share read.
I'd read a page,
he'd read a page.
It was great seeing him grow as a reader.
I was/am so proud,
I forgot how important it was to read to him.
During Kindergarten and Grade 1,
Ethan began to love non-fiction books.
It was great seeing him
choose a genre on his own.
He then discovered graphic novels.
He loves these,
and cannot get enough.
His friends are reading Harry Potter
and Percy Jackson,
and while Ethan loves these,
he finds the size of the books
and the long chapters daunting.
He prefers his graphic novels.
And I'm ok with that.
Then I discovered Tashi.
Tashi's adventures involve
cheekiness, cleverness,
a sense of adventure
and a love of storytelling and
tall tales.
Each Tashi book
contains 2 short,
self-contained stories.
It's a series I thought Ethan would enjoy.
So I brought the first book home.
Ethan seemed keen.
He looked it over.
And put it on the table.
Where it sat for a few days.
Finally,
I asked Ethan if he wanted me to take it back to school.
Instead he asked if I would read it to him.
Being the teacher I am,
I took it as an opportunity
to share one book with Ethan,
and then direct him to the library
where he could read the rest on his own.
We loved the first book!
We laughed and talked
and made predictions.
It was fantastic.
Best of all,
Ethan asked if I could bring home the
second book.
Here's the thing;
on the way home from school,
Ethan started reading the second book
on his own.
But I wanted to know what happened!
That night,
Ethan asked if I could read him the book.
We're on book 3 now.
And I love reading to him.
Reading aloud to children
of all ages
is important.
But somewhere,
we forget that.
We know our children should be reading
everyday,
and while we make sure they do their reading
we forget to spend time
reading to them.
Adult-child shared book reading
involves more than just reading.
It also involves talking
about the books
as well as other topics.
So,
thank you Tashi,
for reminding me of the importance
of reading to my child
everyday.
