Sheila's Books Read

Sheila's bookshelf: read

The Best Intentions
Scotland's Melody
The Secret Society of Salzburg
Secret of the Sonnets
20-40-60-Minute Dinners: Meals to Match the Time You Have
Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild
Secret Santa Claus Club: A Tool to Help Parents Unwrap the Secret of Santa
Mr. Pudgins
Revenge Never Rests
The Best Mistake
Meriden Park
More Inspirational Stories for Young Women
The Great Tree: A Christmas Fable
To Capture His Heart
The Call of the Sea
Esperance
Livvy and the Enchanted Woodland
Come, Gentle Night
The Bad Boy Theory
Guide To Smart Wedding Planning: What You want to know and everything you haven't thought of yet.


Sheila's favorite books »

2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Sheila has read 4 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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Monday, April 6, 2009

My Favorite Place...Besides Home



Where is my favorite place besides home...well, it would have to be two places, the library and a bookstore. I had an amazing moment on Saturday. I took my kids with me to purchase a present at a bookstore.

So many times when you go shopping with children it is, well to put it bluntly, a nightmare. You get the common phrases of, "Why do we have to go here?" and "Is it time to go yet?" or "I am hungry/tired/bored" and don't forget, "I need to go to the bathroom". Happily, on Saturday, I heard none of those, except, "I have to go to the bathroom" and that one was easily taken care of. The amazing part of this shopping trip occurred after we had been there for about 20 minutes. Off in my own literary world, sucking in the glorious vibes of the many books surrounding me, I looked over at my children. There they were, in the corner of the bookstore, surrounded with a large pile of books. They both were totally engrossed in the wonderful world of reading. They also were happily sharing with each other pages they had found in the respective books they had been reading.

I stood there with a huge smile on my face. I felt very proud and thought... I am raising readers. They were just as happy as I was to spend a good deal of time in a book store. For me, this is genuine success. If we look around our world we function best if we can read. You need to be able to read so you can shop, drive, pay bills and basically take an active part in society. Most jobs in the real world require employees to read something during the work day. In my job, of course, as a teacher I am teaching children how to read every day.

Another part of reading, is not just reading words, it is the enjoyment of the act. I love to read! There is a quote that I love...

"A reader is not supposed to be aware that someones written the story. He's supposed to be completely immersed, submerged in the environment.
" Jack Vance


Ask anyone that knows the true me, this quote describes me quite well. I become completely immersed in a story and it feels so good to be taken away.

Another aspect of reading that I love is always finding something that is written that is applicable to me or something in my life.

"Every reader finds himself. The writer's work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself. "
Marcel Proust


How can we raise a reader? The most important thing is to read to our children. This needs to be done from a very early age. Make this a nighttime ritual. I was raised with a Mom reading to me and my siblings at night. She introduced us to many wonderful novels in this format. We would all be lying around our living room while our Mother read aloud to us. I have also enjoyed the quite moments at night, snuggling up with my kids on the couch, reading to them their favorite books.

The next thing that is vital to this process of raising readers is, you need to show them that reading is important to you. I don't think that there has ever been a time when my kids have not seen me with a book in front of my face or under my arm. They know that this is an important part of my quiet time that is important to my sanity(and to help them have a happy Mom). If they do not see you reading, they will not see the importance or the value of reading. Our children look to us for guidance: how to dress, what to eat, how to speak and what to do with our free time. Don't be afraid to show your children that reading is important to you.

At school in my 2nd grade class, I bring my novels and read them during Silent Reading Time. It is so tempting to be correcting papers or busily doing something else in the classroom while my students are reading; but I don't. I read, and tell them that I don't wish to be disturbed during my reading time. I have stressed to them how important reading is to me and why it also should be important to them. Since the beginning of the year, when we started SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), you would be amazed at my class. If you walk into my classroom, you will find a group of 2nd graders, not making a sound, deeply engrossed in their own books. Our examples as adults can prove to be a powerful tool in influencing children to jump into the wonderful world of reading.

"It distresses me that parents insist that their children read or make them read. The best way for children to treasure reading is to see the adults in their lives reading for their own pleasure." Kate DiCamillo


Next, make books available to your children. The best place in the world to accomplish this is the public library. You can check out books for free and have a wide variety of books available. Buy inexpensive books through book clubs at school, such as Scholastic Book Club. Find some families in the neighborhood to trade books with. There are many second hand stores that also sell books very inexpensively.


"I had a very wise mother. She always kept books that were my grade level in our house.
" Beverly Cleary


As I started this blog telling you about my children I will also end this blog post the same way: the moment at the bookstore discovering my children reading a pile of books. I finished my shopping and browsing through the many aisles of books and told my children that it was time to go. They both looked up at me and said, "Aw Mom, not yet. I am just getting into this book." I also heard,"I just have a few more pages Mom". I smiled even more, as I recognized the lines they were quoting to me, those are words that have often crossed my lips. They now have become a part of my children's repertoire' in speaking of their own reading habits. A job well done!

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful post, Sheila! Those are some great tips for raising readers, and I can just feel the pride in you when you described how your kids begged you to let them keep reading. I'm passing this around to some colleagues here to check out.

    --Tyler Reed
    Scholastic

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  2. What a great post. I wish every parent could read this and realize that the greatest gift you can give your child is the love of reading. Well done!

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  3. Thank you Tyler and Michelle. Reading has always been such a passion of mine. I feel that this is why I enjoy teaching reading so much.

    Thanks to both of you for visiting my blog and responding.

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  4. I couldn't agree more, reading to your kids is vital. My youngest loves to take the book after I've read it to him and "read" it back to me (he doesn't say many real words yet, but he sure likes to tell a story). He loves to turn the pages and point to the pictures.

    I'm convinced that reading to my kids not only gave them a love for reading, but also helped them to improve their own reading skills--most of them have entered school reading 2-5 years above their grade level.

    Great post!

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  5. Thanks for this post! I really needed to read this!

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  6. Wow Rebecca good for you and your kids! That is very impressive!!

    Kersten thanks so much for visiting my blog! I must read your new book. I think it would be so applicable in my life right now. :)

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  7. Love it Sheila! It was fun to see you today. Hope you are enjoying the new look.

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  8. You did a great job Laurel. Yes I do love it a lot!! Thanks!

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