My daughters have not outgrown being read to.
We share the latest chapter in our latest chapter book every night.
My husband and I take turns. (He sometimes cheats and reads ahead after the girls go to bed.)
We take the books camping and on road trips and on airplanes.
We have a list of the ones next in line.
Often we’re all on the couch together.
Sometimes my Small One is doing handstands while she listens; sometimes, she knits.
The cats are there, too.
If the phone rings, we let it ring.
Nightly, when we finish, the girls beg for me.
Nightly, we give in.
But that’s not even what I’m grateful for today, if you can believe it.
Nope. I’m grateful for the fact that my daughters’ teachers know they haven’t outgrown being read to.
As third and fifth graders, they are read to every single day in school.
Tall One’s teacher is currently trying to finish The Tapestry before winter break; Small One’s teacher is a Bill Wallace fan.
They’ve built in their classrooms a culture of books, discussion, prediction, emotion, and passion.
They’ve established "reading for pleasure" as a priority.
They’ve helped recreate that intimacy that often only happens at home and, all too often, with much younger children.
For that I am grateful and so, I know, are the eight- and eleven-year-olds listening…
Just ordered the 1st Tapestry book from the library. Seems a bit Percy Jackson-ish, which means Mary and I will love it. Did your girls read Holes? Did they know there’s a sequel called Small Steps?
jen
I loved Holes but haven’t read Small Steps…
S’s English teacher last year still read aloud to the class. And S is now a junior in high school. Hooray for teachers like that!
Oh, that REALLY gives me hope for the future….
So jealous. I hope Piper ends up with a teacher like that. So far, it’s a no-go.
I love that you let the phone ring. Smart.
Jules
7-Imp
Crossing fingers that Piper’s next year teacher is a reader alouder!!!
Tanita Says 🙂
When I was a kid, the only thing that stopped our household with so much silence like that — no phones, no visits, no interruptions — was my father reading the Bible to us. We weren’t necessarily quiet because we wanted to be! I imagine that being allowed to do a handstand or knit as you chose would enhance story hour even more. How lovely.
Re: Tanita Says 🙂
The Bible. That’s some serious reading aloud…
Handstanding seemed like a distraction at first but I get it now…
I can always tell when the teachers are reading chapter books to their classes because the kids come sneaking in to get the books so they can read ahead of the class, which I just love.
Oooo, those little sneaks!
I don’t think I would’ve become a writer if my dad hadn’t read out loud to me. My husband read the entire Lord of the Rings aloud to our kids, if you can believe that—and Watership Down.
It seems to me that reading out loud takes all the stress out of reading for kids who are struggling, adds in a social element of shared delight, and is all around, one of the best things in the universe. 🙂
The entire Lord of the Rings.
I’m tired…