And when I close that One Book, you know the one- the best book you have read that year- I experience a profound feeling of loss. And this unshakeable suspicion that I will never again read something so good. That that was the last Great Book- it was that good, and I will never find another book that even comes close.
Of course you always find another good book later, but that feeling that that was the last best book is almost like a breakup! I think I actually experience a brief period of mourning!
A love of reading is subjective. I learned this by raising three kids. My oldest son loved reading most of his childhood but fell out of it for a while starting at about 4th grade. Just never "got into" something after that and adopted the attitude that reading was a chore, perhaps due to forced reading activities. Until he discovered The Vampires Assistant when he was 12 years old. He fell in love with that book, and subsequently all of Darren Shan's work. He consumed the Vampire series like air, and keeps re-reading them every so often to this day while he is awaiting Darren's newest book.
My middle son has not found his "Darren Shan" yet. He tries, we will go to the bookstore and he will search. Sometimes he finds something promising. But nothing has stuck. I have hope :)
And my youngest. Oh my baby boy. He has the greatest imagination of us all. But he fell victim and was warped by the timer and test driven public school system.
A terribly competitive child, Nik has to be the best in everything. US schools grade children using timed sessions in grades 1-3. Several students are taken out of class and brought to a special room and seated in front of a stack of copied papers. A teacher hands each child one page and says start and begins the stopwatch. The teacher then records how many words are read per minute.
This is a real thing, I am not even joking.
So in Niki's mind, reading faster equaled reading better, and "winning".
He actually won an award for being the fastest reader in his school.
A terrible side effect resulted from this speed reading competition. Nik stopped forming pictures about the story in his head. He stopped imagining the characters and settings.
Reading became all about the competition and how fast he could go.
Worst of all was Nik stopped liking it. Reading became work.
Never make reading (in itself) a graded competition. It can have negative consequences.
I did not like this but this was before I was in a position to work at home and homeschool him. In fact, this was one of the reasons, a small one, but a reason nonetheless.
I have helped him slow down a bit, and he imagines something from time to time, but unlearning (unschooling) is a tedious process. But we do make progress, and I have faith that with the foundation he was born with will help his love of reading and imagination stand strong once again.
I had always assumed my boys would acquire my deep love of reading naturally. I read them stories every night before bed from the time they were born. Gifted them with choices from the local bookstore. And I suppose deep down I believed it was passed down from my DNA as my Grandpa taught me to read at a super young age.
I believe even those who do not love to read can, IF they find the right book. Something they can relate to, something that engages them and sparks that fire that I cannot imagine living without :)
- Let Them Choose
This is easy if you homeschool or are teaching reading to your own children. Take them to the bookstore or library and let them choose the books they want. Do not force them to read anything! My good friend used to enjoy reading until High School when they made him read Romeo and Juliet. He was full of hormones and absolutely abhorred being forced to read something his adolescent Ego determined was fluffy and not worthy of his newly found manhood.
If you have a class of students, they can still have a choice but you have to be strategic about it as not everyone will want to read the same thing. You can offer several choices and take a vote, perhaps reading the second choice book after the winning choice.
- Don't Judge a Book by its Cover!
Have your child read a few pages before deciding to purchase. Kids are guilty of choosing books based on how cool the cover looks. What I like to do for myself even, is flip to a random page somewhere in the middle and start there. The first pages are going to be good- they have to grab the potential buyers attention! If the stuff in the middle is good, then I know I will like it.
- Make it Fun and Draw it Out
Yea, really! Draw it out! The kids can draw scenes from the book you are reading. Do something related to the book, outside of the book.
For instance, if the characters in the book live by a zoo, take a field trip to the zoo. If there is a scene where they take a train ride, do so as a family. If it's a class, you can visit the train station, or look up your local rail yard on a map and follow the tracks to see all the places the trains can travel.
Offer books as rewards
If your child must read something they do not want, make them a deal- you will too! Have them choose a book for you! You never know, you might find a new love :)
Create a comfy place to read. My oldest sons kindergarten class had cool, hidden nooks with large pillows. There was even a hammock! Make sure there is plenty of good light- natural is best.
Get their eyes checked. If a child has trouble seeing, they will never love to read because it will cause physical pain in the form of headaches.
Read everything and mix genres and fiction and nonfiction.
Keep a dictionary handy. If you do not know a word, you will not retain the entire sentence or idea.
Learn about the author and discuss him or her and their life. You might find other books by that same writer.
And you can never start too early- I was reading to my boys while they were in my belly :)
What helped you learn to love reading? Do you have a fun technique or idea? Share in the comments!
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It always saddens me when I meet people and the say they haven't read a book since they were at school. I can't imagine not reading books, I'm an avid reader and often have 3-4 on the go at any one time.
It is however supposed to be about enjoying the experience of reading.
Teachers timing kids on a 'words per minute' basis is ridiculous! The government run education systems are already a joke without having these morons putting pressure on children, makes my blood boil.
People absorb information at different rates, you can't put a stopwatch on it! Idiots.
I used to have a few going at once, but I had to force myself to one at a time. When my boys are off in college I'm sure that will revert back ;)
People absorb information at different rates. Exactly.
Are you familiar with No Pineapple Left Behind?
WTF?- Seriously?
Leftist cultural marxism and ther obsession with sucking the last drop of pleasure out of life - even down to reading - ffs!
Total respect
Seriously. and they do this every month for those grades to see if the child is reading faster.
Yes, they do ask the child to say what they just read, to make sure they retained something but is this not one of the more ridiculous things ever? It began when they implemented "common core"
....and reading faster also means understand less- just what they want..
'common core' is another left wing marxist indoctrination programme.
this is about common core..
https://investmentwatchblog.com/what-happened-something-must-have-went-seriously-wrong/
cudos for teaching at home, btw
Woah, really? Weather underground became teachers? I can't believe I missed that! Thank you, I have some reading to do!
And thank you. My oldest was the hardest to convert. Being in a school shooting converted him.
My middle son was easier. He actually set fire to his elementary. He told the fire chief if the school wasn't there the kids would have to go to other schools where teachers actually cared about them...
My mind has gone totally blank while typing this -- but some of the leftist infiltration's to disrupt society is pretty evil.
I'll let you know when they pop into my head... lol.
There is a logic there. ...lol
Slightly worrying , but logic nonetheless. Logic is always superior to emotional rhetoric.
https://steemit.com/blog/@lucylin/k-i-s-s-pictures-for-deaf-people
soz for not up voting -- trying to get my power back up
It's true that "Reading is by far the most valuable education one can have." And it's too bad that our desire to read is not always fostered.
I read lots when I was a child, basically devouring any reading material that was put before me. But then, during high school, I read very little, partly because as a teen I found other things to do (not all healthy, admittedly), but also because we were essentially forced to read – regardless of whether or not we were interested in the subject matter.
Moreover, we were told to understand and interpret the stories in certain ways. Granted, there is some validity to that approach, and it can be very "educational," but if the story or the interpretation does not resonate with the student, s/he will see no reason to read.
That's where great teaching and guidance comes in. If given the guidelines that you outline in your post, students will probably find many reasons to read. Whether it be some essential information that helps them in their daily lives, some philosophical insights that help them to grow as a human being, or simply an engrossing story, they will find that reading is not a chore. And that in fact it can be a delight.
I re-discovered that soon after escaping high school. Reading is not only one of the best ways to learn various things about life and the world, it's also among my favorite ways to relax.
What a wonderful post! I'm an avid reader and even though I don't have children yet, I always assumed they would probably have the same love for reading as I do since I also got it from my mum (when she looks at me funny for buying too many books I always point her towards her own shelf ;) ). I'm especially sorry to hear what happened with your youngest - it's a horrible school system that makes something wonderful so weirdly competitive and actually manages to ruin someone's love for reading instead of inspiring it as it should. Thank you for sharing all of your advice as well, if I ever do end up with children that don't like reading I will definitely put those tips into action! :D
Your post is very nice
OMG! I have so much to catch up with you!
Heard on blankets from the dryer! My dad used to get angry because he would come around the corner and I'd be sitting in front of the dryer burroughed in a bodaciously toasty blanket. (Clean blanketwent straight from the dryer and directly to the floor ! 😂) I understand his frustration now. These days, the blanket goes from the dryer and is hurried directly to a chair or couch where the comfy can commence!
I'm trying to count how often my girls and I were told that the library was closing in that we needed to bring our stuff up front. (This hurts my brain.)
I used subtitled animes and card games to help encourage reading outside of books. I've always been a huge fan of anime and when my girls were toddlers, they would cuddle and watch Inuyasha, Vampire Hunter D, Bleach, and so many other anime that were subtitled in English. Their desire to understand what was being said had a few bonuses. First, their comprehension vastly outstripped that of others their age. Secondly, their reading pace naturally increased to keep up with the speed of the dialogue. Finally, they developed a curiosity and appreciation for different cultures. (My eldest wants to learn Japanese and will use the few words that she knows when talking to the confusion of her classmates.)
Card games such as Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon also helped encourage my children to read. They'd watch my partner and I play Magic and wanted to join in but couldn't understand which cards were supposed to do what. ( This was especially effective with my youngest daughter who chose to rarely speak until her sister began school. Once her sister wasn't there, my stubborn little one was talking in fully formed and thoughtful sentences! I'll give credit to her that she was clever enough to figure out that she didn't need to speak since her older sister knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. I'll count my blessings that theyhave always been close.)
Since I am a visual person, I enjoy reading by picturing the character and scenes in my mind. I savor each word and I feel like I am the main character. It's both a gift and a curse because I win and lose with them. It hurts when they lose someone they love but it's fun when they finally get what they deserve. I don't know what kind of genre you like but I just shared my mini insights on Miss Peregrine's book here: https://steemit.com/review/@deeundecided/1-book-review-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children. I'd love to know if you have read this yourself :D
I have yet to read that, and I won't watch the film until I do. I read a lot of what I write- YA, romcom, suspense, humor laced Memoirs... I really love humor but haven't found a fiction author who can apply some funny as needed in a long time...
OMG. If that's the case, you should try Jennifer Crusie's books. Romcom with enough humor. I looooooove her books. Try Charlie All Night. I think I still have an ebook copy. Let me know if you want to try it and I can send it via email :D
Yes, please! My email is [email protected]
Thanks!
Sorry it took me long to reply. I have sent you an email with the ebook. Enjoy! :)
No worries :)
Cool, I got it, thanks!