The Gift of Reading

Through the years many parents have thanked ME for giving their children the gift of reading. I've amassed a number of thank you letters from both parents and children that actually say, 'Thank you for teaching me how to read!' With a humble heart I used to deny such a thing, but parents and children would insist that I indeed "teach" the children to read!

My story times are indeed meaningful, exciting and truly empowering. I enjoy getting the kids excited about stories and books and turning them onto ideas and concepts that will serve them well in the future. For and example see Walkabout, I hope to post many more.

It is very important for the children to access to a wide range materials so they can find topics that interest them. Young children should have access to all the nonfiction topics, Zoobooks, dinosaurs, Magic School Bus, etc. even though they cannot phonetically read them!!!

Early Readers should be exciting and entertaining. I had selected some of the best Early Readers (see bibliographies). I often provided "guided reading" practice. Since the Early Readers generally have very few words per page, the children can easily re-read the story after it's been read to them once. I leveled the early reader section so the children could easily find the most suitable materials and easily take ownership of their reading development. I have encouraged the children to take home one book from this section by giving them stickers. I give out alot of little stickers throughout library time to reinforce all good behaviors (ie. turning the pages correctly, picking a book up that was found on the floor, etc.)

School policy allowed the children to check out two books from the school library. In the library we had an unwritten policy. The children, those just learning to read, could check out one "fun" book but needed to check out one book for reading.

I am often criticized for allowing the children to check out materials that they are "unable to read." I had a very young girl who insisted that she take home the Koran, as another child had taken home the book of Mormon. It's important to discuss the ramifications with the children and negotiate a deal in the matter, make sure they have appropriate reading materials. You can be certain the classroom teacher is going to be concerned (perhaps he/she is concerned about the parents' reaction).

If you are unfortunately defensive in the matter, you risk losing the support of your teachers which could put you at grave disadvantage, particularly if you are new on the scene.